TCA § 11-6-105 — Excavation of state lands — Permits — Unauthorized excavation — Penalty

The state of Tennessee reserves to itself the exclusive right and privilege of field archaeology on sites owned or controlled by the state, its agencies, departments, institutions and commissions in order to protect and preserve archaeological and scientific information, matter and artifacts. All such information and artifacts recovered from state lands shall be utilized solely for scientific or public educational purposes and shall remain the property of the state, unless the state archaeologist and the advisory council shall conclude that some artifacts do not merit retention. No person or organization, including any other agents or agencies of the state of Tennessee, unless acting as a duly authorized agent of the division of archaeology, shall excavate upon any site situated on lands owned or controlled by the state or any agency thereof. Permits and contracts for archaeological exploration or excavation may be granted by the state archaeologist through the division for such periods of time and under such terms and conditions as the state archaeologist may from time to time determine. All artifacts, photographs and records obtained by such agents shall remain the property of the state, subject to the decision of the state archaeologist and the advisory council, and shall be maintained in agreed upon public repositories. Any person, corporation, society or organization conducting such explorations or excavations upon lands owned or controlled by the state or any agency thereof without having first obtained permit from the state archaeologist commits a Class A misdemeanor, except that any violation occurring on a site listed in the Tennessee register of archaeological sites where the commercial or archaeological value of the artifact involved and the cost of restoration or repair of such archaeological site or artifact exceeds the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000) is a Class E felony. Any and all artifacts and material excavated by such person or organization shall be forfeited to the state and shall be delivered forthwith to the division.