Archaeological site protection laws in the United States operate as a layered federal-state system, with the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) as the main enforcement tool on federal and tribal lands, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) governing human remains and cultural items, dedicated statutes covering shipwrecks and sunken military craft, and state laws filling in almost everywhere else. Disturbing a protected site without a permit can trigger criminal fines up to $100,000, up to five years in prison, and separate civil penalties plus forfeiture of vehicles and equipment.
The Core Federal Statutes
Three federal laws do most of the work on federal land, and each answers a different question.
Archaeological Resources Protection Act
ARPA is the workhorse. It makes it illegal to excavate, remove, damage, or deface any archaeological resource on public or tribal lands without a permit.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC Chapter 1B – Archaeological Resources Protection An “archaeological resource” is physical evidence of past human activity that is at least 100 years old and has archaeological significance — pottery, tools, weapons, structural remains, and similar artifacts.2eCFR. 36 CFR Part 296 – Protection of Archaeological Resources Uniform Regulations The 100-year threshold is a bright line: items younger than that fall outside ARPA unless another law reaches them.
Antiquities Act
The Antiquities Act of 1906 was the first federal law aimed at protecting archaeological sites. Today its main function is the power it gives the president to declare historic landmarks, prehistoric structures, and objects of scientific interest on federal land to be national monuments, limited to the smallest area needed to protect the resources.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 54 USC 320301 – National Monuments ARPA has largely replaced the Antiquities Act’s original criminal enforcement role.
National Historic Preservation Act
The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) protects sites in two ways. Section 106 requires every federal agency to consider the effect of its projects on historic properties before spending federal money or issuing permits, and to give the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation a chance to comment.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 54 USC 306108 – Effect of Undertaking on Historic Property Federal highway projects, dam construction, and military base expansions all trigger this review, where archaeologists identify affected sites and propose ways to avoid or reduce harm.5eCFR. 36 CFR Part 800 – Protection of Historic Properties
Section 110 imposes a standing duty. Each federal agency must take responsibility for preserving historic properties it owns or controls, must inventory them, and must use historic buildings for agency purposes before constructing or leasing new ones where feasible.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 54 USC 306101 – Assumption of Responsibility for Preservation of Historic Property Protection isn’t limited to the moment before a bulldozer breaks ground.
Human Remains and Cultural Items
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act addresses Native American and Native Hawaiian human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and items of cultural patrimony. Remains removed from federal or tribal lands belong first to lineal descendants, affiliated tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations.7National Park Service. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
When Native American cultural items surface on federal or tribal land during construction, mining, logging, agriculture, or any other activity, that activity must stop immediately in the area of the discovery. The person responsible must give written notice to the managing agency and, if known, to any tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with potential cultural ties, and must make a reasonable effort to protect the items. Work can resume only after the agency or tribe certifies notification and 30 days have passed from that certification.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC 3002 – Ownership
NAGPRA also reaches into museum and agency collections. Every federal agency and museum holding Native American human remains or associated funerary objects must inventory them in consultation with tribal officials and traditional religious leaders, identifying geographic origin and cultural affiliation where possible, and must notify affiliated tribes within six months of establishing affiliation.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC 3003 – Inventory for Human Remains and Associated Funerary Objects When a lineal descendant or affiliated tribe requests return, the institution must repatriate promptly. Even without a completed inventory, a tribe can establish affiliation through geographic, biological, archaeological, linguistic, oral tradition, or other relevant evidence.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC 3005 – Repatriation
A boundary worth noting: NAGPRA applies only on federal and tribal lands, and only to Native American and Native Hawaiian cultural items. Historical burials outside those categories are governed by state law, which almost universally requires stopping work and notifying authorities when remains are found, though the specific agencies and timelines vary. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has urged that all burial sites, remains, and funerary objects be treated with dignity regardless of ancestry or National Register eligibility.11Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Burial Sites, Human Remains, and Funerary Objects
Shipwrecks and Sunken Military Craft
Archaeological protection extends underwater through two dedicated statutes.
Abandoned Shipwreck Act
The Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 asserts federal title over abandoned shipwrecks that are embedded in a state’s submerged lands, embedded in state-protected coralline formations, or located on state submerged lands and listed in (or eligible for) the National Register of Historic Places. The federal government then immediately transfers that title to the state. Shipwrecks on federal public lands remain U.S. property; wrecks on tribal lands belong to the tribe.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 43 USC Chapter 39 – Abandoned Shipwrecks
The traditional maritime law of salvage and the law of finds do not apply to these shipwrecks. Finding one is not claiming one. States develop management policies that protect natural resources and habitat, allow recreational exploration, and permit appropriate recovery consistent with preserving historical value.
Sunken Military Craft Act
The Sunken Military Craft Act prohibits anyone from disturbing, removing, or injuring a U.S. sunken military craft without authorization. Civil penalties reach $100,000 per incident, with each day of a continuing violation counted as a separate offense, and any vessel used in the violation is also liable. On top of the penalty, violators must pay the government’s enforcement costs plus the full expense of restoring, conserving, and curating any damaged craft.13eCFR. 32 CFR Part 767 Subpart C – Enforcement Provisions for Violations of the Sunken Military Craft Act Criminal prosecution for theft of government property or plundering of wrecks remains available separately.
State Land, Local Rules, and Private Property
Federal statutes generally reach only federal and tribal lands. Everywhere else, state and local law does the work.
Each state has a State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) responsible for directing a statewide survey of historic properties, maintaining an inventory of significant sites, nominating eligible properties to the National Register, preparing a statewide preservation plan, and consulting with federal agencies on projects that could affect historic resources.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 54 USC 302303 – Responsibilities of State Historic Preservation Officer The SHPO office also provides public education and technical assistance.
Many states have their own archaeological statutes governing state-owned land the way ARPA governs federal land: permits for excavation, professional qualifications, penalties for unauthorized disturbance. The details vary widely. On private property, protection typically comes through local zoning and land-use regulation rather than state archaeological statutes. Some local governments require archaeological surveys before issuing building permits or approving subdivisions in areas known to have high archaeological sensitivity.
Penalties for Disturbing a Protected Site
ARPA’s penalties are tiered, and they are steeper than most people expect.
Criminal Penalties
Anyone who knowingly violates ARPA faces prosecution. A first-time offender can be fined up to $10,000, imprisoned for up to one year, or both. But if the combined commercial or archaeological value of the resources involved and the cost of restoration exceeds $500, the maximum jumps to $20,000 and two years. That $500 threshold is easily crossed once you factor in the cost of the scientific information destroyed. A second or subsequent violation carries up to $100,000 and five years.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 470ee – Prohibited Acts and Criminal Penalties
Civil Penalties
Federal land managers can impose civil penalties independently of any criminal case. The amount reflects the archaeological value of the resource (what it would have cost to properly recover the scientific information before the violation), the commercial fair market value in pre-violation condition, and the cost of restoring and repairing the site. Repeat violators can face double penalties, capped at double the restoration costs plus double the fair market value of destroyed resources.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 470ff – Civil Penalties
Archaeological value includes the cost of designing a research plan, doing fieldwork, running laboratory analysis, and writing the reports that would have extracted the site’s information. Restoration costs can include reconstruction, stabilization, ground contour work, protective barriers, salvage documentation, and reinterment of human remains where required by law or custom.17eCFR. 32 CFR 229.14 – Determination of Archaeological or Commercial Value and Cost of Restoration and Repair Those numbers can reach tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars even for sites that look unremarkable on the surface.
One narrow exception: no civil penalty applies to collecting arrowheads found on the surface of the ground.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 470ff – Civil Penalties This is frequently misread as a blanket permission to collect artifacts from public land. It is not. It applies only to arrowheads on the surface, and only to civil penalties. Other artifacts, and criminal exposure, remain in play.
Forfeiture
Courts and administrative judges can order the forfeiture of any archaeological resources connected to a violation, along with any vehicles and equipment used in it.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 470gg – Enforcement Forfeiture is available after a criminal conviction, a civil penalty assessment, or a court finding that the property was involved. Losing a truck, trailer, and excavation equipment on top of fines and possible jail time makes looting an expensive gamble.
If You Find Something
Accidentally uncovering archaeological materials or human remains triggers specific legal obligations, and the rules depend on where you are.
On federal and tribal lands, NAGPRA regulations require you to report the discovery immediately by phone or in person to the managing agency. Within 24 hours, you must send written documentation identifying the location by county and state, describing what was found, and confirming what steps you took to secure and protect the materials. Any activity that could threaten the discovery must stop, and the written confirmation must note that work has been halted.19eCFR. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Regulations
On private land, state law controls. States generally require you to stop the activity and notify a designated agency when human remains are found, but the specific route differs. Some direct notifications to a state museum or repatriation office; others route them to law enforcement or the state archaeologist. If you are involved in construction or land-clearing work and turn up something that looks archaeological or skeletal, the safest course is to stop immediately, avoid further disturbance, and contact both local law enforcement and your state historic preservation office.
Permits for Legitimate Excavation
Anyone who wants to excavate or remove archaeological resources from public or tribal lands needs a permit from the relevant federal land manager.20Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 470cc – Excavation and Removal The lead archaeologist must meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards: a graduate degree in archaeology, anthropology, or a closely related field, at least one year of full-time professional experience or equivalent specialized training, at least four months of supervised field and analytic experience in North American archaeology, and the demonstrated ability to carry research to completion.21National Park Service. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation – Professional Qualifications Standards
The application (Form DI-1926) requires detailed maps with GPS or UTM coordinates, identification of the federal administrative unit, and a description of the purpose, methods, and extent of the proposed work, including a research design and curation plan.22Department of the Interior. Form DI 1926 Application for Permit for Archeological Investigations The land manager will issue the permit only if the applicant is qualified, the work advances archaeological knowledge in the public interest, excavated resources remain U.S. property, and the artifacts and records will be preserved at a suitable university, museum, or scientific institution. The work must not conflict with any management plan for the land. On tribal lands, the tribe must consent.20Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 470cc – Excavation and Removal
Internal review and tribal consultation can take weeks or months. The final permit carries specific conditions, and the named individual on the permit is personally responsible for compliance with those conditions and all applicable law.