Sage-Tips

What should you do if you find archaeological remains?

Archaeological Sites: Some DOs and DON’Ts

1. Do keep records of artifacts found lying on the surface of your property.
2. Do report sites discovered on your property to the Department of Historic Resources.
3. Do maintain your site in its natural condition and protect it from inadvertent destruction.

Who has the right to treasure found at archaeological sites what circumstances do you think determine the ownership of artifacts found at dig sites?

The Antiquities Act of 1975 states that anything found must be reported to the Ministry of Culture and Heritage within 28 days. Then the ministry decides what to do with it. If the item was found before 1976, then it belongs to whoever found it.

How do you report archaeological finds?

You can support our work in two main ways: by reporting any archaeological objects (over 300 years old) you have found, or by volunteering to help record finds. To report your finds, get in touch with your local Finds Liaison Officer.

What happens if you find an artifact?

Leave the artifact where you found it. Please don’t pick it up, move it, throw it, put it in your pocket or your bag, or bury it. Note where you are. Snap a picture of the artifact where you found it.

What do burial sites tell us?

Several kinds of evidences from burials do archaeologists use to find out that there were social differences amongst those who were buried underneath the megaliths. They think that objects found with a skeleton probably belonged to the dead person. Sometimes more objects were found in one grave than in another.

What is the importance of burial sites in studying history?

Explanation: The burial sites as well as books helps to identify the life pattern, social economic conditions, culture of the past generation. Historians focus on burial sites to study about the time period of that sites. Their burial sites also have the trace of many unknown details.

Can archaeologists keep what they find?

Professional archaeologists do not keep, buy, sell, or trade any artifacts. Quite simply, they don’t get to keep what they find because it doesn’t belong to them. If archaeologists kept what they found, they would be the only ones to know the story behind the object. Archaeologists want to share their discoveries.

How are archaeological sites protected in the US?

In the US, archaeological sites exist on private property, on federal public and protected lands, and on lands controlled by states and other local governments (such as tribal lands). The sites are then recorded and maintained by a designated agency respective to the land-ownership.

How do you determine the significance of an archaeological site?

When determining significance under criterion D, one must keep in mind that while all archaeological sites can yield some kind of information, the key is to determine if that information is important. Importance is best assessed when considered within a framework of a historic context.

What did they do with the remains when they were buried?

The remains were placed in coffins with various burial items, such as garments, trinkets, and food. Ochre residue suggests that the remains were painted ceremonially before being positioned in the coffins, and a huge feast was prepared to celebrate the passing.

What is the significance of historical burial grounds?

Yet historical burial grounds are an enormous archaeological resource and have the potential to inform studies not only of demographic questions or the history of disease and mortality, but also histories and archaeologies of the body, of emotion and changing relationships, of religious and other beliefs about death,…