If someone finds only a single object, they have to report it only if it's partly made of precious metals or copper alloy. If it's an ancient wooden bowl, then it's the finder's to keep, sell, or do whatever he or she would like to do with it. Here's where it gets tricky in Sweden: The actual land owner has very few rights. And since there are no laws in Sweden that forbid trespassing on private property, a person may cross through someone's yard, find an artifact and lay claim to it.
And if you find that you have a genuine archaeological site discovered on your land, you may as well be a renter from the government.
These acts spell out what constitutes a historical site or archaeological resource site. For the latter, the site must be at least years old, and remains must be related to past human life or activity. The acts also spell out strict penalties for persons found executing an excavation without a permit.
Legitimate archaeologists are in favor of these kinds of laws because they help protect the integrity of the site. Professionals in the field do not keep, sell or trade artifacts they uncover.
Their goal is to record history, plain and simple, and if possible, move the objects as a collection for research and display. Anything found is property of the public, and it's the responsibility of the finder to care for the item for the sake of the public. If you aren't an archaeologist and you happen to stumble upon an artifact in the United States, then you must report your finding.
Each state has an office of historical preservation or archaeology, as well as a state archaeologist. They're great resources and the perfect place to start if you find something that has cultural significance.
In recent years, there's been a trend where countries have laid claim to artifacts that museums have had in their possession for decades or even hundreds of years.
It all started with the Culture Minister of Italy in , when he decided to mount a campaign to have dozens of archaeological finds returned to their country of origin, Italy. Other countries that zealously guard their cultural heritage have since jumped on board. Now the questions are these: Are objects found on archaeological digs art or history, and are these objects the property of the country of origin or humanity as a whole?
Art museums have firmly voiced that the objects are art and should be displayed for the broadest possible audience. In other words, museums want to keep their worldly collections intact. Museums aren't the only ones vulnerable to losing items from their collections. The Italian cultural minister went after a private collector for one piece and got it back. It should come as no surprise that the countries with the richest bevy of ancient history are the ones leading the charge.
Many jurisdictions have statutes that modify the common law's treatment of lost property. Typically, these statutes require lost personal property to be turned over to a government official, and that if the property is not claimed within a set period of time, it goes to the finder, and the original owner's rights to the property are terminated.
For more on lost property, see this St. Please help us improve our site! No thank you. Practice Question Tamara finds a valuable diamond ring laying on the sidewalk. Personal property is considered to be lost if the owner has involuntarily parted with it and is ignorant of its location. Mislaid property is that which the owner intentionally places somewhere with the idea that he will eventually be able to find it again but subsequently forgets where it has been placed. Lost or mislaid property continues to be owned by the person who lost or mislaid it.
That is, the original owner still has a claim of right to the property. When one finds lost goods, the finder is entitled to possession against everyone with the exception of the true real owner. That is, the finder has an inferior claim of title to the property. The owner of the place where an article is mislaid has a right to the article against everyone but the true owner.
However, the finder is expected to make an announcement of the found goods and continue keeping the goods until the true owner comes. The true owner is expected to repossess the goods within a limited amount of time. Failure of the true owner to claim the goods within a reasonable period of time can cause ownership rights to be transferred to the finder.
The question generally turns on whether the original owner continues to search for and never abandons their claim of write in the goods. In the example, Tamara found the ring and kept it for years there without anyone claiming it.
The question becomes, did Tamara announce having found the ring to the public such as publication in a newspaper. If the original owner can show that she continued to search for the lost property for years, she maintains her superior claim of right above Tamara and thus Tamara's daughter.
Thus, she can likely sue Tamara's daughter for conversion and reclaim the ring.
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