Does anyone know the laws regarding abandon colonial grave yards?

[HutSiteDigger]

This is what I am getting out of the ARPA and why me and the landowner are alittle confused because it keeps outlining Public lands and Indian Lands. Will have to dig deeper too see what there laws are on private property.

(b) The purpose of this Act is to secure, for the present and
future benefit of the American people, the protection of
archaeological resources and sites which are on public lands
and Indian lands, and to foster increased cooperation and
exchange of information between governmental authorities,
the professional archaeological community, and private
individuals having collections of archaeological resources
and data which were obtained before October 31, 1979 [the
date of the enactment of this Act].

(3) The term “public lands” means—
(A) lands which are owned and administered by the
United States as part of—
(i) the national park system,
(ii) the national wildlife refuge system, or
(iii) the national forest system; and

HISTORIC PRESERVATION LAWS (3) the archaeological resources which are excavated or
removed from public lands will remain the property of the
United States, and such resources and copies of associated
archaeological records and data will be preserved by a suitable
university, museum, or other scientific or educational
institution,

(a) No person may excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise
alter or deface or attempt to excavate, remove, damage,
or otherwise alter or deface any archaeological resource
located on public lands or Indian lands unless such activity
is pursuant to a permit issued under section 4 of this Act,
a permit referred to in section 4(h)(2) of this Act, or the
exemption contained in section 4(g)(1) of this Act.

 

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[kuger]

I tried to find the story about the guy I spoke of......it was in Plymouth Calif. and he worked at Mule Creek Prison.....he was digging in his yard

 

[HutSiteDigger]

I tried to find the story about the guy I spoke of......it was in Plymouth Calif. and he worked at Mule Creek Prison.....he was digging in his yard

Yep Kuger that would be illegal because under the ARPA it states "Public land or Indian land" so even if he was on private property he was digging in a spot that was considered "Indian land" but from what i am reading on ARPA long as its not public land or Indian Land you are not breaking any laws. I do know the farm this spot is on is not on Indian Land since it is almost 20 miles from the river, thats the good news on my end and not one arrowhead is been found on this land.

 

[kuger]

Yep Kuger that would be illegal because under the ARPA it states "Public land or Indian land" so even if he was on private property he was digging in a spot that was considered "Indian land" but from what i am reading on ARPA long as its not public land or Indian Land you are not breaking any laws. I do know the farm this spot is on is not on Indian Land since it is almost 20 miles from the river, thats the good news on my end and not one arrowhead is been found on this land.

?My definition of Indian land is a Reservation........I dont think he was on a Res......it was in Plymouth?No res. there

 

[HutSiteDigger]

?My definition of Indian land is a Reservation........I dont think he was on a Res......it was in Plymouth?No res. there

I just read in an another ARPA that if any indian tribe is buried on any land it is considered "Indian Land" regardless... That kinda goes back to what Tom CA was saying about the "no one cared" because I hear stories all the time of construction projects being haulted because of them finding graves and once they find out its not Indian they can proceed, but if they find out they ARE indian then everything gets haulted and the govt. comes in there and does there thing.

 

[kuger]

Wow!Well,I stand corrected.Thanks.Is that really what our Nation has come to?Only Native Americans matter?Only if something can be "learned",from them,do we care?What about us?Are we not all equal?Hard to fathom!!

note.....these questions are not directed at anybody here directly...unless you have the answers

 

[gleaner1]

HutSiteDigger your question offered in your post title is provocative and does not have an answer:
Does anyone know the laws regarding abandon colonial grave yards?

There are no laws regarding abandoned colonial gravesites on private lands. If you want to dig an abondoned grave site on private land, you are good to go, whether it is colonial or whatever. The landowner could dig it out and put a septic tank there if he wanted, it happens all the time. This is America, land of freedom. The law says you can dig up that abandoned old gravesite out in the back forty, because nobody gives a frik really. It's your land. Hell, build a house on top of it if you want.

 

[HutSiteDigger]

HutSiteDigger your question offered in your post title is provocative and does not have an answer:
[h=2]Does anyone know the laws regarding abandon colonial grave yards?[/h]WTF The answer is NO, nobody knows the laws regarding abandon(ed) colonial grave yards because there are no laws regarding abandon(ed) colonial grave yards. How silly. Now, if you want to dig grave yards, you have to find one that is abandoned, on privately owned land, not in use, and you gotta have permission to get in there and the landowner does not give a crap. Now go dig your graves GraveSiteDigger.

hehe thanks. Well come to find out if it's an abandon colonial grave yard on public or indian land that is a no no, but it appears if it's on private land and is abandon that was never used by the Indians then i guess with permission anyone can dig it up, I was just trying to understand this ARPA a little better... And Kuger I guess there so protective over Indians because they were here before I guess you can say the white man and here way before Jamestown, etc. I guess maybe in away we all may have a little Indian in us.

Also i'm not digging up any graves trying to find out if they are humans there so the loggers can know and the land owner can put a fench around the spot and submit it to the county for records.. Just gotta find a good approach and i think contacting an archaeologist is the way to go to be on the safe side.

 

[Tnmountains]

hehe thanks. Well come to find out if it's an abandon colonial grave yard on public or indian land that is a no no, but it appears if it's on private land and is abandon that was never used by the Indians then i guess with permission anyone can dig it up, I was just trying to understand this ARPA a little better... And Kuger I guess there so protective over Indians because they were here before I guess you can say the white man and here way before Jamestown, etc. I guess maybe in away we all may have a little Indian in us.

Also i'm not digging up any graves trying to find out if they are humans there so the loggers can know and the land owner can put a fench around the spot and submit it to the county for records.. Just gotta find a good approach and i think contacting an archaeologist is the way to go to be on the safe side.

I think that is the proper course of action in this case.

 

[cw0909]

my cuz in w.va has/had same prob,he fenced it off,an area about 150 ft x 250ft, i didnt see anything
about indian burial at the vhr,i didnt check it all though,scratch that found it about indian burials

from the Virginia dept. of historic resources

Q.I have an old abandoned cemetery on my property. What are my legal rights and obligations? Do I have to maintain the cemetery or let family members come on my land?

A.As the owner of property that includes a cemetery, you are not obligated to do anything as long as you leave the cemetery alone. You may maintain the cemetery if you wish, or allow descendants or other parties to do so. Virginia law protects all cemeteries from willful and malicious damage, whether by the owner or by others (§18.2-127). Should you decide to remove and relocate the graves so that the area may be used for other purposes, you are required to file a bill in equity with the city or county circuit court for permission to do so (§57-38.1). This petition will require a good faith effort to identify and contact the families or descendants of the persons interred in the cemetery, as well as publication of a notice of intent in a local newspaper. If the cemetery is unmarked, and you wish to have the remains recovered by professional archaeologists, you will also require a permit (download the permit application) from DHR (§10.1-2305). Unless otherwise ordered by the court, you will be responsible for all costs incurred during the relocation process.
There is no Virginia law that requires landowners to maintain cemeteries on their properties, although section §57-39.1 of the Code of Virginia does provide an avenue for adjacent landowners to petition the courts for relief in the event that a cemetery is found to be neglected and unsightly, thus reducing adjacent property values. You are required to allow access to the cemetery for visitation by family members or descendants of the interred persons or by owners of any plots within the cemetery, and for the purpose of genealogical research (§57-27.1). You have the right to designate the frequency, hours, and duration of any access, and you are not required to create a special access route if one is not already present.
Department of Historic Resources, Cemetery Preservation and FAQs

found it, it was just farther down pg

What about Native American graves?
Virginia laws protect all cemeteries and gravesites equally. The same laws prohibiting malicious damage and removal of a body from a grave without proper authorization apply to Native American graves in the same way that they apply to modern cemeteries, family cemeteries, and other unmarked graves. Digging up a Native American grave to collect relics is a felony offense—as is grave robbing in any form. The primary difference with Native American graves is that locating direct descendants for specific gravesites is generally not possible. For that reason, the official contacts for dealing with Native American graves include the Virginia Council on Indians, the 11 tribes recognized officially by the Commonwealth of Virginia (Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Monacan, Nansemond, Pamunkey, Rappahanock, Upper Mattaponi, Cheroenhaka, Nottoway of Virginia, and Patawomeck), and, in some cases, tribes recognized by other states or the federal government.
Department of Historic Resources, Cemetery Preservation and FAQs

 

[Silver Searcher]

In the UK if you find Human Bones, you must inform the Police, they inform the Coroner who determins the age of the bones. If you own land that has Ancient Burials most likely they would be protected forever, if you were allowed to use the land, you would have to pay for a full Archaeological survey, and then removal of the bones, which is very expensive and time consuming...but the land owner Pays.

It's no good making speculation about this land, and the rights and wrongs, untill you know exactally, what is buried there, but common sense, and morals tells you... that you just don't go digging.. were there might be Graves.

SS

 

[poorman15]

More of less that is what i'm gonna tell him to do tomorrow and tell him to contact his property lawyer for 100% answer.. Or hey just let the bulldozers and logging equipment run through there and destory everything, that is normally how it goes anyway.

Why destroy something historical as that if you don't have to. I sure hope that they place you all are burried at does not go abandoned and people do as they wish with your remains. There is sort of a respect thing that we all shound have for others even if they did pass away hundreds of years ago. I would just aviod the area all together. No need to bulldoze anything while logging. A skidder can cut a trail around the area and drag logs out that load to a loading point. I don't see why this is even really a topic of discussion or a big deal to this guy. Just let the graves alone and go on with life. Simple. I don't say this in a mean way at all but he should have a bit of respect for the area whether it's graves or not. Just treat it as if they are and that's that. Just my opinion though.

 

[mical66]

i had to go back and reread the original post , because i thought you were talking about digging up one of the stones you found 6 inches deep and seeing if it had markings on it. and i was wondering why every one was stuck on not digging the graves up because i did not think that was what you meant,,
glad to see some one came up with some answers for ya

 

[dholland02]

If its on private land and the land owner showed u to it. I would be there in a heart beat. I wouldn't worry bout what anyone says on here, most people will say only what they think they sould say. Most are affaird of what yhe replys would be. I would hunt it your detector dnt reach 6ft.

 

[poorman15]

If its on private land and the land owner showed u to it. I would be there in a heart beat. I wouldn't worry bout what anyone says on here, most people will say only what they think they sould say. Most are affaird of what yhe replys would be. I would hunt it your detector dnt reach 6ft.

He's not metal detecting is he? I thought he was considering digging in the area to find out if they are indeed graves. I wouldn't detect over the graves out of respect but that is just me, I don't care what replies I get. Detecting around the general area will hurt nothing though. I'd just stay a bit away from the potential graves. Again, just me.

 

[taz42o]

I dont know the law in this matter but
Ive never needed a Law to tell me right from wrong.
If I believe its right then I dont really care what a law says if im willing to except the punishment for breaking that law.
And I would not do something I believe to be wrong even if it brakes no laws.
That said, at this point it sounds as if you have lows spots on the ground and rocks. No proof of graves.
I see nothing wrong with digging to see whats there, at the point it becomes know to be a grave I would not dig anymore even if the law says I could.
More common sense and less laws.

 

[Tnmountains]

The original poster is trying to help the land owner. He is not digging or metal detecting this. He has chosen the right route in determining if this might be a lost cemetery by saying he is going to suggest to the owner that he possibly have a Archeologist look at it.

 

[taz42o]

Inviting an archeologist onto your property is the wrong route In my opinion.

 

[Silver Searcher]

Inviting an archeologist onto your property is the wrong route In my opinion.

I agree, they would be the last people I would contact....game over detecting wise.

SS

 

[Keppy]

I don't see what the problem is just go and hunt there........ You are making a big deal out of nothing....... Every one wants to make every thing so complicated........... Every one here giving you these long answers .. IT IS SO SIMPLE ""JUST GO HUNT IT ""