(a) It shall be deemed an act of trespass and a Class A misdemeanor for any person, natural or corporate, to excavate and remove artifacts from the private land of any owner without first obtaining the owner's express permission.(b) No person, corporation, partnership, association or any other entity shall excavate, damage, vandalize or remove any artifact from or otherwise alter or deface any site listed in the Tennessee register of archaeological sites without first obtaining landowner permission.(c) No person, corporation, partnership, association or any other entity shall sell, offer to sell, purchase or offer to purchase, or otherwise exchange any artifact from a site listed in the Tennessee register of archaeological sites if the artifact has been removed or received in violation of this section.(d) No person, corporation, partnership, association or any other entity shall store, dump, litter or otherwise dispose of any garbage, dead animal, sewage or toxic substance in any cave or sinkhole listed in the Tennessee register of archaeological sites.Acts 1970, ch. 468, § 9; T.C.A., § 11-1509; Acts 1984, ch. 801, § 2; 1989, ch. 591.
Tennessee Legal Code