What is the law on metal detecting in cemeteries in New York St?
Posted by admin
asked:
I recently read article that metal detecting in old cemetaries can be quite productive, but there was no mention of any laws for any state. I was wondering if anyone knows what the rules for New York State might be. I would like to try this interesting hobby there.
April 5th, 2010 at 6:34 am
I do not know… yet but since this is interesting, I will surely look it up so that I can chit chat about it around the water cooler.
I do know that cemeteries are (mostly) private properties so any “detecting” will require permission by the owners of the property for you to be there or you can face trespassing and/or loitering charges.
You also could face theft for removing property and vandalism for digging up the area.
According to one site through Yahoo Search, “There are no metal detecting laws. However, there are laws of antiquity that may get you in trouble.”
On another page, they continue to say “Metal detecting in New York follows the ARPA (Archaeological Resources Preservation Act).”
I was able to hunt the info down and came up with the following.
“Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979″
Have fun and don’t get in trouble.
Steve
April 5th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
It seems to me that it comes down to whether the cemetery is public or private. Ultimately, its not metal detecting that is the issue – it is whether you have the right to search the property for relics. If public, the metal detecting is probably OK, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask. If private, the answer is almost certainly “no way”.