Title 18, Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-110
§1866 Historic, Archeologic, or Prehistoric Items and Antiquities
Title 18 › PART I — CRIMES › CHAPTER 91 — PUBLIC LANDS › § 1866
Summary
Breaking federal rules that protect historic, archaeological, or prehistoric sites is illegal. If you break those rules you can be fined and must pay all court costs. If you take, dig up, damage, or destroy a historic or prehistoric ruin, monument, or other object of antiquity on federal land without permission from the head of the agency in charge, you can be jailed for up to 90 days, fined, or both.
Full Legal Text
Title 18, §1866
Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Violation of Regulations Authorized by Chapter 3201 of Title 54.—
A person that violates any of the regulations authorized by chapter 3201 of title 54 shall be fined under this title and be adjudged to pay all cost of the proceedings.
(b)Appropriation of, Injury to, or Destruction of Historic or Prehistoric Ruin or Monument or Object of Antiquity.—
A person that appropriates, excavates, injures, or destroys any historic or prehistoric ruin or monument or any other object of antiquity that is situated on land owned or controlled by the Federal Government without the permission of the head of the Federal agency having jurisdiction over the land on which the object is situated, shall be imprisoned not more than 90 days, fined under this title, or both.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 1866(a)16 U.S.C. 462(k) (last sentence)Aug. 21, 1935, ch. 593, § 2(k) (last sentence), 49 Stat. 667. 1866(b)16 U.S.C. 433June 8, 1906, ch. 3060, § 1, 34 Stat. 225. In subsection (a), the provision is transferred to title 18 to make clear that it is a criminal penalty. The words “fined under this title” are substituted for “punished by a fine of not more than $500” for consistency with chapter 227. In subsection (b), the words “fined under this title” are substituted for “fined in a sum of not more than $500” for consistency with chapter 227.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
18 U.S.C. § 1866
Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110