Chapter Three: Excavations


Excavation Licence.

9.(a) No person shall dig on any land, or otherwise search, for antiquities, including the use of a metal detector, or gather antiquities, unless he has obtained a licence to do so from the Director (hereinafter referred to as an "excavation licence") and in accordance with the conditions of the licence.


    (b) When deciding upon an application for an excavation licence, the Director shall consult with the Council and shall make the scientific and financial ability of the applicant his prime consideration.


    (c) An excavation licence shall define the area in which digging is permitted.


    (d) The issue of an excavation licence shall not by itself confer on its holder the right of entry to land in another's domain.

Right of entry.

10. (a) No person shall enter any land for which an excavation licence has been issued unless he is the occupier thereof or has been authorised on behalf of the occupier and subject to the consent of the holder of the licence.


    (b) During the excavation, no person, other than the Director or a person empowered by him, shall photograph, paint, draw or otherwise depict the excavation or the antiquities discovered in it, save with the permission of the holder of the licence.

Safety Measures.

11.(a) The holder of an excavation licence shall, both during the excavation and thereafter, until the expiration of the period stipulated in the licence, take all measures required -


(1) to ensure the well-being of workers and visitors at the place of the excavation and the fencing off of such place;


(2) to protect, and ensure the preservation of, the place of the excavation and the antiquities discovered thereat;


(3) to prevent all damage or nuisance to neighbouring property.


    (b) Where the holder of a licence does not comply with the provisions of subsection (1), the Director may, without prejudice to the provisions of section 13, after warning the holder of the licence in writing, take the required measures in his stead and collect from him the expenses involved.

Particulars and publications relating to excavation.

12.(a) At the dates prescribed by the Director, but not less than once a year from the date of commencement of the excavation, the holder of an excavation licence shall deliver to the Director in writing -

 

(1) a report, as detailed as possible, of the excavation, including sketches, plans and photographs of the work carried out;

 

(2) details, including photographs and other visual aids, of the antiquities discovered in the excavation. 

 

(b) The holder of a licence shall have an exclusive right of publication in respect of the excavation for ten years from the termination thereof. Publication in contravention of this subsection shall be a civil wrong under the Civil Wrongs Ordinance (New Version)1

 

(c) Within five years from the date of termination of the excavation, the holder of the licence shall produce an appropriate scientific publication describing the findings and results of the excavation and shall deliver two copies of same to the Director. He shall also deliver to the Director two copies of every publication composed by him concerning the findings and results of the excavation.

Revocation and Witholding of excavation licence.
13.Where the holder of an excavation licence infringes any of the provisions of this Law or the regulations made thereunder or any of the conditions of the licence, the Director may revoke or suspend the licence or attach further conditions thereto; and where he infringes the provision of section 12 (c), the Director may refrain from granting him another excavation licence until he complies with the said provision.
Waiver by agreement
14. The Director may, after consultation with the Council, enter into an agreement with the holder of an excavation licence concerning a waiver of the rights of the State in antiquities discovered in the excavation and concerning the apportionment of such antiquities between the State and the holder of the licence.

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