LEGISLATION (FAQ)

Ignorance of the law doesn't exempt you from liability! Every detectorist is a guardian of history, not a tomb raider.

🌍 Laws by Country (Brief Overview)

Belarus 🇧🇾

  • **Status:** One of the strictest regimes.
  • **Rule:** A complete ban on private use of metal detectors for archaeological searching (since 2013).
  • **Risk:** Confiscation of your detector and hefty fines. Only searching for your own lost personal items on your own property is allowed.

Russia 🇷🇺

  • **Status:** Regulated by Federal Law No. 73 and Article 243.2 of the Russian Criminal Code.
  • **Allowed:** Searching for modern items, scrap metal, and beach hunting (where there's no cultural layer).
  • **PROHIBITED:** Digging at archaeological sites (any items over 100 years old within a cultural layer) without an official excavation permit ("Open Sheet").
  • **Tip:** Avoid burial mounds, ancient settlement sites, and officially registered heritage sites.

Ukraine 🇺🇦

  • **Status:** Permits are required for heritage sites.
  • **Allowed:** Searching fields that aren't designated heritage sites is often tolerated in practice, but the law requires archaeological finds to be handed over to the state.

👮 Legal Liability

Violations:

  • Destroying a cultural layer.
  • Searching without permission in protected areas.
  • Illegal trafficking of valuables.

Penalties:

  • Fines of up to 500,000 rubles (Russia).
  • Confiscation of your detector and vehicle.
  • Actual prison sentences (up to 6 years for organized groups).

✅ What CAN You Search For?

  • Lost items on beaches (keys, modern coins, jewelry).
  • Scrap metal on non-historical land.
  • "Scouting for old sites" should only be done visually or via maps, without disturbing the layer at heritage sites.

If you find a hoard:

  • Stop digging.
  • Record the coordinates.
  • Call the police or archaeologists.
  • By law, you're entitled to 50% of the value (if the land is yours or belongs to no one), or 25% (if it belongs to someone else).