Cop through plowed fields. Why, according to the laws of the Russian Federation, is this both prohibited and permitted?

Good mood to you, dear readers of our blog.

I am convinced that many diggers have encountered discussions on social networks and specialized forums about whether it is legal or not to dig in plowed fields. After studying such discussions, a digger inexperienced in legal concepts forms a strong opinion that it is possible to dig in plowed fields with a metal detector.

Is it so? Why exactly is it possible, or why not? How can this be explained in the case of communication with the police? These are the questions I want to discuss with you in this note.

Why is the legislation in the field of instrumental search so crooked?

In general, any topic on the legality of instrument search should begin with this question. What is important to understand once and for all? The fact is that the existing legislative framework in the field of instrument search, as a hobby, was created, calculated and ideally written not in order to regulate the activities of the so-called black diggers. And in order for construction companies to pay for rescue archaeological work at the site of future construction sites, laying cables and gas pipelines, as well as in the field of road construction.

The fact is that since the times of the USSR, our country has had a provision that if an archaeological object is discovered at the site of construction or other excavation work, the archaeological excavation must be paid for by a contractor. With the advent of capitalism in our country, this provision remained, but in the 90s no one observed it. In the 00s, with the beginning of a construction boom in cities, the question of carrying out archaeological work began to be raised more and more often. The fact is that competent lawyers of construction companies cleverly used holes in Soviet laws, which is why no one accepted the opinions and indignations of archaeologists on real and blatant facts.

Since 2010, our country has been systematically introducing new laws in the field of protection of cultural heritage sites, including a large number of legislative acts. This made it possible to completely eliminate the possibility for construction companies to evade their obligations to carry out archaeological work at the site of future construction. How individual “archaeologists” apply this regulatory framework is not the topic of this note. I just want to say that I know many examples of how respectable archaeologists in the regions were able, thanks to new laws, to build constructive work with builders in their region. Here, as always, the human factor plays a big role.

Types of destroyed cultural layer according to the methodology of the Institute of Architecture of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Now let’s talk about why highly respected bloggers and authoritative publics on social networks confidently declare that a cop in plowed fields does not violate the laws of the Russian Federation. What was (exactly was) the basis of this belief? There is a very inverse document: “Regulations on the procedure for conducting archaeological field work” “link is clickable”

In this provision, approved by the scientific council of the Institute of Architecture of the Russian Academy of Sciences, among other things, the concept of a damaged cultural layer is established. So, until 2018, the type of damaged cultural layer included the concept of “ plowed agricultural land. ” However, in the 2018 version, arable land was excluded from the list.

What is learned? And the fact is that, indeed, until 2018, competent and knowledgeable diggers could operate with this provision as an argument that digging in the fields does not mean the destruction of a cultural layer, however, now this is not the case. Moreover, if you follow the letter of the law, now all agricultural work on plowing land can be clearly recognized as the destruction of the cultural layer with all the consequences arising from the law. A fine of up to 5 million rubles, confiscation of equipment and restoration of the destroyed cultural layer at the expense of the culprit. So, if you see a grandmother with a hoe in the garden, know that according to the current law, she can be convicted under a criminal article with a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles and confiscation of the hoe.

Bird??? Definitely!!! Should this law be changed??? Don't know. In this version, no one has yet applied the law in this area.

Digging to plowing depth does not destroy the cultural layer.

Everyone knows that in the Russian Federation public opinion has always been higher than the norms prescribed by law. Therefore, many respectable citizens who are enthusiastically engaged in instrumental search solve a moral dilemma for themselves. And, most of us come to one axiom for ourselves. The metal detector sees to a small depth, no more than the working depth of the plow, so it is impossible to destroy something that has not yet been destroyed.

Let's be objective, this excuse is just an excuse. If you are a truly smart and literate person, and there are many of our readers, then you should, first, study the funeral rites of the Finno-Ugric peoples. The fact is that the depth of the graves of Meshchera, Muroma, Meri and other peoples of Poochya is no more than 60 centimeters. The average depth of detection of remains is 30 centimeters. As we understand, for modern MDs, finding a bracelet or a bronze ax at such a depth is not at all difficult.

If you want a specific example of what this looks like in relation to black diggers, I advise you to look for the film “Founders” on YouTube. It tells about the Mari tribes, where only women were engaged in casting jewelry. And in that film, there is an example of how the cemetery was destroyed by black diggers. How do you say destroyed? The diggers didn't even realize it was a cemetery. We dug three or four holes, dug up casting watering cans and casting molds, not understanding what they were, threw them out nearby like garbage and moved on.

tractor in a field of holes-holes-holes.
You are for peace and I am for peace.

What should the application of the law look like in reality?

It’s not for nothing that I wrote in the title of this post that digging in plowed fields is both prohibited and permitted. I have already written why and how it is prohibited, now let’s try to figure out why it is allowed. And the point here is not in the well-known formula “In Russia, the severity of laws is compensated by the optionality of their implementation.” But the point is in the very form of application of this law.

Let's assume that an instrument search enthusiast is detained by the police in a plowed field. Let’s assume that the police videotaped a citizen’s actions as part of the evidence base. Also, the objects seized from the digger were recognized by a certain specialist as archaeological objects. In this case, according to the law, the same police officers must declare everything eaten as an identified cultural heritage site. With the establishment of borders and security zones. How this should take place within the framework of the law is described in the following document (clickable link):

Methodology for determining the quality of an archaeological heritage site.

In order to bring the case to court, the investigation must prove that the field on the court the digger carried out excavations is an archaeological site. This is a complex matter, but judicial practice in relation to diggers has examples when such work was carried out. Read our article The Case of the Yuryev-Polish Treasure Hunter. What could go wrong?

What do you really need to understand? If a digger, while walking across a field, found a cross in one corner, a coin in another place, a ring in a third, and so on, in this case, to prove his guilt, archaeological excavations, according to the specified method, must be carried out in each indicated or marked place. And according to current legislation, these excavations must be carried out at the expense of the owner of the land plot. Can we imagine such a picture? Moreover, if no archaeological objects are discovered during archaeological field work. Then, the case against the digger should be suspended, and the seized metal detector and shovel should be returned to the owner.

So it turns out that according to existing legislative norms, digging with a metal detector in plowed fields , if there is no identified OKN, is allowed . However, if, during investigative measures, an archaeological object is discovered at the site of the cop, in this case the lover of instrumental search will incur criminal penalties. Although there is a certain clarification here. Destruction of a cultural layer is a criminal offense if the damage is more than 500,000 rubles. Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Article 243.1.

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