On state park land
Permission needed
Only on sites the state has formally designated as archaeological landmarks, and there you need both the commission's permission and the landowner's. Nothing in the chapter carries a fine or a jail term.
This state also reaches city and county land — see below
1. The rule, in full
Rhode Island – Antiquities Act, R.I. Gen. Laws 42-45.1
Read from the consolidated statutes at webserver.rilegislature.gov, section by section.
Definition, 42-45.1-3(1) – the Massachusetts definition, intent clause included:
"'Field investigations' means the study of the traces of human culture at any land or water site by means of surveying, sampling, excavating, or removing surface or subsurface objects, or going on a site with that intent."
General reservation, 42-45.1-4(a) – state land only:
"The state of Rhode Island reserves to itself the exclusive right and privilege of field investigation on sites owned or controlled by the state, its agencies, departments, or institutions, in order to protect and preserve archaeological and scientific information, matter, and objects. All the information and objects derived from state lands shall remain the property of the state."
But 42-45.1-10 reaches further, and this is why Rhode Island is also in the political-subdivision file:
"Once so designated, no person may conduct field investigation activities, or exploration or recovery activities in the case of an underwater site, without first securing permission from the commission and the express written consent of the landowner."
Designation as a "state archaeological landmark" is available for any archaeological site; only private land requires the owner's consent to designate. So a designated landmark inside a city park is reached, and the requirement then runs against "no person" regardless of who owns the land.
Determination: state land generally; designated state archaeological landmarks wherever they sit, including municipal land.
Enforcement is civil, not criminal. 42-45.1-12 gives the Attorney General power to seek "restraining orders and injunctive relief … and for the return of items taken in violation". There is no fine and no imprisonment anywhere in the chapter. Rhode Island is the only state in the group with no criminal penalty at all, and the page should say so rather than leaving a reader to assume the worst.
Private land is expressly outside it. 42-45.1-11 says field investigations on privately owned land "should be conducted in accordance with both the provisions and spirit of this chapter" – a declared intention, not a requirement.
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov TITLE42/42-45.1, sections 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11 and 12. Checked 20 Sep 2026.
2. Where it reaches city and county land
Rhode Island – R.I. Gen. Laws 42-45.1-10 (designated landmarks only)
Qualified entry. Rhode Island's general reservation is state-land only: 42-45.1-4(a) reserves field investigation on sites "owned or controlled by the state, its agencies, departments, or institutions". What brings it into this file is the landmark provision.
Operative text, 42-45.1-10:
"Once so designated, no person may conduct field investigation activities, or exploration or recovery activities in the case of an underwater site, without first securing permission from the commission and the express written consent of the landowner."
Scope: designated state archaeological landmarks, wherever they sit. The designation section requires the owner's consent only "if it is on privately owned land", so a landmark inside a city park is reachable and the requirement then binds "no person" regardless of ownership. This is the Texas shape – reach through designation rather than through a blanket scope clause – carrying the Massachusetts activity definition.
Definition, 42-45.1-3(1):
"'Field investigations' means the study of the traces of human culture at any land or water site by means of surveying, sampling, excavating, or removing surface or subsurface objects, or going on a site with that intent."
Axis: activity. Same family as Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.
Enforcement is civil only. 42-45.1-12 gives the Attorney General injunctive relief "and for the return of items taken in violation". No fine, no imprisonment anywhere in the chapter. Rhode Island is the only state in this file with no criminal penalty, and that belongs in the entry – a reader who assumes the Massachusetts consequences carries across the border would be wrong.
Directory entry should read: in Rhode Island, field investigation – which includes going onto a site intending to remove objects – requires permission from the historical preservation commission and the landowner's written consent on any designated state archaeological landmark, including one on city land. Elsewhere the reservation is state land only, and enforcement throughout is by injunction and return of items rather than prosecution.
3. Cities in Rhode Island that publish a rule
Awaiting review. None of the city or county rows publishes until its status is set and its quotation chosen by hand.
4. County rules
Awaiting review. None of the city or county rows publishes until its status is set and its quotation chosen by hand.
5. Cities checked — no published rule
Awaiting review. None of the city or county rows publishes until its status is set and its quotation chosen by hand.