Bill Bryant wrote:

> Can some on the list expand on the laws of Va. cemeteries or graves that were once family owned but family passed on, sold land,etc. and no longer have control. Also, what is the law on developers doing away with graveyards, or building roads thru the gravesites.
>
> Looks to me these sites should be spared or else relocated to permanent cemeteries.
>

In a nutshell, it is illegal to disturb a burial. To remove a burial and/or graveyard, a court order is required. It mattereth not whether the graveyard is tended, untended, or unknown until the new owner has bought the property. Once recognized as such, do not
touch.

Here's a work in progress on the subject:

 In Virginia, exhuming a grave is a felony punishable by a fine and prison sentence. § 18.2-126 of the Code of Virginia states: If a person unlawfully disinter or displace a dead human body, or any part of a dead human body, which has been deposited in any vault,
grave or other burial place, he shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony. For those who wish to argue semantics, the key words are "body or any part of" which covers any and/or all parts of a human body. Another key word is "grave" which is defined as a "below-ground
right of interment" (Code of Virginia § 57-35.11). An interment: "means all forms of final disposal of human remains, including, but not limited to, earth burial, …". Therefore, whether prehistoric or historic, any place of interment is a grave by right and it is
illegal to disturb it. Thus, even if one is archaeologically excavating a grave for scientific purposes, it is illegal to do so without legal approval.

 Some amateur logicians have argued that excavating a burial is not illegal if the skeleton is not touched. They hold that cleaning a burial of the overlying earth and recording it, but not actually moving a bone is legal and further have argued that removing
artifacts from the grave shaft is allowable because gravegoods do not specifically mentioned in the legislation.

The governing law in the Code of Virginia § 18.2-127 states:
A. Any person who willfully or maliciously commits any of the following acts is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor:
1. Destroys, removes, cuts, breaks, or injures any tree, shrub, or plant on any church property or within any cemetery or lot of any memorial or monumental association;
2. Destroys, mutilates, injures, or removes and carries away any flowers, wreaths, vases, or other ornaments placed within any church or on church property, or placed upon or around any grave, tomb, monument or lot in any cemetery, graveyard, or other place of
burial; or…

B. Any person who willfully or maliciously destroys, mutilates, defaces, injures, or removes any object or structure permanently attached or affixed within any church or on church property, any tomb, monument, gravestone, or other structure placed within any
cemetery, graveyard, or place of burial, or within any lot belonging to any memorial or monumental association, or any fence, railing, or other work for the protection or ornament of any tomb, monument, gravestone, or other structure aforesaid, or of any cemetery
lot within any cemetery is guilty of a Class 6 felony.

 It is clear that the intent of the legislation is to prohibit any activity which in any way disturbs a burial. A.2 refers to the illegality of disturbing "other ornaments… placed upon or around any grave,… or other place of burial…". It is clear that ornaments
include grave goods. A felony is committed in B. where "Any person… removes any object… or other work for the protection or ornament". In this case, gravegoods may be originally placed to protect the spirit or body in the afterlife or may be an ornament. Either way,
removal is clearly illegal.

 It is clear from the intent of the law that no part of the grave may be disturbed except in certain proscribed circumstances. To make the argument that digging down to a grave and removing anything from the grave but not disturbing the skeleton is allowable is
contrary to the intent of the law.

 In addition, the Virginia Antiquities Act of the Code of Virginia § 10.1-2305-A which states: "It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct any type of archaeological field investigation involving the removal of human skeletal remains or associated artifacts from
any unmarked human burial regardless of age of an archaeological site and regardless of ownership without first receiving a permit from the Director." This means that anyone finding a human skeleton or part thereof and cleaning the dirt off it to find gravegoods and
then removing the gravegoods from the skeleton but not in fact disturbing the skeleton is still guilty of breaking the law. In short, removing a button, belt buckle or other clothing item from a Civil War soldiers burial or a gorget, mask, projectile point, pot, or
any object from a prehistoric burial is breaking the law. The law requires that excavation stop on the burial at the point which it is recognized that a burial may be present.


Lyle

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