Susannah,

Sure, there is certainly something to prevent them. It's called
trespass. No one has the right to dig up anything on someone else's
property. You should consider posting some signs to just reinforce
this , and I would certainly mention prosecution and confiscation of
any violator's equipment.

Do you have a fence or gate surrounding the property?

If you are either a state or federal site or on the National Register
then there may be some additional protections in place for your site.

You can also contact the kids parents if they show up there again,
and, notify the local police or sheriff department so they can keep an
eye out when they patrol nearby.

The important thing is not to dither but to be very firm on this, just
as you would if someone was breaking into the house itself.

Cheers
Dave

David Harvey
Conservator
Los Angeles, California


On 5/13/06, Susannah West <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I surprised two kids with a metal detector on the museum grounds
> yesterday, and thispresented me with a problem I had never even considered before.  While I
> dithered aboutwhat I should say to them, they got bored and left, but there's nothing to
> prevent them or othersto come back on the museum grounds after hours to do some serious digging.
>
> Susannah West
> John Rankin House
> Ripley, Ohio
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>
>

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).