When someone digs holes in an archaeological site, it is like ripping pages out of the life stories of past peoples. Some people dig up graves to get artifacts. Many descendants of prehistoric Indians still live in Alabama today. Alabama has laws against digging up any kind of grave, even if it does not have a headstone. There are also laws that protect archaeological sites on public property.
Public property is land that every citizen of our country has a right to visit and enjoy.
The T.V.A. is run by the United States government and oversees a lot of land in north Alabama that may have archaeological sites. State natural parks like Gulf State Park or Joe Wheeler State Park in north Alabama and state-owned historic parks like Fort Toulouse and Old Cahawba are also protected. In fact, all archaeological sites located on land owned by the State of Alabama are preserved by law from illegal digging. There are several things you can do to make sure that our archaeological sites and the stories they hold are preserved for future Alabamians. First, you can be a site steward .