The Laboratory and Georgia Archaeological Site File (GASF) are happy to answer questions about archaeology and artifacts. We do not recommend that people purposefully dig for artifacts because this activity can cause problems for future archaeologists conducting scientific investigations and may be illegal and subject to prosecution. See this list of important state and federal laws and information about artifact collecting and metal detecting by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
If you do have an archaeological site on your property, we would like to encourage you to fill out a site form, record the information for the future, and make an important contribution to Georgia archaeology. You can even name your site! Please see The Georgia Archaeological Site File and You: Information for the Avocational Archaeologist for an outline of the steps necessary to fill out and send in a Georgia Archaeological Site Form. You can also download a copy of our Site Form here.
Things the Laboratory and GASF can do:
- Attempt to identify archaeological artifacts. Please fill out this form and email archlab@uga.edu. However, we do not guarantee that we will be able to identity the artifacts.
- Process site forms for locations on private property.
Things the Laboratory and GASF cannot do:
- We cannot, due to Georgia Law (OCGA 50-18-72[a][10]), give out archaeological site location information to the public.
- We cannot visit potential archaeological sites, nor do we conduct archaeological fieldwork.
- We cannot assign a monetary value or appraise an artifact.
- We cannot identify dinosaur bones or rocks. We recommend contacting a paleontologist for questions about dinosaurs or the UGA Department of Geology for rock identification.