Country rules · Germany · artifacts
Germany: artifacts
Export of archaeological objects over 100 years old needs a licence above thresholds; dealers owe due-diligence checks on provenance.
Germany allows private ownership but controls export. Export of archaeological objects over 100 years old needs a licence above thresholds; dealers owe due-diligence checks on provenance. Governing law: Kulturgutschutzgesetz (KGSG) 2016 (2016). Stratum asks for the export paperwork reference before the piece is listed.
US courts have applied foreign patrimony laws through the National Stolen Property Act (United States v. McClain, 1977; United States v. Schultz, 2003): an object exported after a clear vesting law can be stolen property in the United States even when no US import restriction existed at the time. The date of the earliest document that places an object outside Germany is therefore the single most valuable fact on its record.
Sources
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Germany: artifacts" (Law & ethics). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-20. https://stratum.black/strata/law/archaeology-germany. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-archaeology-germany,
title = {Germany: artifacts},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/law/archaeology-germany}},
year = {2026},
note = {Law & ethics article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-20; sources: stratum. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.