Metal Detecting Laws in Bahrain

Searching for antiquities in Bahrain is reserved to the antiquities authority and licensed scientific or archaeological bodies. The rules for using a detector only to find modern lost items could not be confirmed, including on beaches and private land.

The rules, land by land

Even where detecting is allowed, archaeological and historic sites are protected, and you must fill every hole and follow posted rules. Always confirm the current rule with the land manager.

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Searching and digging for antiquities

مرسوم بقانون رقم (11) لسنة 1995 بشأن حماية الآثار (Decree-Law No. 11 of 1995 on the Protection of Antiquities) covers more than excavation. Article 10 includes digging, probing and investigation aimed at finding antiquities underground, on the surface and in waters. Accidental discovery is excluded from that definition.

Under article 11, the competent antiquities authority may license scientific bodies, scientific associations and specialized archaeological missions. The license cannot be transferred. Digging to find antiquities follows this same scientific or archaeological route.

These provisions concern searches aimed at antiquities. They do not establish a general permission or ban for detecting or digging solely for modern lost property.

Beaches, forests, parks and inland waters

The national antiquities-search rule applies to beaches and foreshore, state forests, national parks and nature reserves, and inland waters and canals. It does not confirm ordinary recreational detecting or general access permission on those kinds of land.

Nature reserves and environmentally sensitive areas have an additional protection under article 73 of قانون رقم (7) لسنة 2022 بشأن البيئة (Law No. 7 of 2022 on the Environment). It prohibits damage to those areas, including destruction of geological formations, removal or damage to plants, and exposure of soil.

Private land and protected sites

Owning the land does not itself give you the right to search for antiquities or own antiquities found on or beneath it. Article 11 applies even when the applicant owns the land. Modern-loss detecting and general access permission on private land remain unconfirmed.

Protected monuments and archaeological sites follow the same national antiquities-search rule. Article 6 also prohibits damaging, defacing or changing antiquities; a search license does not itself authorize damage.

What to report or hand in

Found property — 24 hours: if you find an item anywhere and cannot locate its owner at the time of finding, hand it to مكتب الأشياء الفاقدة والمعثور عليها (Lost and Found Items Office) or any police department or station within 24 hours. This duty comes from article 2 of قرار وزير الداخلية رقم (1) لسنة 1981 في شأن الأشياء الفاقدة أو المعثور عليها (Minister of Interior Order No. 1 of 1981 on Lost or Found Items).

Discovered antiquities — 72 hours: if you discover or find an antiquity without an excavation license, report it to the competent antiquities authority or the nearest public-security center within 72 hours of discovery. Article 49(ز) separately penalizes failure to surrender discovered antiquities to the authority, whether or not the finder holds an excavation license.

Possession of antiquities — seven days: article 27 requires notification to the antiquities authority within seven days of taking possession of an antiquity. This is a separate possession duty, not an extension of the 72-hour discovery-reporting period.

Article 23 allows the antiquities authority to award a suitable reward for discovery, finding or reporting. A reward is discretionary.

Keeping an antiquity

Article 4 treats antiquities as public property, with ownership, possession and disposal allowed only in the cases and on the conditions set by the law. Finding an antiquity does not automatically make it yours.

Under article 27, the authority may return an object after registration, issue a certificate allowing disposal if registration is unnecessary, or retain it after paying compensation. This authority-controlled route is not an automatic right to keep a newly found object.

Ordinary lost property and buried treasure

An ordinary found item whose owner cannot be located must be handed in. For ordinary unclaimed items, the 1981 order provides for a court-authorized sale after six months, with the balance deposited in a special account; it does not transfer the item to the finder.

Buried or hidden treasure has a separate rule in مرسوم بقانون رقم (19) لسنة 2001 بإصدار القانون المدني (Decree-Law No. 19 of 2001 Issuing the Civil Code). Article 846 gives the finder one-fifth when no one can prove ownership. The remainder goes to the owner of the thing containing it or its bare owner, or, for endowed property, to the founder of the endowment or the founder’s heirs.

Article 848 leaves lost property, antiquities and underground minerals to special legislation. The one-fifth rule does not override antiquities law or authorize a search or excavation.

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