An authorised person may enter any land in, on or under which the Welsh Ministers know or have reason to believe there is a monument of special historic interest to inspect the land (including any building or other structure on it) with a view to recording any matters of archaeological or historical interest.

An authorised person entering any land in exercise of the power in subsection (1) may carry out excavations in the land for the purposes of archaeological investigation.

An excavation under subsection (2) requires the agreement of every person whose agreement to the making of the excavation would be required apart from this section.

But subsection (3) does not apply if the Welsh Ministers know or have reason to believe that a monument of special historic interest they know or believe to be in, on or under the land is or may be at risk of imminent damage or destruction.

In this section “authorised person” means a person authorised in writing by the Welsh Ministers.