A federal jury deliberated six hours on Tuesday without reaching a verdict in an artifact theft case in Nevada.

Two men are accused of violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. John Ligon, 40, of Reno, and Carrol Mizell, 44, removed Native petroglyphs believed to be more than 1,000 years old from federal land in Nevada.

The judge had told the jury that the men must be found guilty if they knew or "should have" known the petroglyphs were archaeological resources, the Associated Press reported. But the jurors sent several notes to the judge to ask more questions about the law, the AP said.

The men claim they didn't know the artifacts were valuable and that they wanted to save them from a nearby development.

Get the Story:
Jury to resume deliberations today in stolen petroglyph case (AP 6/2)
Reno trial spurs debate over best way to protect native artifacts (AP 5/31)