Archaeological sites as a part of cultural heritage provide opportunities to satisfy different interests, such as aesthetic, symbolic, educational, research and other. No less important are the economic opportunities offered by the development of the potential of these sites. Socio-economic opportunities provided by heritage sites, depending on the quality and significance thereof, affect many stakeholders – private and public owners, local community, researchers, visitors, businesses, mass media, heritage institutions, etc., as well as society as a whole. However, it is widely acknowledged that investment in cultural heritage (incl. archaeological) sites (e.g. conservation, restoration, maintenance, marketing, etc.) tends to outweigh their direct economic benefits (direct revenue). Archaeological sites in Latvia have the status of cultural monuments; however the aforementioned status not only increases socio-economic opportunities for the development of the site, but also imposes certain obligations and economic activity restrictions. Thus, questions arise: does the archaeological site represent opportunities or burden to its owner? What does the effective use of the archaeological object owner’s opportunities depend on? The presentation uses the integration of socio-economic and legal approaches to the researched issue. It provides both theoretical and practical insight into the problems of archaeological heritage objects development potential and possible solutions thereto. The presentation is based on the research conducted by A.Kairiss (PhD oec. cand., Mg. sc. soc., Bac. iur.) and I.Olevska (PhD iur. cand., LL.M., Diploma in Art Law) in 2020-2021.