26 July 2024 The Future is the Product of the Past

Shackled skeleton identified as rare evidence of slavery found in Rutland

In Rutland, archaeologists discovered an ‘unusual’ skeleton of a Roman slave, who might have been a criminal sentenced to death.

According to specialists, the adult male was discovered buried in a ditch with a locked set of iron fetters around his ankles, indicating ‘ill will’ from those who had control over him at the time of his death.

He was discovered in an ‘awkward’ burial posture — somewhat on his right side, with his left side and arm elevated on a slope – indicating he was disposed of in a ditch rather than a proper grave.

The chained male skeleton discovered by workmen in Rutland – likely to be in his late twenties or early thirties – has now been identified as uncommon and vital evidence of slavery in Roman Britain, as well as “an internationally significant find”.

Radiocarbon dating undertaken by Leicestershire Police showed the remains date from somewhere between AD 226 to 427.   

It was also desperately grim, said Chris Chinnock, one of the archaeologists working on the project, but was important because it “forces us to ask questions that we wouldn’t ordinarily ask”.

Studying the burial itself, the awkward burial position – slightly on his right side, with his left side and arm elevated on a slope – suggests he was buried informally, in a ditch rather than a proper grave cut.

Archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) have been enlisted to thoroughly examine the internationally noteworthy find using X-rays and other techniques.

‘For living wearers, shackles were both a form of imprisonment and a method of punishment, a source of discomfort, pain and stigma which may have left scars even after they had been removed,’ said Michael Marshall, a finds specialist at MOLA.

‘However, the discovery of shackles in a burial suggests that they may have been used to exert power over dead bodies as well as the living, hinting that some of the symbolic consequences of imprisonment and slavery could extend even beyond death.’

Examination of the skeleton suggests the man led a physically demanding life, according to MOLA. 

A bony spur on one of the upper leg bones may have been caused by a traumatic event, perhaps a fall or blow to the hip, or else a life filled with excessive or repetitive physical activity.  

The team has been investigating a number of ideas, including the possibility that the shackles were put after the guy died to degrade or mark him as a criminal in the afterlife. The rare bones discovered with shackles in other nations are usually victims of natural calamities who were not buried. Archaeologists say that this is not the case in Great Casterton.

Source: Daily Mail

Related Articles

Rock tombs dating back 1,800 years have been discovered in Turkey’s ancient city of Blaundus

1 October 2021

1 October 2021

In the ancient city of Blaundus, located in the Ulubey neighborhood of the western Anatolian city of Uşak, 400 rock-cut...

Anatolia’s first company was founded 4000 years ago with 15 kilos of gold!

26 May 2024

26 May 2024

A 4,000-year-old tablet found in Kültepe shows that the first company in Anatolia was established by 12 people with 15...

INAH Archaeologists recover the coyote-man of Tacámbaro

26 January 2022

26 January 2022

Archaeologists win the coyote-man trial that lasted 30 years in Mexico. The litigation regarding the coyote-man of Tacámbaro, an important...

A Chapel was Found Under the Madonna Tal-Hniena Church in Qrendi, Malta

21 May 2021

21 May 2021

Underneath the Madonna Tal-Hniena church in the village of Qrendi in the south of Malta, the remains of an ancient...

2000-year-old Genuine Pompeii marble relief installed in a wall lining the staircase leading down to the basement in a Belgium home

22 December 2023

22 December 2023

An important marble relief depicting the earthquake of 62 AD, stolen from the ruins of ancient Pompeii in Italy in...

Remains of the summer palace of Genghis Khan’s grandson, Hulagu Khan, found in eastern Turkey

7 July 2022

7 July 2022

The archeology study team, consisting of Turkish and Mongolian scientists, found important findings in the study carried out to find...

30 Graves Found in the Basilica-Planned Ancient City

4 April 2021

4 April 2021

Kibyra ancient city is situated south of Turkey, located in the town Gölhisar in the southwestern part of Burdur Province,...

40 Skeletons in Giant Jars Found in the Corsica Necropolis

16 May 2021

16 May 2021

Archaeologists working on the French island of Corsica discovered around 40 ancient graves where persons were buried inside gigantic jars...

Archaeologists may have uncovered a 13th-century castle in Shropshire

7 August 2021

7 August 2021

Archaeologists have been working on a mound of land in Wem, Shropshire, that belongs to Soulton Hall, Elizabethan mansion and...

Central Turkey’s largest Byzantine mosaic structure found

28 October 2021

28 October 2021

A 300-square-meter (3,330 square feet) ​floor mosaic belonging to the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period was discovered during excavation work in...

Antikythera underwater excavation digs up new discoveries “huge marble head”

20 June 2022

20 June 2022

The second phase of underwater archaeological research (May 23 to June 15, 2022) on the Antikythera shipwreck resulted in the...

2,000-year-old Monumental Tomb of Roman Elite discovered in Apollon Smintheus sanctuary in Türkiye

2 January 2024

2 January 2024

A 2,000-year-old monumental tomb from the Roman era has been unearthed at the Apollon Smintheus Sanctuary in the village of...

Unique Ancient Bronze Miniature Portrait Of Alexander The Great Found In Ringsted On The Island Of Zealand, Denmark

12 April 2024

12 April 2024

Two amateur archaeologists have made a unique find near Ringsted in the Danish island of Zealand. A sign that one...

Ancient objects found in Jerusalem could be hand grenades used 1000 years ago, New study says

27 April 2022

27 April 2022

New analysis into the residue inside ancient ceramic pots from 11th–12th century Jerusalem has found that they were potentially used...

Archaeologists discover three extraordinary 1,800-year-old residential-style tombs featuring rooms and windows, Filled with Han Dynasty Treasures

19 May 2024

19 May 2024

Archaeologists discovered three remarkable 1,800-year-old, residential-style tombs featuring rooms and windows, where a wealthy family was laid to rest alongside...