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Shackled and Buried: New Etruscan Grave Site Raises Dark Questions

Excavation of a newly-discovered grave site in central Tuscany dating to the Etruscan civilization has revealed the man interred within had been shackled around the neck and ankles when laid to rest.

The 2,500-year-old grave is the first Etruscan burial of its kind ever found to feature shackles. Discovered in the Etruscan settlement of Populonia, the young man – thought to have been between 20 and 30 years old at time of death – had a heavy iron collar fitted to his neck; his legs were bound by nearly five pounds of iron. 

According to Seeker, researchers say that the mysterious man had died wearing the shackles and had been interred with a shroud around his body. University of Milan archaeology professor Giorgio Baratti, one of the scientists involved in the excavation, added that the remains of what might have been a wooden object were found under the nape of the man’s neck and may have been connected to the collar.

Read entire article at New Historian