Why Were Men Shackled Together in Mass Grave Near Athens?

ATHENS, GREECE—According to the Greek Reporter, new analysis is refining archaeologists' interpretations of a shocking discovery made a decade ago during excavations in the Phaleron Delta necropolis outside of Athens. There, they found an Archaic-period mass grave in which 79 men had been laid together, many of them still shackled together at the wrists with metal restraints. It appeared they had all been cruelly killed by fatal blows to the head. Scholars dated their deaths to the end of the seventh century b.c., a tumultuous period in Athenian history, but they did not know who the men were or why they had been executed. Some speculated that they had been foreign fighters or invaders who came to Athens before suffering their fate. However, strontium isotope analysis of tooth enamel from 66 of the men now indicates that they were not foreigners or immigrants, but instead had grown up in the very region in which they had been buried. Although the reason for their deaths still remains a mystery, researchers now know that the violence inflicted upon them came from within their own community and was likely a result of the political upheaval and power struggles of the time. To read about the original excavation of the grave, go to "Regime Change in Athens," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2016.