# Archaeologists Thought a Mass Grave of 79 Shackled Men Held Foreign Invaders. They Were Wrong

- Link: https://www.widthness.com/archaeologists-thought-a-mass-grave-of-79-shackled-men-held-foreign-invaders-they-were-wrong/
- Published: 2026-08-12T09:45:00-05:00
- Author: Curated by John Wysocki

Image: Excavation of the mass burial at Phaleron Necropolis, showing men with their hands bound by iron shackles. Image credit: Giannis Asvestas, Hellenic Ministry of Culture. © Bérard, R.-M., & Castex, D., Athens Journal of History (2021). CC BY-NC 4.0 (resized to fit). Article by Margherita Bassi. Gizmodo – August 11, 2026. In 2016, archaeologists in Athens uncovered an Ancient Greek mass grave full of men buried in a heartbreakingly vulnerable position: with their wrists shackled and raised over their heads. We now have a better sense of who they were. Researchers conducted isotopic analyses on 66 men from the so-called Esplanada grave, which dates back to the Archaic Period (~700 to 460 BCE), and discovered something surprising—most were from the surrounding region of Attica. In other words, they were locals, according to a study published last month in the Journal of Archaeological Science. […] Click here to view original web page at www.gizmodo.com Curated by John Wysocki Chief Technical Officer See Full Bio