2,200-year-old shackles found at gold mining village in Egypt. ‘The harsh reality’
While excavating the ruins of an ancient gold mining village in Egypt, archaeologists uncovered some eerie artifacts: two sets of shackles intended for humans.
The finds offer a rarely seen glimpse into “the harsh reality of mining.”
The French Archaeological Mission at the Eastern Desert began excavating a 2,200-year-old mining village in 2020, Bérangère Redon wrote in a study published March 13 in the peer-reviewed journal Antiquity. The ruins, known as Ghozza, include “residential blocks, streets, administrative buildings and baths.”
At first, all their finds suggested the nearby gold mine relied on a “more diverse and possibly free workforce,” Redon said. “The village set-up seems to suggest that the population was free to move around in general,” and writings found on pottery fragments showed ”that some miners received wages.”
That changed when archaeologists excavated Sector 44.
Sitting along the edge of the village, Sector 44 “was primarily used for storage and food preparation” but also a place where “metal objects were made or repaired,” the study said.
There, archaeologists found two sets of iron shackles, Redon said. Photos show the metal artifacts during excavations and after being cleaned.
“These shackles were not meant for restraining animals,” the study said. “They were designed for human use; when closed directly around a prisoner’s ankles, these shackles could not have been removed without assistance … Walking with them would have been slow and exhausting, particularly given their weight.”
The ancient shackles from Ghozza are an “uncommon” find and “among the oldest (shackles) ever found in the Mediterranean,” the study said.
“The discovery of shackles at Ghozza reveals that at least part of the workforce was composed of forced labour,” Redon said. Archaeologists hope to find more traces of these ancient people and their living conditions during future excavations.
“Beneath the grandeur of Egypt’s wealth and the imposing mountains of the Eastern Desert lies a history of exploitation,” Redon said. “The gold extracted from these mines helped finance the ambitions of Egypt’s rulers, but it came at a significant human cost.”
The ruins of Ghozza are near modern-day El Nagah Qalt on the coast of eastern Egypt and roughly 260 miles southeast from Cairo.
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 1:53 PM with the headline "2,200-year-old shackles found at gold mining village in Egypt. ‘The harsh reality’."
