Archaeologists Find Iron Shackles and Ritual Coins at 2,300-Year-Old Celtic Settlement in France

French archaeologists uncovered five iron shackles at a 2,300-year-old Celtic settlement in Allonnes in the Loire Valley. GB News reported that the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research announced the findings on July 9 following a two-year excavation. The restraints had been unearthed in 2019, but post-excavation analysis delayed public release.

The items include a double-wrist restraint measuring six centimetres in diameter, an ankle shackle weighing more than one kilogram, and three additional metal binding fragments. GB News reported that the small size of the wrist restraint suggests it may have been intended for a woman or child. The settlement covered about 20 hectares and sat at the junction of major trade routes.

Thierry Lejars, a specialist in Celtic metalwork, stated that the restraints and weapons indicate a hierarchical social organisation composed of dominant and subordinate groups, including prisoners or slaves. GB News reported that physical evidence of slavery from the Iron Age Celtic period remains exceptionally scarce because the Celts left few written records.

Archaeologists also found a religious sanctuary active for nearly 800 years and hundreds of coins spanning more than five centuries.

About a third of the coins showed deliberate filing, shearing or etching. Isabelle Bollard-Raineau, an ancient-coin expert, stated that the mutilations reveal a ritual intention to remove the coin's commercial function and dedicate it to the sacred. The site functioned as an artisan quarter with workshops producing swords, spearheads, keys and horse harness fittings.

GB News reported that enslaved individuals at the settlement may have included war captives, convicted criminals or debtors.