The Fettered Man from Populonia, Centro Velico

The aim of this contribution is to describe the burial context of the Fettered Man, which was found in the Gulf of Baratti near Populonia in the early days of No- vember 2016 by a team from the Università degli Studi di Milano, under the scientific direction of Giorgio Baratti. Findings of means of constraint in formal burials are rare in ancient necropolises and have been unique to Etruscan culture until now. The (late) Archaic burial in Populonia is comparable to some graves within Greek necrop- olises, which have mostly been interpreted as slave burials. As for the fetters, the same type was found in the necropolis of Akanthos, in an isolated burial in Martigues, and also in votive contexts. A broader reflection on the use of such tools of constric- tion in antiquity – with the use of both iconographical and historiographical sources – can help to understand what the Fettered Man was subjected to. Fetters around the ankles generally reflect a form of punishment which can be in- terpreted as being equivalent to strong subordination in ancient times. Shackles led to the further loss of freedom and movement of an individual probably already belonging to the margins of society. To be buried with shackles could either reflect a lack of care, or more likely the need and will to manifest the condition of subordination, even in the afterlife.