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Emmanuelle Collado/INRAPResearchers believe the wrist restraint (left) was used on a woman or a child due to its small diameter.A team of archaeologists has discovered five well-preserved, extremely rare iron shackles at an ancient Celtic site in northern France, alongside several weapons and assorted ritual offerings.These finds could now shed light on what life was like for enslaved people in the region some 2,000 years ago, a little-understood subject due to the lack of historical records from pre-Roman Celtic societies.The Iron Shackles Found Among Other Metalwork At The Celtic Ruins In AllonesAmid a two-year excavation in Allonnes, archaeologists with the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) made the discovery of these metal goods in 2019, and have now announced the finds to the public.INRAPArchaeologists spent two years excavating the Celtic ruins at Allonnes.Ancient Allonnes was a hub for artisans including blacksmiths, coppersmiths, bronze workers and sheet-metal workers who worked out of small outposts or shops. These sites sat at an intersection of major roads, making it an advantageous location for trade.This settlement also had a religious complex built sometime in the third century B.C.E. where townspeople regularly made offerings to the gods, some of which were found during this dig.The rarest finds made at Allonnes were the five iron shackles dating back 2,300 years, including a double-wrist restraint, an ankle restraint, and three other metal pieces of separate shackles.The wrist restraint was only 2.4 inches in diameter, which suggests that it was likely made for a woman or a child. The ankle restraint weighed more than 2.2 pounds, demonstrating the literal burden that enslaved people carried thousands of years ago.Emmanuelle Collado/INRAPIn addition to the shackles, researchers found weapons and other metal goods used as offerings to the gods.In addition to the shackles and other metalwork, archaeologists also uncovered the sites religious sanctuary, which they believed endured even after the Roman conquest.The sanctuary contained offerings of rings, amulets, weapons, and clothing. Many of these offerings had been mutilated or disfigured in some way, which they determined was a custom that transformed a mundane object into a spiritual gift for the gods.Hundreds of coins were also uncovered in Allonnes, with their mint dates ranging across five centuries and into the Roman era. About one-third of the coins had been mutilated with a file or etched with a chisel.Emmanuelle Collado/INRAPThe team found that many of the coins had been inscribed, transforming these mundane objects into sacred ones.These mutilations reveal a ritual intention: the removal of the coins commercial function in order to dedicate the object to the sacred, thereby ensuring the permanence of the offering, Isabelle Bollard-Raineau, an ancient-coin expert with the French ministry of culture, said in an interview with INRAP.What This Discovery Reveals About The Celtic Slave Trade 2,300 Years AgoThe discovery of the shackles suggests that Allonnes, in its prime location to participate in all kinds of trade, was likely also a hub for slave trading in the Late Iron Age (around 450 to 50 B.C.E).The identification of restraints and weapons suggests a hierarchical social organization composed of dominant and subordinate groupsprisoners or slaves, Thierry Lejars, a specialist in Celtic metalwork, said in an interview with INRAP.Allonnes was occupied by the Gauls, a loose group of Celtic tribes that lived in modern-day France and some of its neighboring countries in the Iron Age. According to the statement, the Gauls might have enslaved prisoners of war, convicts, and debtors, transforming these men, women, and children into property that could be bought and sold to other owners. The enslaved people were also often forced to labor in the fields at Gallic settlements.Because Celtic peoples did not record much of their history, the practice of slavery in pre-Roman Gaul has remained little understood. The people who lived in the lowest social classes in Gaul, including the enslaved people, are all but invisible in the historical record. The newly-found shackles will provide precious insight into the lives of these people who had been previously lost to history.After reading about the 2,300-year-old iron shackles found in France, discover the oldest coin found in the Saxony region. Then, learn about the Druids, the ancient Celtic priests of Britain and Gaul.The post Iron Shackles Worn By Slaves 2,300 Years Ago Found Alongside Ancient Weapons In Northern France appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Public DomainBaron Friedrich von Steuben was born in Prussia, but hes considered a father of the United States military.The history of America is diverse. If one spends enough time combing through the historical record, theyll find that it is filled to the brim with people of different origins, races, religions, creeds, and sexualities.While some of these features came to be accepted, others remained hidden. Today, researchers pore over historical documents to learn more about the beliefs and lifestyles of certain individuals. This often comes into play in discussions surrounding sexuality. Few of Americas founding figures wrote explicitly about their sexual attraction, and as a result, the bedroom preferences of notable men have become a hotly debated topic.One of these men is Baron Friedrich von Steuben. Not only was he openly gay, according to some experts, but his same-sex attraction was supposedly widely known and even accepted at the time.Was Baron Friedrich Von Steuben Gay?Friedrich von Steubens name frequently emerges in discussions of gay figures from early American history. A 2018 article by HISTORY dubbed him The Revolutionary War Hero Who Was Openly Gay, and a clip from a stand-up comedy show about his alleged homosexuality recently went viral on TikTok, amassing over 502,000 views.When the history books tell you this guy was openly gay, theres st they noticed, jokes host Dawn Brodey in the clip.From here, Brodey gives her co-host a little pop quiz. According to one of Friedrichs aides, he threw parties in Valley Forge. He would invite all the young officers to dine with him in his private party under what conditions? Brodey, a comedian with a history degree, asks.The answer? The condition was that the guests wear no pants.Public DomainHoward Pyles 19th-century painting of Baron Friedrich von Steuben and George Washington at Valley Forge.This isnt the only reason that many historians believe von Steuben was gay. There were rumors that he was dismissed from the Prussian army for homosexuality, though historians have not found substantial evidence of this.While some early figures acknowledged the rumors, they often downplayed or dismissed them. In a letter to George Washington in 1777, Benjamin Franklin stressed von Steubens battlefield qualifications above all else. Washington himself admired the Prussian military officer, calling him much of a gentleman and a man of military knowledge who was acquainted with the world, according to Friedrich Kapps 1859 biography about von Steuben.After joining the American Revolutionary War effort, von Steuben became instrumental in the armys eventual success. All the while, he seemingly pursued gay relationships. He became close with two men, William North and Benjamin Walker, eventually living with them and perhaps even beginning a sexual relationship with them. He later adopted the men a fairly common practice before the legalization of civil unions and gay marriage.Von Steuben was also believed to have been romantically involved with his secretary, a man named John Mulligan. When von Steuben died in 1794, he left Mulligan his library. All of this could be conjecture but what about von Steubens purported pantsless parties?The Alleged Pants-Off Parties Of Friedrich Von SteubenThe allegations about von Steubens no-pants get-togethers come from a historical account of a party he hosted. According to the memoir of Pierre-tienne Du Ponceau, von Steubens secretary and translator, younger officers were once invited to an event at Valley Forge. The rule for the gathering was that no one could be admitted that had on a whole pair of breeches.Did this mean that von Steuben was hosting pants-off dance-offs? The historical record is unclear, but probably not. Most historians believe that von Steuben was not encouraging guests to show up without pants. Instead, his invitation was likely a joke about how poorly supplied officers were during the war, with many unable to maintain a single complete pair of pants. Public DomainBaron von Steuben transformed the Continental Army through strict discipline and standardized drills.Regardless, it should be noted that standards of sexuality were different at the time, and many behaviors that one might consider to be queer- or gay-coded today were not seen as such in the era.For example, it was fairly common for men to share a bed with each other, especially when traveling or in tight quarters. John Adams once famously slept in the same bed as Benjamin Franklin, though they spent much of the night arguing about whether they should sleep with the window open or closed.There are also many instances of men writing to each other in language that could be described as romantic today but would not strike a reader as such at the time. Male friends would often employ a broad emotional vocabulary to express same-sex love, including love that could be physically affectionate. However, this love was not necessarily romantic or erotic.This is not to say that same-sex love and relationships did not exist. Rather, it simply shows how perceptions of what it meant to be gay and what constituted queer behavior have changed dramatically over the years. Where this becomes problematic is in historical study, as it can be tempting to project modern conceptions of sexuality onto people who had an entirely different idea of what the word means.What can be said definitively is that many of Baron Friedrich von Steubens behaviors and actions have led historians to believe that he expressed attraction to and potentially had relationships with other men. Still, given that sodomy was a criminal act at the time, its a stretch to say that he was openly gay, even as his behavior was seemingly known and tolerated by many of his compatriots. @hilfpod This isnt your average summer school. Class is in session and #HILF is LIVE tonight, 7/2 at @flapperscomedy and there are more pop quizzes like this one coming your way. #history #comedy #lgbt #historytok original sound History Id Like to F*ck All Thats Interesting reached out to Brodey via email and Instagram direct message.After reading about the purported homosexuality of Baron Friedrich von Steuben, explore the debate about whether President Abraham Lincoln was gay. Then, learn how the Stonewall Riots changed the course of queer history forever.The post Everyone Knew: Some Believe A General In The American Revolution Was Openly Gay. He Had A Strange Rule For Party Guests appeared first on All That's Interesting.

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