Jernlænken fra Fæsted

Abstract

The Fæsted iron shackle
Evidence of the slave trade between Barbaricum and the Roman Empire?

In 2018-19, Sønderskov Museum excavated the remains of a multi-phase Iron Age hall at Stavsager Høj, north of the village of Fæsted in southern Jutland (fig. 1). Fæsted and the nearby village of Harreby are thought to have been the site of a pre-Christian cultic centre during the Iron Age and Viking Age, similar to well-known localities such as Tissø and Lejre on Zealand and Uppåkra in Scania. Like Scandinavia’s other central places, Fæsted’s environs are characterised by rich and extraordinary archaeological finds. These include large amounts of gold and silver and, in the case of the Iron Age, also relatively large quantities of continental imports such as Roman bronze artefacts, drinking glasses and silver coins. A remarkable discovery in 2018 constituted four depositions, two of weapons and two of gold, in two pairs of postholes for roof-bearing posts in the western half of a multi-phase longhouse. Moreover, the eastern half of the longhouse yielded metal finds which, after conservation, must be seen as being at least as interesting as these depositions, with a well-preserved iron shackle attracting particular attention (fig. 2). The longhouse, which, in the light of its robust character and the finds it yielded, is interpreted as a hall or temple (fig. 3), encompassed as many as eight construction phases, all dating from the Roman Iron Age and the beginning of the Early Germanic Iron Age. The shackle derives from a later phase in this sequence.
The shackle is made up of four separate parts, all made from iron rod with a round cross-section; a large central, complex, composite hoop and three elongate chain links that only vary slightly innermost (figs. 2 & 5). One link is solely attached to an eye in the hoop. It is 68 mm long and has a maximum width of 41 mm – both measured externally. The link is obviously worn, as the iron is clearly thinner at its ends. The opposing eye on the composite hoop has two chain links attached in continuation of one another. The outer link is more elongated than the inner one; they measure 29 x 31 mm and 65 x 44 mm, respectively. Consequently, the inner link appears thicker than the outer ones, but it is unclear to what degree this is due to corrosion. Both links attached to an eye on the hoop are slightly bent, possibly because they have been subjected to tension, twisting and pressure over a longer period. Common to all three links is that they appear to have been welded shut. The central, composite hoop appears to be made up of three bars, which have been welded together, bent into an approximate horseshoe shape and then laid on top of each other. The hoop is c. 98 mm wide externally and c. 76 mm internally. At the two proximal eyes, the otherwise flat-forged iron divides into three separate pieces, which then run parallel around the outside. They appear to have been twisted (fig. 6), which has increased their strength. Even though an attempt was made to reinforce the hoop with the three external, twisted rods, metallurgical analyses of its structure show that it was also necessary to deal the hoop some heavy blows with a hammer, and this must have been done without first heating the iron. Moreover, the conservation process revealed evidence that the shackle was rather worn (fig. 7) when it ended up at the bottom of the posthole (fig. 4). The internal transverse dimension of the Fæsted shackle suggests that it would have been applicable to a human wrist or slender ankle, although it is also possible that it may have been used for animals. It would not have been suitable for use on the necks of either humans or animals.
This is one of the first potential slave shackles found outside the Roman Empire. To date, only one locality in Barbaricum is known to have yielded a similar example. Based on the comparable archaeological material, it seems likely that the Fæsted shackle belongs to Hugh Thompson’s type, which is known particularly from present-day France, Germany and the British Isles. The iron used for the Fæsted shackle has been identified as having been made in England, which concurs with the distribution of this shackle type. The type is considered to date from the Late Roman Iron Age.
So far, only a few examples of slave shackles from this period have been recorded north of Limes, with the exception of those found at Roman forts situated on this border. In 2011, there were records of 114 shackles from the northern Roman provinces, but from widely differing contexts. Analyses of the distribution of shackles from the Roman Iron Age (fig. 8) have led to the suggestion that they reveal the locations of the most important slave markets in the Roman Empire, and a clear concurrence has been demonstrated between Roman villas, towns and military camps and the incidence of slave shackles. Given this conclusion, it can be argued that Fæsted was a Scandinavian centre for the Iron Age slave trade.
There has been little discussion of the use of shackles with respect to the finds from the Roman period. Unequivocal evidence that the find from Fæsted constitutes a prisoner or slave shackle is, however, provided by an article published by Chris Chinnock and Michael Marshall in Britannia 2021, which addresses the use of shackles of, the type to which the Fæsted shackle belongs. This relates to the excavation of an atypical burial at Great Casterton, Rutland, England in 2015 (fig. 9). The deceased had been placed somewhat carelessly in the burial pit and a set of iron shackles of the same type as described here were found around their ankles. These appeared, however, to constitute a complete set, which it is reasonable to assume the Fæsted example was also a part of. The grave could be 14C-dated to AD 226-427, making the burial approximately coeval with the Fæsted shackle. The burial at Great Casterton is interpreted as being that of a Roman slave.
An extremely diverse range of Roman imports was found at Fæsted, which testifies to interaction via a highly ramified network of contacts. The clearest indication of trade appears to be the occurrence of Roman denarii (fig. 10). Also found at the locality were three fragments of scrap bronze, interpreted as pieces of draped cloth from a rather large figurine. No less interesting are the large numbers of glass shards, derived from imported drinking glasses. The locality clearly encompasses an extraordinary finds assemblage – especially when viewed in the light of other coeval localities in southern Jutland, where no other settlements with a comparable assemblage of artefacts have yet been found. Only the well-known Dankirke site has a finds assemblage of a similar typological composition.
The iron shackle is the latest in a series of spectacular finds from Stavsager Høj which testify to a highly developed network involving both the ‘civilised’ Roman Empire and the barbarians to the north. Very little is known about the circumstances of slaves or thralls during the Nordic Iron Age, but this group is relatively well investigated in Roman archaeology and history. Were these individuals Scandinavians who were sold out of the country as slaves – perhaps prisoners of war – or were slaves brought to Scandinavia from the British slave markets? This question cannot be answered unequivocally based on the discovery of a single artefact, but the Fæsted shackle does makes an important contribution to the discussion about the slave trade between Barbaricum and Rome.