| Restraining devices in the form of leg irons are common on ships
of the eighteenth century as a means to deal with unruly sailors.
Two examples of leg irons, also called shackles or bilboes, have
been recovered from the QAR site so far. One shackle was
identified via X-radiography and still remains in concretion. The
second has been cleaned and exhibits cord wrapping in a manner as
those recovered from the wrecked slave ship Henrietta Marie.
The wrapping may have helped protect the legs of the ship's enslaved
human cargo. |
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