Archaeologist have discovered a group of skeletons bound by shackles at the site of a large ancient Gallo-Roman burial ground in southwest France. 
 
 The excavation site lies around 250m west of the Saintes amphitheatre, where wild animals and gladiators would battle thousands of years ago. 
 
 In what experts believe to be an important necropolis possibly used for those killed in the stadium, hundreds of graves dating back to the first and second centuries AD were unearthed. 
 
 But perhaps the most interesting finds were five shackled skeletons - four adults and one child. Three skeletons had their ankles bound with iron chains, another was secured around the neck, and a child was found with a chain around his or her wrist. 
 
 In pictures - Shackled skeletons found in southwest France 
 
 1 show all In pictures - Shackled skeletons found in southwest France 1/1 A skeleton buried in shackles Frédéric Méténier, Inrap 
 
 Many of the other skeletons at the site were buried with their heads and toes touching, in rectangular trench-like pits. 
 
 Archaeologists were made aware of the necropolis last year, and hope they can now determine how each person died, their status when they were alive and whether they lived in the same communities. 
 
 Roman necropolises were generally situated out of towns in the countryside, and were used for burials and cremations. 
 
 While people were sometimes buried with their belongings, the archaeologists in southwest France only found a few vases alongside a man, and a child with coins resting on its eyes, Mail Online reported. 
 
 Romans believed that by burying a person with coins, his or her spirit could pay the underworld's ferryman and they would safely make it to the afterlife. 

 Archaeologists have unearthed hundreds of Roman graves in southwest France, some of which contain skeletons still bound by shackles on their necks and ankles. 
 
 The incredible excavation is located at a building site about 250m west of the Saintes amphitheatre once used for battles between gladiators and wild animals. 
 
 Among the hundreds of graves found, five skeletons - four adults and one child - were found shackled or chained. 
 
 A skeleton uncovered at the Roman burial site pictured exactly as the individual was buried - with an iron shackle attached to his neck 
 
 A wider photo shows the same skeleton - thought to be a man - with a shackle on his ankle as well as his neck 
 
 This group of four people were buried head-to-toe in a small, trench-style grave 
 
 Dating back to the first and second centuries AD, the grave site is thought to have been an important necropolis used for those massacred at the nearby stadium. 
 
 Three skeletons were found with iron chains attached to their legs, another was buried in a crude shackle around his neck and a child was found with a device on its wrist. 
 
 Several of the graves were found to be mass burials - pictures show individuals buried side-by-side, head to toe in trench-style graves. 
 
 The site was first identified as a possible necropolis last year and scientists are now hoping they can establish the individuals' cause of death. 
 
 Roman necropoleis were usually constructed in the country as a site for burials and cremations to take place away from tombs built within a city. 
 
 In this photo, another skeleton can be seen buried with a shackle still attached to its ankle 
 
 Unfortunately, the graves at Saintes have yielded almost no artefacts or possessions. 
 
 Only a few vases were found with the remains of one man, and a child was found with coins resting on his eyes. 
 
 Roman custom was to place coins on the eyes of the deceased so the person's spirit could pay the ferryman to take them across the river Romans believed divided the world of the living and that of the dead. 

 Archaeologists working in southwest France have discovered hundreds of Gallo-Roman graves dating to the second half of the 2nd century AD, with some of the skeletons featuring shackles still strapped around their necks and ankles. 
 
 The site, which may have been part of an important Gallo-Roman necropolis, is situated near the amphitheatre of Saintes. The Romans dominated the area during the first and second centuries AD. The amphitheatre, which featured battles between gladiators and wild animals, could hold between 12-18,000 people. The remains of the dead would be ushered through the "Door of the Dead" and buried in the nearby necropolis. 
 
 The new excavation revealed several double burials where individuals where buried head to tail in a long rectangular pit (similar to a trench), and a multiple burial pit containing five people, including two children and two young women. 
 
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 No goods were discovered in the graves, with the exception of a young child who was buried with seven vases dating to the second half of the 2nd century AD. The same burial, which is characteristically different than the other ones, also contained two coins, which were placed on the eyes of the child. 
 
 The archaeologists identified several individuals who appear to have been shackled. Four adults (three men and a subject of unknown gender) were found with iron shackles; three had shackles that were hot riveted around their left ankles and one had a "bondage collar". One child had a more rudimentary object riveted around his left wrist. Another individual was constrained by multiple devices. 
 
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 Archaeologists are now investigating the status of these individuals, including their origin and conditions of death. In future lab research, they hope to determine if other individuals buried in the region belonged to the same community. 
 
 [ INRAP via Past Horizons ] 
 
 Images: Frédéric Méténier, Inrap 2014
– Investigating an ancient Roman burial site in southwest France, researchers came upon a creepy find: Five skeletons—one of them a child's—were stuck in shackles, the Independent reports. Iron chains were locked around the ankles of three of the skeletons, while another had shackles on its neck. The child was apparently shackled on the wrist. The skeletons were among hundreds found at the site, which is near an amphitheater that once hosted gladiator battles. The venue, which held between 12,000 and 18,000 people, had a "Door of the Dead" through which people would be carried to be buried, io9 reports. Experts think the spot, which came to their attention last year, is a necropolis hosting bodies of people who died in the arena, perhaps as long ago as the first and second centuries AD, the Independent notes. Archaeologists are hoping to figure out more about those buried there, including whether they came from the same areas and how they died. Not much was found in the way of artifacts, though one child was apparently buried with coins on his or her eyes; Roman tradition held that spirits needed money to cross the river into the world of the dead, the Daily Mail notes. (A few months ago, researchers discovered an apparent "vampire grave" in Bulgaria.)