Iron shackles from Ghozza reflect harsh reality

Excavations at a 2,200-year-old mining village in Ghozza, Egypt in 2020 revealed a grim reality ... forced slave labour. Egyptian gold mining activity in the region saw a rise in the Hellenistic period (332–30 BC).

40 mines were opened under the Ptolemies following Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt in 332 BC.

The new dynasty founded by Ptolemy I needed gold to fund military campaigns, prestige projects abroad and monumental buildings in Alexandria to reflect its power and wealth. Ghozza was the northern-most Ptolemaic gold mine and the workforce processed ore with hand grinding stones. Hundreds of ostraca (pottery sherds used as surfaces for writing) found at the site provide a record of daily activities. They showed that some miners received wages. Two sets of iron shackles revealed some labour was forced. These were clearly for human use and could not have been removed without assistance. While they allowed the hands to remain free, walking with them would have been slow and exhausting.

Ancient writers identified the miners as prisoners of war and convicted criminals and that some were also slaves. They vividly described the harsh conditions endured by gold miners under the Ptolemies: “And those who have been condemned in this way—and they are of a great multitude and all have their feet bound—work at their tasks unceasingly both by day and throughout the entire night.” The shackles closely resemble those uncovered in the silver mines of Laurion, Greece. Its possible the technological knowledge used in Egyptian gold mines during the Hellenistic period was imported by Greek and Macedonian engineers. Beneath the grandeur of Egypt's wealth lies human exploitation and suffering.