From a different view point....Maybe they were thieves...I believe custom to cut off hands of a thief is still part of Arab/Muslim/etc law. Maybe this was a “prison” site....i.e., where they buried criminals.
There were no Muslims at that point in history. It is the Quran that teaches to cut off the right hand. The left hand is used for the toilet, and therefore, unclean. If the right hand is severed, it means the person cannot eat, as to use the left hand in a communal dish would defile the meal.
The thief is therefore an outcast in society and usually goes off somewhere to die, or live life alone and unseen, often being forced to steal to survive.