300-year-old shackles may hold ghoulish tale

Reuters ^ | Aug 26, 2009 | Stefano Ambrogi

[decimon]

This 18-pound (8-kilogram) iron ball-and-chain set was found in the mud on the banks of the Thames River and is thought to date to the 17th or 18th century.

LONDON - An iron ball and chain found on the banks of London's River Thames is causing a stir among archaeologists who say the 300-year-old artifact used to restrain convicts on ships may have a gruesome story to tell.

The leg irons, believed to date from the 17th or 18th century, were pulled from the mud with the lock fastened, suggesting a convict could have drowned while trying to escape.

[dljordan]

Never steal more chain than you can swim with.

[decimon]

Are we back online? Am I signed in? Is this still Monday?

Ping.

[SunkenCiv]

Wait a second... no, it's Wednesday... that means the shackles are 300 years and 2 days old now. You really screwed up that one. ;')

[SunkenCiv]

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[SJackson]

Thank you for posting this. I’ve always wanted to see Dick Cheney’s personal shackles.

[decimon]

Wait a second... no, it's Wednesday... that means the shackles are 300 years and 2 days old now. You really screwed up that one. ;')

It's inflation. I used be be just a day late and a dollar short.

[Grimmy]

Maybe it was an early version of OSHA?

The kind and benevolent ship’s crew, concerned for the safety and well being of their charges, threw one of the prisoners overboard to demonstrate to the others how dangerous it was to try to swim with leg irons?

[colorado tanker]

Obviously the fiendishly clever CIA found a way to travel back in time and “torture” a suspect, probably a prisoner of Cromwell and those evil Puritans.