- Historic Sites
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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.