Locals, Not Invaders: New Analysis Shifts View of Archaic Athens Mass Grave
A mass grave of 79 men from Phaleron, dating to the Archaic period (c. 700–460 BCE), was studied via radiogenic strontium isotopes. Of 66 individuals tested, the vast majority were locals from Attica, with only two outsiders, suggesting the victims were more likely victims of internal political violence than foreign invaders and offering new insight into pre-Classical Athens on the cusp of democracy.