Slave | Tattoos

: Traffickers often force victims to get tattoos of the trafficker's name, a gang symbol, or a barcode.

: Evidence from Ephesus suggests that some tattoos may have even served as receipts, marked with "tax paid" to prove the individual had been legally processed. Slave tattoos

: Fugitive slaves who were caught often received facial tattoos with messages like "Stop me! I am a runaway". : Traffickers often force victims to get tattoos

In Greco-Roman antiquity, tattoos were rarely used for decoration; instead, they were known as stigmata , or marks of shame. I am a runaway"

Today, the concept of "slave tattoos" persists in the context of human trafficking, where criminals use them as branding to assert ownership.

: Enslaved people and criminals were marked to permanently label their status.

: Interestingly, some enslaved people sought to be "sacredly tattooed" at sanctuaries like the Temple of Hercules, where these marks would signify they belonged to a god and were therefore inviolable. Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking