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Medical theories on the cause of death in crucifixion

The most detailed accounts of any one particular crucifixion are the biblical passages covering the death of Jesus of Nazareth; but we should not assume that this was by any means representative of all crucifixions. Indeed, the precise details may well have varied between regions, evolved over time, or even depending upon the social status of the victim and the crime he allegedly committed. Flavius Josephus (37-c.100CE) wrote of the hundreds of Jewish prisoners crucified at Jerusalem in 70 CE, during an uprising against the Romans.

`They were first whipped and then tormented with all sorts of tortures, before they died, and were crucified before the wall of the city… the soldiers, out of wrath and hatred they bore the Jews, nailed those they caught to the crosses in different postures, by way of jest'.

Lucius Anneus Seneca (4BCE-65CE) recorded another mass crucifixion and noted:

`I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with their head down to the ground, some impale their private parts, others stretch out their arms'.

>>16080768

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In Roman times a common starting point was to be whipped across the back, buttocks and legs with a flagrum. This was a short whip with sharp objects interweaved into the thongs. The victim was then often obliged to carry part of their cross to the place of execution, outside the city walls. The weight of this would obviously vary depending upon the region and the type of wood used. Once at the place of crucifixion, the hands and feet of the prisoner were fixed to the cross with either nails or cords, and the cross erected in any one of a range of orientations. If crucified head up, the victim's weight may also have been supported on a small seat. This was believed to prolong the time it took a man to die. Victims in the head up position could spend several days on the cross before they died. One technique used by the Romans to hasten death was to break the legs below the knee with a blunt instrument1 (p. 25). Modern interpretation in the medical literature as to how this might work includes blood loss from the fracture site or respiratory failure from fat embolism. In those positioned head up then respiratory failure might also ensue as a consequence of the inability to inflate the chest sufficiently, since the legs could no longer be used to support the weight of the body. However, it is unknown which of these three widely stated hypotheses is correct, since crucifixion is not employed as a modern legal method of execution.

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The tip of the nail was bent, suggesting that during its insertion it had perhaps met a hard knot of wood or pre-existing nail left from an earlier crucifixion. The remains of a flat piece of olive wood were found to be located between the lateral aspect of the calcaneus and the head of the nail. Its use may have been to prevent the crucifixion victim freeing his foot by forcing it laterally over the head of the nail. It seems that, at least in this case, the heels were nailed to the sides of the cross. There was no evidence for nail insertion through the bones of the wrist or forearm, although this is widely stated in medical articles.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1420788/#!po=1.35135

The Scourging

>Pilate… having ordered Jesus to be scourged, handed him over…

Tortured beyond recognition as a human

>So His appearance was marred beyond that of a man,

>And His form beyond the sons of mankind.

"Without beauty, without majesty (we saw Him), no looks to attract our eyes, a thing despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows… a man to make people screen their faces" Isaiah 53:3