History
Crucifixion is a very ancient form of capital punishment, known by the Assyrians and Babylonians of Old Testament times. Alexander the Great later introduced the practice to Egypt and Carthage, with the Romans learning of it from the Carthaginians. This form of death was slow and caused the greatest pain and suffering over a length of time, was perfected by the Romans. It was one of the most disgraceful and cruel methods of execution and usually was reserved only for slaves, foreigners, revolutionaries, and the vilest of criminals. Roman law usually protected Roman citizens from crucifixion, except perhaps in the case of desertion by soldiers.
In its earliest form in Persia, the victim was either tied to a tree or was tied to or impaled on an upright post, usually to keep guilty victim's feet from touching holy ground. It was only later the cross came into use. The upright portion of the cross (or stipes) could have the crossarm (or patibulum) attached two or three feet below it's top (this is what we commonly think of today as the classic form of the cross, the one which we have later named the Latin cross). However, the common form used in our Lord's day was the Tau cross, shaped like the Greek letter Tau or like our "T". In this cross the patibulum was placed in a notch at the top of the stipes. There is fairly overwhelming archeological evidence that it was on this type of cross that Jesus was crucified.
It was forbidden by law for crucifixations to take place within city walls due to hygienic reasons. Consequently, a site was always chosen on the outside. It was a common practic to leave the corpse on the cross to be devoured by predatory animals. However, by Roman law, the family of the condemned could take the body for burial, after obtaining permission from the Roman judge. Since no one was intended to survive crucifixion, the body was not released to the family until the soldiers were sure that the victim was dead. By custom, one of the Roman guards would pierce the body with a sword or lance. Traditionally, this had been considered a spear wound to the heart through the right side of the chest--a fatal wound probably taught to most Roman soldiers.
Scourging
Crucifixion was a very cruel death, a torturing death. It was a Roman custom to scourge condemned criminals before the sentence of death was executed. This was considered to be a part of the punishment During scourging it was the cutom to use leather thongs to which were fastened sharp pellets of lead and iron as well as, sometimes, knucklebones. The victim was stripped and tied to a post. The man 's back was soon ripped to pieces, and many lost consciousness. The scourging prior to crucifixion served to weaken the condemned man and, if blood loss was considerable, to produce orthostatic hypotension and even hypovolemic shock. When the victim was thrown to the ground on his back, in preparation for transfixion of the hands, his scourging wounds most likely would become torn open again and contaminated with dirt. Furthermore, with each respiration, the painful scourging wounds would be scraped against the rough wood of the stipes. As a result, blood loss from the back probably would continue throughout the crucifixion ordeal.
Crucifixion
The upright post, or stipes, was generally fixed
in the ground at the site of execution and the condemned
man was forced to carry the patibulum, which weighed between 75 to
125 pounds, from the prison to the place
of execution. The reason for only carrying the patibulum was the
total weight of the cross was in all probability over 300 pounds. The patibulum
was placed across the nape of the victim's neck and balanced along both
shoulders. Frequently, the neck of the victim was fastened within the "patibulum,"
two horizontal pieces of wood, fastened at the end, to which the hands
were bound. A titulus, or small sign, stating the victim's
crime was usually carried at the front of the procession and
later nailed to the cross above the head. Commonly,
also, it took the longest road to the place of execution, and through the
most crowded streets, so as to attract the greatest public attention. Upon
arrival at the execution site, victims were give a bitter drink of win
mixed with myrth as a mild analgesic. The patibulum was put on the ground
and the victim laid upon it. Nails, tapered in spikes approximately 5 -
7 inches long and with a square shaft 3/8 inch across, were driven through
the wrists, deep into the wood. The points would go into the vicinity of
the median nerve, causing shocks of pain to radiate through the arms. It
was possible to place the nails between the bones so that no fractures
occurred. Studies have shown that nails were probably driven through the
small bones of the wrist, since nails in the palms of the hand would not
support the weight of a body. In ancient terminology, the wrist was considered
to be part of the hand. Standing at the crucifixion sites would be
upright posts, called stipes, standing about 7 feet high. In order
to prolong the crucifixion process, a crude seat, called a sedile or sedulum,
was placed in the center of the stipes, which served as support for
the victim. After both arms were fixed, the patibulum was then lifted
onto the stipes. The left foot is pressed backward
against the right foot, and with both feet extended and toes down,
a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the
knees moderately flexed. To allow for this, the knees had to be bent and
rotated laterally, being left in a very uncomfortable position.
Physical Symptoms
The actual cause of death by crucifixion was multifactorial and varied somewhat with each case, but the two most prominent causes probably were hypovolemic shock and exhaustion asphyxia. Other possible contributing factors included dehydration, stress-induced arrhythmias, and congestive heart failure with the rapid accumulation of pericardial and perhaps pleural effusions. This is a slow death which usually occurs over a length of time sometimes lasting for days. There has never been another form of a person being put to death that was as agonizing or terrible than that of the cross.
With the weight of the body being supported by the sedulum, the arms were pulled upward. This caused the intercostal and pectoral muscles to be stretched and thorax is expanded. Furthermore, movement of these muscles was opposed by the weight of the body.. As dyspnea developed and pain in the wrists and arms increased, the victim was forced to raise the body off the sedulum, thereby transferring the weight of the body to the feet. Respirations became easier, but with the weight of the body being exerted on the feet, pain in the feet and legs mounted. When the pain became unbearable, the victim again slumped down on the sedulum with the weight of the body pulling on the wrists and again stretching the intercostal muscles. Thus, the victim alternated between lifting his body off the sedulum in order to breathe and slumping down on the sedulum to relieve pain in the feet. Eventually, he became exhausted or lapsed into unconsciousness so that he could no longer lift his body off the sedulum. In this position, with the respiratory muscles essentially paralyzed, the victim suffocated and died.
Due to the shallow breathing, the victim's lungs begin to collapse in small areas, causing hypoxia and hypercarbia. A respiratory acidosis, with lack of compensation by the kidneys due to the loss of blood from the numerous beatings, resulted in an increased strain on the heart, which beats faster to compensate. Fluid builds up in the lungs. Under the stress of hypoxia and acidosis the heart eventually fails.
When the cross is in an upright position there
is immense pressure placed upon the wrists, arms and shoulders often
resulting in dislocation of the shoulder and elbow joints.
As the victim slowly sags down with more weight on the
nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots
along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain
as the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median
nerves. When they push themselves upward to avoid
this stretching torment, they place their full weight
on the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of
the feet. In time, the muscles, from loss of blood, oxygen
and being in a fixed position would undergo severe cramping and spasmodic
contractions. Great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles,
knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these
cramps comes the inability to push themselves
upward. Hanging by their arms, the pectoral muscles are parlyzed
and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Breathing is extremly
difficult due to the arms being held up and outward which holds the rib
cage in a fixed position. This makes it extremly laborious to exhale, and
impossible to take a full breath. Death draws nearer as the
loss of tissue fluids reaches a critical level,
the compressed heart struggles to pump heavy, thick,
sluggish blood into the tissues, the tortured lungs
make a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of
air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of
stimuli to the brain.
Psalm 21:15-16: "I am like water poured
out; all my bones are racked. My heart has become like wax melting away
within my bosom. My throat is dried up like baked clay, my tongue
cleaves tomy jaws;; to the dust of death you have brought me down."
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