Roman Crucifiction

Crucifixion was used for slaves, thieves, and enemies of the state. It was considered a most shameful and disgraceful way to die. Notorious mass crucifixions happened in 73–71 BC (the slave rebellion under Spartacus), other Roman civil wars in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, and the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. To frighten other slaves from revolting, Crassus crucified 6,000 of Spartacus' men along the Appian Way. Roman soldiers would amuse themselves by crucifying criminals in different positions. In Roman-style crucifixion, the condemned could take up to a few days to die. The dead body was left up for vultures and other birds to consume.

• Crucifixion was often performed to terrorize its witnesses from committing crimes. Victims were left on display after death as warnings to others who might attempt similar crimes. Crucifixion was usually intended to provide a death that was particularly slow, painful (hence the term excruciating, literally "out of crucifying"), gruesome, humiliating, and public, using whatever means were most expedient for that goal.

• In some cases, the condemned was forced to carry the crossbeam on his shoulders to the place of execution. A whole cross would weigh well over 300 pounds, but the crossbeam would not be quite as heavy, weighing around 75–125 pounds. Upright posts would sometimes be fixed permanently in place, and the crossbeam, with the condemned person perhaps already nailed to it, would then be attached to the post.

• The person executed usually is attached to the cross by rope, though nails are mentioned by the Judean historian Josephus, where he states that "the soldiers out of rage and hatred, nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses.”

• Frequently, the legs of the person executed were broken or shattered with an iron club. slaves. This act hurried the death of the person but was also meant to deter those who observed the crucifixion from committing offenses.

• The attending Roman guards could only leave the site after the victim had died, and were known to speed death by means of deliberate fracturing of the legs, spear stab wounds into the heart, sharp blows to the front of the chest, or a smoking fire built at the foot of the cross to asphyxiate the victim.

• The length of time required to reach death could range from hours to days depending on method, the victim's health, and the environment. Death could result from any combination of causes, including blood loss resulting in shock, sepsis following infection due to the wounds caused by the nails or by the scourging that sometimes preceded the crucifixion, or eventual dehydration.

• A theory holds that, when the whole body weight was supported by the stretched arms, the typical cause of death could also be asphyxiation. The condemned would have severe difficulty inhaling, due to hyper-expansion of the chest muscles and lungs. The condemned would therefore have to draw himself up by his arms, leading to exhaustion.

• Despite the fact that the ancient Jewish historian Josephus, as well as other sources, refers to the crucifixion of thousands of people by the Romans, there is only a single discovery of a crucified body dating back to the Roman Empire around the time of Jesus. This was discovered in Jerusalem in 1968. It is not surprising that there is only one such discovery, because a crucified body was usually left to decay on the cross and would not be preserved. The only reason these remains were preserved was because family members gave this particular individual a customary burial.

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