worldling

I've heard that when the Romans crucified people they would drive the nails through the wrists, not the palms. I thought this was plausible, as a nail through each palm would not support the bodyweight. However, wouldn't it be almost impossible to drive a nail through the wrist without severing an artery, thus hastening the death of the victim?

Is there a scholarly consensus on the mechanics of crucifixion?

Cutter

Well I'm no expert but I'd've thought that even if the nail did penetrate an artery, the nail would effectively plug it up, so there'd be minimal arterial bleeding. A bit like if you happen to get some metal or glass or whatever embedded in your flesh (from say an explosion) you shouldn't take it out, as it could be in an artery and if you remove it, you'll start bleeding heavily.

Steven Carr

Now, he tells me. If he had only posted 5 mins earlier....

braces_for_impact

Granted I'm no m.d. (I'll have to ask a friend his opinion), but even if the nails/spikes/whatever did plug the wound enough to restrict bleeding, I would think that moving the cross into an upright position, and the continual drag of body weight would cause enough tearing and movement within the wound to cause it to bleed again anyway. Standard crucifixion was not with nails, and the process of asphyxiation was usually what killed the victim as their body weight continually dragged them down as they became exausted from attempting to hold themselves up.

Ovazor

The arteries in the wrist are not in the middle where the nail would pass through. If the nail goes between the ulna and the radius (the two bones in the forearm) there is no danger of severing an artery.

Ted Hoffman

as a nail through each palm would not support the bodyweight. However, wouldn't it be almost impossible to drive a nail through the wrist without severing an artery, thus hastening the death of the victim?
Is there a scholarly consensus on the mechanics of crucifixion?
There is a lot of stuff all over the web on how crucifictions were carried out. A simple google search should be able to give you explanations plus diagrams. Try. If U fail to get, let me know.

To answer your question, the victims were sometimes provided with a "footrest" to sopport their weight and others has a stump bewtween the legs supporting their weight. Still, others also tied the hands. Actually, the main cause of death would be suffocation from being unable to breathe because of the position of the chest and the strain on the chest muscles. Then hopefully, the vultures and rats and other animals would make good the carcass. Sorry, the corpse.

You are worrying about nails? Try this: an american Journal (American Journal of Medicene) in 1998 had some M.D.s saying when Jesus was sweating blood, he was under such acute stress and because of that, his blood vessels ruptured. And they also said that the manner in which the blood and water flowed indicated that Jesus died from heart rupture...

And you are still talking about nails!

Michael Ledo

What if they tied the person to the cross and then nailed the palms...

David M.

Based on the bones of the crucified, 26 year old man discovered in 1968 at Giv'at ha-Mivtar (just north of Jerusalem) the spikes used were first driven through a piece of acacia wood before entering the heel bones and forearms, then into the cross. I would suppose these acacia plaques would serve as a sort of crude 'washer' to further secure the victim to the cross.
Examination has shown that the spikes were driven-in further up the wrist, possibly even the lower forearm. Marks on the bones show that the spikes tore through the flesh until they lodged in the wrist. This sort of macabre simplicity is typically Roman as it required no skill on the part of the executioner.
The shins of the crucified man were broken in order to hasten death.

Anunnaki

I was watching a history channel show the other day about secret passages and they were showing Nazi hiding places where they kept their national treasures safe during the end of WWII.

One of Hitlers "treasures" caught my eye. It was the lance used to pierce jesus during the fabled crucifixtion. Not only did the show say the Nazis believed it was the actual Roman lance,but also that it contained a nail used in the crucifixtion. <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" />

Does anyone know where this ridiculous thing is now? Surely it must be a cherished possession of a church somewhere in the world.

Berenger Sauniere

No nails exist.

[ June 29, 2002: Message edited by: Berenger Sauniere ]</p>