Crucifixion
The procedure of crucifixion may be summarized as follows: the patibulum (cross beam) was put on the ground and the victim laid upon it. Nails, about 7 inches long and with a diameter of 1 cm (roughly 3/8 of an inch) were driven in the wrists. 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 (or broken bones) occurred. Studies have shown that nails were probably driven through the small bones of the wrists, 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 (Davis). Standing at the crucifixion sites would be upright posts, called stipes, standing about 7 feet high (Edwards). In the center of the sripes was a crude seat, called a sedile or sedulum, which served as support for the victim.
The patibulum was then lifted onto the stipes. The feet were then nailed to the stipes. To allow for this, the knees had to be bent and rotated laterally, being left in a very uncomfortable position. The spikes were driven through the ankles on either side of the cross.
When the cross was erected upright, there was tremendous strain put on the wrists, arms and shoulders, resulting in a dislocation of the shoulder and elbow joints (Metherall). The arms, being held up and outward, held the rib cage in a fixed end inspiratory position which made it extremely difficult to exhale, and impossible to take a full breath. The victim would only be able to take very shallow breaths. As time passed, the muscles, from the loss of blood, lost of oxygen and the fixed position of the body, would undergo severe cramps and spasmodic contractions.
Suffocation by Crucifixion
1. Shallowness of breathing causes small areas of lung collapse.
2. Decreased oxygen and increased carbon dioxide causes acidic conditions in the tissues.
3. Fluid builds up in the lungs. Makes situation in step 2 worse.
4. Heart is stressed and eventually fails.
The slow process of suffering and resulting death during a crucifixion may be summarized as follows:
"...it appears likely that the mechanism of death in crucifixion was suffocation. The chain of events which ultimately led to suffocation are as follows: 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. Furthermore, movement of these muscles was opposed by the weight of the body. With the muscles of respiration thus stretched, the respiratory bellows became relatively fixed. As dyspenea 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 lasped into unconsciousness so that he could no longer lift his body off the sedulum. In this position, with the respratory muscles essentially paralyzed, the victim suffocated and died.” (DePasquale and Burch)
The average time of suffering before death by crucifixion is stated to be about 2-4 days (Tenney), although there are reported cases where the victims lived for 9 days (Lipsius). The actual causes of death by crucifixion were multifactorial, one of the most significant would have been the severity of the scourging beforehand. (Edwards).