Died like Jesus Christ: Italian scientists have discovered the skeleton of a crucified man

In 2007, 60 kilometers from Venice, during excavations, the skeleton of a man who died two thousand years ago was discovered. Recent studies conducted by scientists at the Universities of Florence and Ferrara have shown that a contemporary of Christ died from injuries characteristic of crucifixion on the cross.

This is the second archaeological find in history, confirming the existence of the crucifixion — an ancient and extremely cruel execution, from which people died for several days.

Examination of the skeleton revealed damage and fracture of the heel bones — this suggests that the man was nailed to the cross. During the Roman Empire, crucifixion was a common execution for slaves and criminals.

The remains were found in the municipality of Havello, 60 kilometers from Venice. Emanuela Gualdi, a medical anthropologist at the University of Ferrara, said that a deep crack in the bone suggests that a metal nail was driven through there.

The scientists also said that the remains were not buried properly, as was customary in ancient Rome, but were buried directly in a layer of mud. The absence of any burial objects also indicates that the person had a low status in society.

Genetic tests of the skeleton showed that it was a thin man 30-34 years old, probably a slave who was starving. Archaeologists also found injuries on the hands, which indicate that the man was nailed to a wooden cross by the wrists — whereas in all images of the crucified Jesus Christ nails are driven into the hands.

Back in 1931, the French surgeon Pierre Barbet, with the permission of the Vatican, found out that a person nailed to the palms of his hands would not sag for a long time, since under the weight of the body the palms would break. The wrists are stronger in this sense.

This is what the crucified man actually looked like, according to scientists

How was the crucifixion

Crucifixion was invented as one of the most terrible and cruel ways of killing. The victims were placed on a wooden cross and tied to it by their outstretched arms and crossed legs. Then 17-centimeter nails were driven into the wrists and heels and the cross was raised. So criminals or slaves were left hanging nailed by the hands until they slowly and painfully died.

Usually crucified people first tried to hold their weight with their legs, but quickly gave up and hung on their hands. Then the unfortunate slowly twisted shoulders, elbows and wrists. Moreover, the length of the arms increased by 16-17 centimeters. The victims had no choice but to transfer their weight to their chest, as a result of which they immediately began to suffocate. Most often, convicts died of infection, asphyxia or heart attack. Sometimes the agony lasted several days.