Crucifixion

== Archaeological evidence ==
{{Further|Jehohanan}}
Although the Roman historians Josephus and [[Appian]] refer to the crucifixion of thousands of Jews by the Romans, there are few actual archaeological remains. An exception is the crucified body of a Jew dating back to the first century CE which was discovered at [[Givat HaMivtar]], Jerusalem in 1968.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Tzaferis | first1 = V |author-link=Vassilios Tzaferis | year = 1970 | title = Jewish Tombs at and near Giv'at ha-Mivtar | journal = Israel Exploration Journal | volume = 20 | pages = 18–32 }}</ref> The remains were found accidentally in an [[ossuary]] with the crucified man's name on it, "Jehohanan, the son of Hagakol."<ref>Haas, Nicu. "Anthropological observations on the skeletal remains from Giv'at ha-Mivtar", ''Israel Exploration Journal'' 20 (1–2), 1970: 38–59; [[Vassilios Tzaferis|Tzaferis, Vassilios]]. "Crucifixion&nbsp;– The Archaeological Evidence", ''Biblical Archaeology Review'' 11 (February, 1985): 44–53; Zias, Joseph. "The Crucified Man from Giv'at Ha-Mivtar: A Reappraisal", ''Israel Exploration Journal'' 35 (1), 1985: 22–27; [[Martin Hengel|Hengel, Martin]]. ''Crucifixion in the ancient world and the folly of the message of the cross'' (Augsburg Fortress, 1977). {{ISBN|0-8006-1268-X}}. See also [https://books.google.com/books?id=__IOAAAAQAAJ Spectacles of Death in Ancient Rome, by Donald G. Kyle] p. 181, note 93</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hnb67CuoHugC&q='Yehohanan+crucified&pg=PA265|title=In the Fullness of Time|author=by Paul L. Maier|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0-8254-3329-0|year=1997|publisher=Kregel Publications }}</ref> Nicu Haas, from the Hebrew University Medical School, examined the ossuary and discovered that it contained a heel bone with a nail driven through its side, indicating that the man had been crucified. The position of the nail relative to the bone suggests the feet had been nailed to the cross from their side, not from their front; various opinions have been proposed as to whether they were both nailed together to the front of the cross or one on the left side, one on the right side. The point of the nail had olive wood fragments on it indicating that he was crucified on a cross made of olive wood or on an olive tree.

Additionally, a piece of [[acacia]] wood was located between the bones and the head of the nail, presumably to keep the condemned from freeing his foot by sliding it over the nail. His legs were found broken, possibly to hasten his death. It is thought that because in earlier Roman times iron was valuable, the nails were removed from the dead body to conserve costs. According to Haas, this could help to explain why only one nail has been found, as the tip of the nail in question was bent in such a way that it could not be removed. Haas had also identified a scratch on the inner surface of the right radius bone of the forearm, close to the wrist. He deduced from the form of the scratch, as well as from the intact wrist bones, that a nail had been driven into the forearm at that position.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Many of Haas' findings have, however, been challenged. For instance, it was subsequently determined that the scratches in the wrist area were non-traumatic – and, therefore, not evidence of crucifixion – while reexamination of the heel bone revealed that the two heels were not nailed together, but rather separately to either side of the upright post of the cross.<ref>{{cite news |author=Zias J. |author2=Sekeles, E. |year=1985 |title=The Crucified Man from Giv'at ha-Mivtar: A Reappraisal. |journal=Israel Exploration Journal |issue=35 |pages=22–27}}</ref>

In 2007, a possible case of a crucified body, with a round hole in a heel bone, possibly caused by a nail, was discovered in the [[Po Valley]] near [[Rovigo]], in northern Italy.<ref>Gualdi-Russo, E., Thun Hohenstein, U., Onisto, N. et al. A multidisciplinary study of calcaneal trauma in Roman Italy: a possible case of crucifixion?. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 11, 1783–1791 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-018-0631-9</ref>
In 2017 part of a crucified body, with a nail in the heel, was additionally discovered at [[Fenstanton]] in the United Kingdom.<ref>First example of Roman crucifixion in UK discovered in Cambridgeshire village, Arkeonews, 9 December 2021, https://arkeonews.net/first-example-of-roman-crucifixion-in-uk-discovered-in-cambridgeshire-village/</ref> Further studies suggested that the remains may be those of a slave, because at that time crucifixion was banned in Roman law for citizens, although not necessarily for slaves.<ref>Ingham D., Duhig C. Crucifixion in the Fens: life & death in Roman Fenstanton. British Archaeology, January–February 2022, pp. 18–29 https://www.archaeologyuk.org/resource/free-access-to-crucifixion-in-the-fens-life-and-death-in-roman-fenstanton.html</ref>