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Nail size

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I have always wondered this. How deep in the wood would nails need to be driven to support the condemned body weight? And how long would the nails for the wrists and feet need to be? Especially if doing one nail for the feet.
Interesting question. I have to say I do not know! You did humiliate me more than crucifying me nude, as physical chemist I should know.... Will look at it. There is a rule of 5 to 10 kg, each nail. I think the length is not that important.
 
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I have always wondered this. How deep in the wood would nails need to be driven to support the condemned body weight? And how long would the nails for the wrists and feet need to be? Especially if doing one nail for the feet.
Someone did the math, I forgot who, but in order to use one nail for the feet, you would have to use a great lot of iron, enough to completely pulverize the foot and probably rip one of them in half, or you would have to use steel. Steel has really good shearing strength so it holds up better than other metals. Ironically that means the one begun through both get cross wasn’t possible until modern times.

One issue to contend with is the lack of consistency in diameter; modern nails are milled, Roman nails weren’t. So a modern nail could go much smaller because I know it’ll be one diameter, and I only need it at that minimum effective diameter. You know, within tolerances. Roman nails of the same diameter would have to be bigger, because their square shape means that the nails cross-sectional area is larger.
 
Think length into the timber would be important.
Dont have numbers but a nail and timber need enough friction to hold the weight without deforming wood or the nail.
The more sufrace area of them touching the better the anchoring of the nail into the wood.
5 a 10 kg per nail would that be for normal carpentry nails?
 
Because of the position of the nails and the length, I did some research on the internet. Here is the result:
Arms and legs were tied or nailed to stakes and crossbars. With that the real crucifixion began. The nailing was done in such a way that the blood loss was kept to a minimum. According to anatomical tests, the nails did not have to be driven through the palms of the hands, but through the carpal bones or the space between the ulna and the radius, and through the tarsal or heel bone in order to support the body weight. The arms were possibly not attached with the palms facing forward (supination), but with the palms facing the crossbar (pronation) in order to achieve better fixation and less freedom of movement of the arms. [12] For the feet, this is confirmed by a skeleton find in Jerusalem from the 1st century, in which the nail was still stuck in the heel bone. This is also the first physical evidence of a Roman crucifixion. [13]


If the heels were nailed to the side, a cross piece called a sedile (seat) was sometimes added halfway up, on which the crucified could temporarily support his buttocks. This also relieved the crucified Christ's arms, which were attached to the crossbeam, in order to facilitate his breathing. Often the legs of the convicted person were also placed on a small crossbar (suppedaneum) so that he was not immediately pulled down by his own weight and passed out or lost too much blood with nailed limbs. Where this was customary, it was considered a favor to break the crucified Christ's feet or lower legs after a while in order to prevent him from supporting and thus shorten his agony. In addition, relatives sometimes bribed the executioners.



In 1968, archaeologists discovered the remains of a Jehohanan who had been crucified in the 1st century in Giv'at ha-Mivtar in northeast Jerusalem. The remains contained a heel bone through which a nail was driven from the side. The tip of the nail was bent, possibly because a knot was struck in the upright beam that prevented it from being pulled out of the foot. An initial inaccurate representation of the length of the nail led some to believe it had been driven through both heels, suggesting the man had been placed in some sort of side saddle position, but the true length of the nail was 11.5 cm (4.53 in.) Inch)) instead suggests that in this case of the crucifixion, the heels were nailed to opposite sides of the post. The skeleton from Giv'at ha-Mivtar is currently the only found example of an ancient crucifixion in archaeological records. Crucifixion - https://de.qaz.wiki/wiki/Crucifixion
 
I too have poked around on the Internet about nail sizes. Roman nails were square and made of a laminated iron-carbon-slag mix not much weaker than modern steel, but more variable. It would be important for the nail to be driven deep into the wood, whose quality and moisture level could vary a lot in Roman times. For a modern crucifixion, it would be silly to use anything except standard 6-inch round nails. They are actually quite easy to bend, so they need to be driven all the way into a 4-inch wooden beam, with the other 2 inches holding the victim's hand or foot tightly between the wood and the nail head plus some sort of washer. Done decisively that should minimize blood loss. and maximize survival time on the cross. That is how I want to go.
 
I too have poked around on the Internet about nail sizes. Roman nails were square and made of a laminated iron-carbon-slag mix not much weaker than modern steel, but more variable. It would be important for the nail to be driven deep into the wood, whose quality and moisture level could vary a lot in Roman times. For a modern crucifixion, it would be silly to use anything except standard 6-inch round nails. They are actually quite easy to bend, so they need to be driven all the way into a 4-inch wooden beam, with the other 2 inches holding the victim's hand or foot tightly between the wood and the nail head plus some sort of washer. Done decisively that should minimize blood loss. and maximize survival time on the cross. That is how I want to go.
How long do you think you would last with such a nailing?
 
Depends on my age and strength, plus the way my feet are nailed. If the weather is balmy, I am given plenty of water, and the nails are positioned mercifully, I would expect to last several days. Without those advantages, maybe only a few hours.
I am amazed how many forum members can contemplate causing pain to other people. The only person I ever envisage agonizingly nailed to a cross is me.
 
This supposedly Holy Nail in Trier is interesting because of its unusual head. It's difficult to work out the actual size from the photograph but it does appear pretty hefty & solid, I cannot imagine it bending easily. Depending how long it is it looks as if it won't penetrate the timber much considering it has to go through wrists or ankles first, but if it is long enough for that - making it five or six inches long below the head then it is incredibly thick, that would sure hurt like hell driven through the bones!

I've written before about how I imagine the square sectioned nails would be far far more agonising than round section ones if driven through bones because the sharp squared edges would grind away the bone every time one lifted oneself up, really nasty!

Holy nail?.jpg
 
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Think the Passion of the Christ is not the best source for scientific crux knowledge.
When they turn the cross over, the body seems be magically atached to the beam with his waist for example.
 
Think the Passion of the Christ is not the best source for scientific crux knowledge.
When they turn the cross over, the body seems be magically atached to the beam with his waist for example.
I would bind a rope around his waist before turning the cross over. The pain caused by the vibration would be the same.
 
Why not smash the nails once you raised the cross?
Dont think it would be neccesary to bend them. think the nails will hold anyways..

Ever tried a nail out of a thick beam with your bare hands?
Now imagine the additional agony when you try to pull it out of the wood,
while it is lodged in between your sprained wristbones.
 
The problem of nailing is essential. It is the nails, and they alone, that support the body.
The nails participate in the torture. They must break the bones of the wrists and ankles to increase the suffering. They must be long enough to cross the memebre and the wood and especially have a broad head to properly maintain the forearms and the legs.
The nailing of the legs can be done from each side of the post, but especially not more than 50 centimeters or the buttocks to allow the "dance of the cross"
 
Why must nails break bones?
Wedging n them in between the bones is so they keep the bones in position is enough.

The interaction between(rough) nail and the bones: pressure and scraping is quite painful
Wedging a nail between the wrist-bones doesn't necessarily break them, but rather would dislodge them slightly.
displacing flesh and nerves in the process.
Placing the nail below where the two upper-arm bones below the wrists will also be a secure position to keep the crucified in position without breaking the bones.
While ankles can be nailed to restrain the legs, hammering the nail in between the metatarsals from the top is quite efficient too.
This places the feet at the front of the post.

But lets face it.. unless you have a real non-fictional working time machine, knowledge about real historic roman crucifixions is pretty vague and will remain so unless more evidence through archeology is found.


There is no standard roman crucifixion method. out there.
There are a few ways to keep a body nailed securely to the cross with 4 nails.
I suspect they were all used.

Human vs nail interaction in this regard is allways painful for a human.
Using the intruding nails as sole support for that human makes it even more painful.
The human-nail interface is not particular smooth for the human.
Nails don't care as they don't feel anything.

As for distance between buttocks and nailed feet?
Can be any distance I guess. provided as the legs aren't fully extended or fully bend.(placing buttock to rest on the ankles)
As long as the knees are bend a sort of dance on the cross will occur.
 
"As for distance between buttocks and nailed feet?
Can be any distance I guess. provided as the legs aren't fully extended or fully bend.(placing buttock to rest on the ankles)
As long as the knees are bend a sort of dance on the cross will occur."

The nearer the feet are to the buttocks the more exhausting it is to raise oneself up.
 
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