Remains of Possibly Crucified Man Examined in Italy

FLORENCE, ITALY—Researchers from the University of Ferrara and the University of Florence have examined the 2,000-year-old remains of a man they think might have been crucified, according to a report in Live Science. The poorly preserved bones, which were discovered near Venice in 2007, belonged to a man of slim stature and below average height who had been buried directly into the ground, rather than placed in a tomb with grave goods. “We found a particular lesion on the right calcaneus [heel bone] passing through the entire bone,” said medical anthropologist Emanuela Gualdi of the University of Ferrara. No evidence that his wrists had been nailed to a cross has been found, but Gualdi said they could have been tied to the cross with rope. She notes that crucifixion was commonly used to execute slaves and criminals in Roman society. “We cannot know if he was a prisoner,” she said, “but the burial marginalization indicates that he probably was an individual deemed dangerous or defamed in Roman society.” To read in-depth about a tomb in Italy, go to “The Tomb of the Silver Hands.”