IMPALEMENT

'Impalement' is a method act of torture and execution whereby a person is pierced with a long stake. The penetration can be through the sides, from the rectum, or through the mouth. The stake would usually be planted in the ground, leaving the impaled person hanging to die.
In some forms of impalement, the stake would be inserted so as to avoid immediate death, and would function as a plug to prevent blood loss — thus extending the person's agony for as many as three days. One way to achieve this gradual death is to insert the stake through the rectum deep into the body of the victim until it left the body near the right shoulder, thus avoiding damaging the heart.

The term 'impalement' is also used to describe deep stabbing wounds that occur in accidents where objects are driven through the body, for example by falling onto a spike, or being driven onto one in an automobile accident. Removing these objects presents a severe surgical challenge.

Contents

History

References

See also

History

The use of impalement as a form of execution in civilizations of the Ancient Near East, such as Ancient Egypt [1], Assyria, Ancient Persia and Ancient India, is evidenced by carvings and statues from the ancient Near East. According to Ancient Greek historian Herodotus (3.159), Darius I impaled 3,000 Babylonians when he took Babylon: their execution is also recorded in the Behistun inscription. In ancient Rome, the term "crucifixion" could also refer to impalement. Ancient authors also report the use of "crucifixion" (which may have meant impalement as well) in Carthage, where it was used for extreme cases of treachery and failure on the battlefield, usually combined with other forms of torture.
Impalement was frequently practiced in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. Vlad III Dracula and Ivan the Terrible have passed into legend as major users of the method.
From the 14th to 18th century, impalement was a traditional method of execution for high treason in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Impalement was used in Sweden during the 17th century, particularly as a death penalty for members of the resistance in the former Danish province Terra Scania (the so called "Snapphane)", where the stake was inserted between the spine and the skin of the victim. In that way, it could take four to five days before the victim died.
The Zulu of South Africa used impalement as a form of punishment for soldiers who had failed in the execution of their duty, or who had exhibited cowardice.^[1]
The Araucanian chief Caupolican suffered this death as a prisoner during the Spanish colonization of Chile. The method used was to make him sit on a stake while his wife was forced to watch.
One particularly gruesome form of impalement involved being forced to stand over a wide stake which was just tall enough that it penetrated the person's rectum deeply. This left them unable to remove themselves, or to sit. As their legs tired, they would slowly sink onto the stake, which eventually would cause mortal damage, but only over the course of hours, or even days.

References

1. [2] The South African Military History Society Military History Journal Vol 4 No 4

See also

★ Punishment

★ Decapitation