Impalement procedure

[Vlad]

Impalement is an act of torture and/or execution whereby the victim is pierced by a long stake. The penetration can be through the sides, from the rectum, or possibly through the mouth. The stake would be usually planted in the ground, leaving the victim 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 victim's agony for many hours. The use of impalement as a form of execution in Ancient Persia is evidenced by carvings and statues from the ancient Near East. According to the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus (3.159), Darius I impaled 3,000 Babylonians when he took Babylon: this is recorded in the Behistun inscription. In Ancient Rome, impalement was superseded by crucifixion. 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 "snapphanar"), 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.





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