- Sawing
:"This article describes the method of execution.
Saw ing is also a method of manufacturing."Sawing is a method oftorture and execution.The condemned was hung upside down and then sawed apart down the middle, starting at the
crotch . Since the condemned was hanging upside-down, the brain received a continuous blood supply in spite of severe bleeding. The condemned would remain alive and conscious until the saw severed the major blood vessels of the abdomen, and sometimes even longer. In Asian countries, the condemned stood up while constrained and sawing started at the head. According to some religious histories, the prophetIsaiah was executed in this manner.The
Roman Emperor Caligula was said to particularly enjoy giving out this method of torture. [e.g. Suet. Calig. 27: multos [...] medios serra dissecuit - "He cut many people [...] in two with a saw"]Sawing was used to execute condemned in
Europe under theRoman Empire , in theMiddle East as referenced in theBible and in parts ofAsia .References
* Hebrews 11:37 in the
New Testament
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