Yehohanan (Crucifixion Victim)

In 1968, archaeologists in a Jerusalem suburb discovered an ossuary (bone box) containing the remains of a first-century man named Yehohanan ben Hagkol. What made the find extraordinary was the 7-inch iron nail still driven through his right heel bone, with fragments of olive wood attached. This is the only known physical remains of a crucifixion victim from the Roman period. The nail had bent at the tip (striking a knot in the wood), which is why it was not removed; it was driven into the ossuary still embedded in the bone. The find confirmed three things skeptics had questioned: (1) crucifixion victims were sometimes given proper burial, (2) nails were driven through the feet (not just ropes), and (3) the ankle bones could support the weight of a hanging body. It also disproved the earlier skeptical theory that crucifixion victims were always thrown into mass graves.