The top terrifying torture devices of the ancient world
#1: The Brazen Bull
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#2: Impalement
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#3: Neck Torture
Humiliating and painful, this punishment was something of an endurance test where the victim would be hooked into a neck device, either made of metal or wood, which prevented the victim from adjusting into a comfortable position.
#4: The Judas Cradle
This gruesome punishment entailed having the victim sit on the pyramid-shaped cradle, after which they would be forced down on it by ropes with the intent of stretching the victim's orifice over a long period of time, slowly impaling them.
#5: Iron Maiden
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#6: Thumbscrew
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#7: Guillotine
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#8: Tongue Tearer
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#9: Rat Torture
One of the most sadistic of all torture techniques involved having a cage with one open side strapped against the victim's body. It would then be filled with large rodents and a heating element which would be placed on the other side of the cage. The rodents' natural instinct led them to flee the intense heat. In order to escape they would burrow through the victim's body with fatal results.
#10: The Chair of Torture
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#11: Breast Ripper
Used to cause major blood loss, the claws, which were often red hot, would be placed on the exposed breasts as the spikes penetrated beneath the skin. It would then be pulled or jerked causing large chunks of flesh to come off with it.
#12: The Breaking Wheel
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#13: Spanish Donkey
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#14: Saw Torture
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#15: Heretics Fork
One end of the device was pushed under the chin, the other to the sternum, and the strap was used to secure the victim's neck to the tool while the victim hung from the ceiling or was somehow suspended so that they could not sleep. If their heads dropped, the prongs would pierce their throat and chest.
