Where Did the Romans Drive the Nails? And could the Shroud of Turin be wrong?

The Romans actually used several different types of crucifixion. One method was to drive the spikes through the wrists; the Greek word for "hands" used in the New Testament is the same Greek word for "wrists". Another method was to lash the arms to the horizontal crossbeam, and nail through the hands; there was no danger of the body ripping loose from the spikes and falling off the cross, because the weight was being supported by the lashed arms instead of the spikes through the palms. A third method was to place small boards or blocks over the hands and feet, and nail through them, into the hands and feet, and then into the crossbeams below. Another method (one that was not used with Jesus, as far as we know) was to drape the arms over the horizontal crossbeam, and either lash the arms, or nail them into the wood from the back side.

One small observation on the "wedge" which Jesus' feet were nailed to (as depicted in numerous crucifixion scenes): Jesus most likely had His feet placed one atop the other and nailed straight though both, either through the top of the arches, or through the side of the foot, straight into the upright of the cross, without any "wedge" placed there. In many crucifixions, however, a small board was strategically placed further up on the crossbeam, where it would strike the crucified victim approximately in the area of the kidneys. This board would be sharpened to the point where it had an edge on the side with contact to the victim's back. Crucifixion, remember, was a method of death where the victim literally suffocated---in the unnatural strictures placed on the chest and upper body, breathing normally became difficult; the victim had to push up with his feet to gasp for air, holding the position until exhaustion or pain made him relax his legs and slump back down on the cross. Eventually, weakness, trauma, and blood loss would sap the strength of the victim until he could no longer push himself up to breathe, and he smothered. The board placed at the small of the back was simply another little nasty device used by the Romans to increase the suffering of the victim---every time he pushed up to breathe, he was jamming his lower back against this sharpened plank behind him. Again, from what we know of Jesus' crucifixion, this method was not used for Him---but we do know that it was used on other people who suffered execution by crucifixion.