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Skeleton of man executed with Catherine's wheel discovered in Milan (photo)

Anastasia Kryshchuk

Skeleton of man executed with Catherine's wheel discovered in Milan (photo)
Skeleton of man executed with Catherine's wheel discovered in Milan

In Milan, a team of archaeologists discovered the skeleton of a man who was executed on Catherine's wheel. The man died from the wheel at the age of 17 to 20, at some point during the 13th century.

He was buried near the cathedral with signs that he had received wounds symmetrically located on his arms and legs. This is reported by LAD Bible.

It is noted that the man was tortured with a bursting wheel, and that although this was usually reserved for those who had committed serious crimes, in northern Italy torture was more often reserved for people suspected of spreading the plague.

Read also: 30 ancient tombs belonging to the highest clergy found in Turkey

"The sacrifice of the wheel may have been different for his contemporaries, and perhaps this discrimination may have been the reason for his final condemnation, as he may have been sacrificed as a 'freak', angered by the crowd, as a plague spreader," the researchers suggested.

Forensic analysis of the skeleton also revealed unusual linear fractures at the base of the man's skull, with researchers suggesting that this was the result of acute trauma from a heavy weapon.

Skeleton of man executed with Catherine's wheel discovered in Milan (photo)
Archaeologists find skeleton of man executed by wheeling in 13th century Italy. Source: Mibac - Soprintendenza ABAP Milano

As a reminder, a hidden medieval crypt of a 900-year-old cathedral was discovered in England.

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