Over the millennia, the executioners have resorted to many obscure aids, including effective tools that crushed skulls or ripped limbs. Torturing was practiced from the before Christ period to the early age period. These practices were intended to punish the culprit or to obtain information or confessions.
Skull Crusher
At the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the early modern period, they used a skull crusher. The culprit placed his chin in a metal recess under the piston, which gradually pushed against his crown. The rising pressure slowly deformed his head. The instrument crushed the man’s jaws consciously, and his eyes popped out of their sockets due to tremendous pressure. If the torture ended prematurely, the damage could no longer be repaired.
Clamp Separated Limbs
The practice of stretching martyrs to the clamp, which many of us know from movies, was used in Europe from the 15th to the 18th centuries. The basic idea was to clamp the human body into a mechanism that gradually stretched the limbs until they were dislocated or completely detached from the body. In some cases, a fire was lit under the clamp, making suffering more unbearable.
Pear of Anguish Widened the Body Orifices
A pear-shaped tool, consisting of three or four leaves attached to the top with a hinge, was allegedly used as a gag. The pear was mostly used to punish traitors, adulterers, or homosexuals. The tool was inserted into one of the body holes and its leaves were then opened by turning the built-in thread. Torture caused massive internal bleeding, which rarely led to death.
The history of torture probably dates back even further than is known. The torture took place in medieval Europe, in ancient Egypt, and in Rome. The inventors of torture instruments were truly inventive – some authors doubt their mental fitness.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Instruments_of_torture
