Something I'm curious about is the severity of scourging ancient Romans inflicted on their victims before crucifixion.
Numerous religious/Christian websites suggest that it was quite severe, and involved an instrument in which metal or bones were embedded in the lashes. For example:
- renner.org paragraphs 4-12
- catholicinsights on the Shroud of Turin
- jesus-story
- a scary-looking "flagrum": ,
But many of these online sites don't really reference, in my view, a reliable account, primary source, or any extant "flagra" from the ancient Roman era.
In fact, according to this article by Dr. Andrea Berlin and Dr. Jodi Magness Two Archeologists Comment on The Passion of the Christ, the scourging was just done with a reed.
What reliable evidence is there that scourging before crucifixion was as severe as most online website describe them to be?