....is the calcaneus, or human heel bone. Many years ago an old friend made me aware of its robust , compact form and surprising size when he showed me x rays of his: a rock guitarist, he had, intoxicated in the moment of performance, stepped off the front of an 8-foot high stage and, landing heel first, shattered it. Pinned, it was clumped back together and he hobbled in plaster for months. Until then, I had never really paid it any attention when drawing skeletons as an art student. Now I know it as the anchor of the Achilles tendon, and knowledge of it is key to drawing or sculpting convincing feet.
As a by-product of my search for crucified legs images whilst carving the lower half of my dying man for Belgium, I found an archaeological calcaneus, of a man in his 20s found at Givat'ha Mivtar, a Jewish district in North - East Jerusalem from about the time of Christ. The nail is 11.5cm long and bent against a knot in the upright of the cross after it was hammered through the bone. Note the nasty practicality of the wooden washer between the ankle and the head of the nail, designed to stop the victim from pulling his leg away sideways, a carpenterish refinement of the procedure. The legs were either nailed to the sides of the upright, or doubled sideways against the front of the cross as shown above. The calcaneus must have proved solid enough to support the body, whereas passing the nail through between bones would not. A torturer's knowledge of anatomy never ceases to impress me - but then, they must have had a lot of experience.
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