Weight of the Cross (Approx.)

Which resource can tell me the approximate weight of the Cross used for crucifixion? Most talk about the different types, but none state the weight. Commentators state the approximate weight, but none so far have cited their sources.

Can someone point to a resource that mentions the weight?

Thanks!

DAL

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Rosie Perera

I'm guessing it's all guesses.

xnman

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1285765#Comment_1285765

Welll... if we could "know" the length, width and depth... what kind of wood, weather wet or dry, and the same for the cross piece.... we could figure it out... [8-|]

DAL

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1285766#Comment_1285766

Alright, I get it, I get it! [:D]

GaoLu

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1285768#Comment_1285768

Did Jesus carry only the patibulum? Did He carry the stipes as well?

It was made of pine. Maybe.

Either 75 lbs or 90 lbs or 175 lbs or 300 lbs or 390 lbs or some near variant.

A microscopic examination of the fragments of the Cross scattered through the world in the form of relics reveals the fact that it was made from a pine-tree (Rohault de Fleury, "Mémoire sur les instruments de la Passion", Paris, 1870, 63). According to an ancient, but somewhat dubious, tradition the Cross of Jesus Christ measured in length very nearly 189 inches (4.80 metres), from 90½ to 102½ inches (2.30 to 2.60 metres). As noted by the Evangelists, two thieves were crucified, one on either side of Christ. Their crosses must have resembled the one on which He suffered; in Christian art and tradition they generally appear lower (St. John Chrysostom, Hom. i, xxvi, on I Cor.; on Rom., v, 5). A large portion of the cross of the good thief (traditionally known as Dismas) is preserved at Rome in the altar of the Chapel of the Relics at Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. - The crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Catholic Encyclopedia)

Rosie Perera

There's more info here, and at the links therein:

https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/68645/how-much-did-the-cross-of-jesus-weigh

And a book mentioned on that page looked worth requesting for Logos, so I added it on the feedback board.

VOTE HERE:

A Doctor at Calvary: The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ as Described by a Surgeon

Christian Alexander

CNN did a short piece a while back What's 'true' about the cross that killed Jesus? - CNN

Here are a few scholarly cited sources helpful to the question.

Davis, C. Truman. “The Crucifixion of Jesus.” Arizona Medicine, 22, no. 3 (1965): 183-187.

Edwards, William D., et. Al. “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ.” The Journal of the American Medical Association 255, no.11 (1986): 1455-1463.

Collins, J. J. (1939). Exegetical Notes: The Archaeology of the Crucifixion. The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1(2), 154-159.

A microscopic examination of the fragments of the Cross scattered through the world in the form of relics reveals the fact that it was made from a pine-tree (Rohault de Fleury, "Mémoire sur les instruments de la Passion", Paris, 1870, 63). According to an ancient, but somewhat dubious, tradition the Cross of Jesus Christ measured in length very nearly 189 inches (4.80 metres), from 90½ to 102½ inches (2.30 to 2.60 metres). As noted by the Evangelists, two thieves were crucified, one on either side of Christ. Their crosses must have resembled the one on which He suffered; in Christian art and tradition they generally appear lower (St. John Chrysostom, Hom. i, xxvi, on I Cor.; on Rom., v, 5). A large portion of the cross of the good thief (traditionally known as Dismas) is preserved at Rome in the altar of the Chapel of the Relics at Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. - The crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Catholic Encyclopedia)

https://www.apu.edu/articles/the-science-of-the-crucifixion/