> Also, why the careful removal of the head from the body? Both public display of an executed person, and mutilation of the corpse, have a history in several c

> Also, why the careful removal of the head from the body? Both public display of an executed person, and mutilation of the corpse, have a history in several cultures. For example, in the case of the Ancient Egyptians, integrity of the body was important even after death. Destroying the remains of a person was highly symbolic, a kind of erasing them in the afterlife as well. Much more recently, the early modern English often performed executions in public, with disfigurement either during or after the execution. In the most important cases - traitors and such - they carefully removed the heads, gave them a preservative treatment, and put them on a spike for public display. They actually dug up Oliver Cromwell after he had been buried, just so they could mutilate his corpse. The early modern Chinese also did things like that. Probably other cultures too. I guess my point is that a great deal of care might have gone into the spectacle of a public execution.