This unique and revolting form of torture is a relic of the ancient days, and even then it appears to be rarely employed. The method may be summarized as follows:

Two small boats of exactly the same size and shape are secured. In one of them the victim was extended flat on his back, with his head, his hands and his feet all projecting over the sides. The second boat was then turned upside down and fitted over the first. In this way, the culprit's body was enclosed within the two boats while his feet, hands and head were left outside. Food was then offered, and in the event of it being refused, the victim was pricked or otherwise tormented until he complied with the request.

The next step consisted of filling his mouth and smearing his face with a mixture of milk and honey. He was then exposed to the full glare of the sun. In a short time, flies and insects began to settle on his face. As the hours and then the days went by, the biting of the insects drove the prisoner to distraction. And meanwhile, within the cavity made by the boats, nature pursuing her course, the accumulated excrement stunk to heaven and became a mass of corruption. When death came, and the upper boat was removed, the flesh was found to be devoured and "swarms of noisome creatures preying upon and - as it were - growing to his inwards."