The simple but grim torture method that has been ranked as 'the worst in history'

There are many ways people have inflicted pain and misery upon one another throughout history, but there are some methods that sit head and shoulders above the rest.

We can't pretend that as a species we have completely abandoned the barbaric ways in which we can be cruel to one another, but be glad you live in a time where some of the most vulgar methods of torture are no longer used.

There are some utterly dreadful ways to die, and one way in particular, plucked from the pages of history, condemns the victim to days of unceasing torture before a terrible death.

This method is called 'scaphism', and it was developed by the ancient Persians as a way to put someone through a prolonged and dreadful experience before their death.

In fact, an undertaker once said she thought that it was probably the worst way for someone to die as it'd subject you to 'exposure, dehydration, shock and delirium' for days on end before you finally shuffled off your mortal coil.

You'll need two boats which can be used to encase a person inside, and you need to not be too fussed about the condition they'll be in by the end of it. (Getty Stock Photo)

One historical account describes how a soldier named Mithridates was killed by the Persian emperor Artaxerxes II in this way for killing his younger brother Cyrus.

Cyrus had tried to usurp Artaxerxes' throne and been killed in battle for it, but when the soldier who slew him was identified, he was put through scaphism and took 17 days of agony to die.

If you wanted to f**k someone up, ancient Persian Empire style, scaphism is how you'd do it.

Ingredients

• Two small boats
• Honey, large quantities
• Milk, lots of it
• Someone you really don't like
• Great numbers of insects

You're going to need a mixture of milk and honey for this, and enough to keep applying daily. (Getty Stock Photo)

Method

Step 1: Take the person you do not like and place them within one of the small boats with their arms, legs and head sticking out of the side, secure them in place by inverting the other boat and placing it on top of them, secure the boats together so the person cannot escape.

Step 2: Mix some of the milk and honey together and force feed it to your victim until they are sick, apply the rest of it to their exposed skin and continue to do this on a daily basis.

Step 3: Keep turning the person so that they are continually facing the sun and observe as the mixture spread on their skin attracts lots of insects which begin to eat away at them.

Step 4: Continue applying the milk and honey mixture each day and let the person fester in their own waste and vomit while they continue to be devoured by a swarm of insects day after day and suffer the agonising effects.

Step 5: Decide whether or not you are going to remove your victim from their torture, even if they may still die, or leave them there for however long it takes for them to perish from being eaten alive by a multitude of minuscule mouths.