2016/11/22 · 10 Sewn Into a Donkey. If you’re looking for cruel and unusual forms of torture, you don’t have to look any further than ancient Rome. Take, for instance, a torture that was described by both Apuleius ( The Golden Ass) and Lucian ( Lucius, or the Ass ): A donkey would be killed, its belly sliced open, and the entrails removed.