Birds are dropping dead: what mystery the oldest "Gate to Hell" on Earth hides within

The ancient Turkish city of Hierapolis, now home to Pamukkale resorts, also has to the oldest "Gate to Hell" on Earth. This passageway, once used for animal sacrifices to the Greek god of death Pluto, also known as Hades, still hides a number of secrets.

The stone arch, known as Pluto's Gate, was found among ruins in southwestern Turkey in 2013. During the excavation of the site, archaeologists witnessed several birds die after flying too close to the gate opening, The Sun reports.

Mystical fumes

According to the researchers, two thousand years later, the "Gate to Hell" lay in ruins, as it was destroyed by Christians in the sixth century AD, and later by earthquakes.

However, after it was excavated in 2013, experts say that gases can sometimes be seen coming out of it. Some explain this by the fact that the gate is located in the modern city of Pamukkale, known for its steaming hot springs.

Such observations are in line with descriptions in the ancient writings of the Greek geographer Strabo, who lived between about 63 BC and 24 AD.

"This space is full of a vapor so misty and dense that one can scarcely see the ground. Any animal that passes inside meets instant death," he wrote.

While the bulls who were led there fell were "dragged out dead," the priests miraculously came out unharmed, the geographer noted.

According to archaeologists, Pluto's Gate was once a place to meet with the god through animal and bird sacrifices.

Scientific explanation

In 2018, researchers discovered that Pluto's Gate was filled with volcanic carbon dioxide.

According to the scientists, there was from 4% to 53% volcanic carbon dioxide inside the cave, depending on the depth. Thus, the gas passed through cracks that ran deep under the area for centuries.

The lower the bottom of the cave, the greater the amount of asphyxiating gas, so animals were more likely to be exposed to it than humans, experts explain. The cave floor is covered with so much gas that a deadly lake is formed, which animals with their noses tilted to the ground inhale much more than people standing up.

Francesco D'Andria, a professor of classical archaeology at the University of Salento, who led the excavations of the cave, described what he saw. "People could watch the sacred rites from these steps, but they could not get to the area near the opening. ," the professor recalled.

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