Italian Archaeologists Find Pluto's Gate to Hell

Posted on April 6, 2013

Italian archaeologists, led by Francesco D'Andria from the University of Salento, believe they have found Pluto's Gate in southwestern Turkey. Discovery News reports that the researchers claim to have found Pluto's Gate at a site in the ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis, which is now called Pamukkale. A digital recreation of what the site may have once looked like is pictured above.

The gate is an opening to a cave, which has toxic vapors emitting from it. The archaeologists told Discovery News they saw several birds die when they got too close to the cave. Ruins of a pool, temple and steps were found near the cave. The researchers also found an inscription on Ionic semi columns of a dedication to Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld.

The gases emitting from the cave and the ruins around the cave correlate with what ancient scholars wrote about the site. Strabo, a Greek geographer, philosopher and historian, described the site as being "full of a vapor so misty and dense that one can scarcely see the ground." Strabo also claimed to have tossed sparrows into the cave and watched them die. He said, "Any animal that passes inside meets instant death. I threw in sparrows and they immediately breathed their last and fell."

Here is an ABC News report on the discovery. Take a look:



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