Hierapolis: Toxic Greco-Roman 'Gate To Hell' Cave In Turkey

[Anonymous]

Years ago I remember reading a small article in Omni magazine,about a cave either in Greece or Turkey,anyway its on that borber.This cave now barred up was the supposed entrance to hell.Expeditions had disappeared,and an Australian university expedition was going to try it with oxygen,supposing that the other cavers were overcome by foul air.Has anyone heard of this cave?

 

[James_H]

It sounds like the thing cooked up to carry the story of a "demon photograph" (sorry i can't find it) which is actually of a model in the wookie hole caves in england.
There are a few websites with the photo that report it with that story as background.

 

[Anonymous]

I remember a website, that had photos and a story about exploring a cave. It was fiction, but the pictures made it pretty believeable, up until the end.
Had then navigating a REALLY tight squeeze. Then all hell broke loose, and it lost all credibility.
It was on this board a little ways back.

 

[EnolaGaia]

Years ago I remember reading a small article in Omni magazine,about a cave either in Greece or Turkey,anyway its on that borber.This cave now barred up was the supposed entrance to hell.Expeditions had disappeared,and an Australian university expedition was going to try it with oxygen,supposing that the other cavers were overcome by foul air.Has anyone heard of this cave?

You're almost certainly referring to the Greco-Roman temple in Hierapolis (Turkey). The cave or grotto beneath the temple emitted a noxious air or gas. In 2018 it was established that the toxic effect resulted from high levels of carbon dioxide.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/09/world/mystery-gates-to-hell-hierapolis/index.html

 

[EnolaGaia]

This excerpt demonstrates the Hierapolis site is the one mentioned in OMNI.

... Another such account involves the ancient Greek "Temple of Apollo", in Hierapolis (now Pamukkale), Turkey. This city was once part of the ancient Grecian empire, which covered an extensive area in and around the Mediterranean sea. One article which appeared in the January, 1989 issue of OMNI Magazine, referred to strange disappearances which had taken place in a cavern adjacent to this now broken-down temple. The article quoted from the writings of the ancient Greek philosopher "Strabe" (who lived between 63 B.C. and 24 A.D.), to the effect that animals would often enter the cave and never return. Also MANY PEOPLE throughout history who went past the mouth of the cave never returned. The article also quoted one Sheldon Aaronson, a professor of microbiology at Queens College, N.Y., who told OMNI that several Australian students had entered the cave and disappeared just a few days before his visit in 1987. Sheldon stated: "The Turkish government put iron bars over the opening to prevent other people from ever going in. As far as we knew, the Australians were never seen again."

SOURCE: http://www.burlingtonnews.net/jscott5.html

 

[EnolaGaia]

This new Live Science article provides a more detailed account of Hierapolis' "Gate to Hell" and the research done to understand whether and how it matched its description in ancient texts.

Ancient Roman 'Gate to Hell' Killed Victims With Its Deadly Lake

A cave ancient Romans believed to be a gate to the underworld was so deadly that it killed all animals who entered its proximity, while not harming the human priests who led them.

Millennia later, scientists believe they have figured out why - a concentrated cloud of carbon dioxide that suffocated those who breathed it.

Dating back 2,200 years, the cave was rediscovered by archaeologists from the University of Salento back in 2011.

It was located in a city called Hierapolis in ancient Phrygia, now Turkey, and it was used for animal sacrifices of bulls led through the Plutonium - or Pluto's Gate, for the Classical god of the underworld - by castrated priests.

As the priests led the bulls into the arena, people could sit on raised seats in an arena and watch as the fumes emanating from the gate brought the animals to their death. ...

FULL STORY:
https://www.sciencealert.com/ancient-roman-gate-to-hell-killed-victims-with-its-deadly-lake

 

[EnolaGaia]

Here are the bibliographic details and abstract from the research report published in 2019, based on the 2018 examination of the site.

Pfanz, H., Yüce, G., Gulbay, A.H. et al.
Deadly CO2 gases in the Plutonium of Hierapolis (Denizli, Turkey).
Archaeol Anthropol Sci 11, 1359–1371 (2019).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-018-0599-5

Abstract
Using a portable gas analyzer system, the geogenic gas regime below and around an ancient gate to hell at Hierapolis/Phrygia was characterized. The site was first described by Strabo and Plinius as a gate to the underworld. During centuries, it attracted even ancient tourists. In a grotto below the temple of Pluto, CO2 was found to be at deadly concentrations of up to 91%. Astonishingly, these vapors are still emitted in concentrations that nowadays kill insects, birds, and mammals. The concentrations of CO2 escaping from the mouth of the grotto to the outside atmosphere are still in the range of 4–53% CO2 depending on the height above ground level. They reach concentrations during the night that would easily kill even a human being within a minute. These emissions are thought to reflect the Hadean breath and/or the breath of the hellhound Kerberos guarding the entrance to hell. The origin of the geogenic CO2 is the still active seismic structure that crosses the old town of ancient Hierapolis as part of the Babadag fracture zone. Our measurements confirm the presence of geogenic CO2 in concentrations that explain ancient stories of killed bulls, rams, and songbirds during religious ceremonies. They also strongly corroborate that at least in the case of Hierapolis, ancient writers like Strabo or Plinius described a mystic phenomenon very exactly without much exaggeration. Two thousand years ago, only supernatural forces could explain these phenomena from Hadean depths whereas nowadays, modern techniques hint to the well-known phenomenon of geogenic CO2 degassing having mantle components with relatively higher helium and radon concentrations.

SOURCE: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-018-0599-5#citeas

 

[maximus otter]

Scientists solve mystery of the ‘Portal to Hell’ temple

For years, it was thought that any living being that went near the gruesome grotto was killed by the deadly "breath of Hades" - the Greek god of the underworld.

The ancient Greek geographer Strabo described it as a deadly place, bringing instant death to any visitor.

He wrote: “It is an opening of only moderate size large enough to admit a man, but it reaches a considerable depth and this space is full of a vapour so misty and dense that one can scarcely see the ground.

"Bulls that are led in to it fall and are dragged out dead. I threw in sparrows and they immediately breathed their last and fell."

Dead birds line the site of the temple's ruins Credit: Archivio Missione Archeologica Italiana a Hierapolis

The team of archaeologists found that deadly concentrations of carbon dioxide were being emitted by the entrance to the temple.

In the archaeologists' study, it was revealed that: “In a grotto below the temple of Pluto, CO2 was found to be at deadly concentrations of up to 91 per cent.

“Astonishingly, these vapors are still emitted in concentrations that nowadays kill insects, birds, and mammals.”

The researchers added that the deadliest time to visit the temple of doom was at dawn, when the gas had all night to intensify in the cave.

On feast days, larger creatures - like bulls - would be brutally sacrificed by hallucinating priests.

The bulls, whose nostrils stand at 60 to 90cm, would be subjected to the toxic gases - while the priests, who were taller, would not suffer the same fate as the beasts.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/26790186/mystery-portal-hell-drop-dead/

maximus otter

 

[Stormkhan]

I find it fascinating that daylight seems to spread the carbon dioxide from the cave?

 

[Mythopoeika]

Where is the CO2 coming from? Is it from a really deep layer of rotting vegetation and soil, or does it have a geological (i.e., volcanic) origin?

 

[Sharon Hill]

This is not a newly solved mystery; it's about 7 years old; the 91% comes from an article from 2018. (Lesson: Never use The Sun for science stories.)
The gas is of geologic origin.

From my website: https://sharonahill.com/going-to-hell-geology-of-the-underworld/

Pluto’s gate​

A natural cave in Hieropolis, Turkey carried a reputation as one of the most famous “gates to hell” – a link to the world of the dead – because of the emission of toxic gases (mostly carbon dioxide) that killed animals in proximity. The Gate of Pluto (Plutonium or Ploutonion) was built at the area, which is above a fracture that emits the gases. The vapor was said to be Hadean’s breath and/or the breath of the hellhound Kerberos (Cerberus) that guards the entrance to hell. Priests learned to hold their breath while entering the cave in order to demonstrate they could survive. The sacrificial animals (often bulls) did not survive. Pluto’s gate remains a dangerous area. Carbon dioxide is still found to be at deadly concentrations that will kill insects, birds, and mammals that venture nearby. The concentrations of carbon dioxide escaping from the mouth of the grotto are still in the range of 4–53% depending on the height above ground level. The levels rise at night to concentrations that could kill a person within a minute.