Archaeologists have found Pluto's Gate, otherwise known as a gate to hell in Greco-Roman mythology, in Pamukkale, Turkey.
Italian archaeologists found the ancient pilgrim site in the temple complex of Hierapolis, now a volcanic-spring resort town in south-western Turkey, famous for its white travertine terraces.
The archaeologists discovered the ruins of a circular temple near a cave entrance by reconstructing the route of a thermal spring. Ionic columns surrounded the entrance with a dedication to Kore and Pluto, the gods of the underworld.
Pluto's gate -- Ploutonion in Greek, Plutonium in Latin -- features in many legends and historical texts as an entrance to Hell, because of the noxious gasses coming from it.
They also found remains of a gathering area for visitors seeking prophetic visions or to visit the dead -- hallucinations likely brought on by breathing the fumes.
The gate hasn't lost any of its punch.
"Several birds died as they tried to get close to the warm opening, instantly killed by the carbon dioxide fumes,” archaeologist Francesco D'Andria of the University of Salento, told Discovery News.
“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,” the Greek geographer Strabo wrote sometime around 24AD.
“This is an exceptional discovery as it confirms and clarifies the information we have from the ancient literary and historic sources,” said Alister Filippini, a researcher in Roman history at the Universities of Palermo, Italy, and Cologne, Germany.
