In the south of Turkey there is an incredibly ancient temple, which has long received a very creepy name - "portal to hell". Over the years, there have been many unexplained deaths near the temple: any animal that happens to be near this place falls dead under mysterious circumstances.
Historical facts
The information of the ancient Greek scriptures is as follows: people avoided visiting this temple for fear of death. The very famous ancient Greek historian and geographer Strabo called it a truly deadly place. “This space is filled with steam, so foggy and surprisingly dense that almost no land is visible,” he wrote. - Any animal that went inside met instant death. I threw the sparrows, and they immediately gave up and fell."
His records were indeed confirmed, as the birds were recently found at the entrance (dead, of course). Also, at this place, columns were found, on which dedications to the gods of the underworld were inscribed, as if in a prayer for salvation from death.
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Breath of Hades or poisonous fumes?
Now, however, researchers have solved the mystery. It was not the breath of Hades, the mythological god of the realm of the dead, that took the life of the beasts. The reason is quite prosaic: a lethal concentration of CO2 gas was discovered at the entrance to the temple, which is located in the ancient Turkish city of Hierapolis.
According to Italian archaeologist Francesco D'Andria, the eerie characteristics of the site could be seen almost immediately: “We could see truly deadly evidence during the excavation,” he said. "The birds, when they tried to approach the temple, died, instantly killed by the vapor of carbon dioxide."
D'Andria also confirmed a rumor that priests sacrificed bulls to the gods of the underworld, hallucinating from toxic fumes.
The CO2 vapors found in this place proved to be fatal to living things. Archaeologists believe that the temple is located above the fault line. "In a grotto under the Temple of Pluto, CO2 was found to be in lethal concentrations - up to 91 percent," the study said. - Surprisingly, these couples are still coming out. Moreover, their concentration is such that they are currently killing various insects, birds and even mammals."
Christina Vitta
