Archeologists Find a Deadly Gate to Hell in Turkey; Was Reckoned in Greek Mythology as Pluto's Gate

Italian archeoligists have found the "gate to hell," The Blaze website reports today (April 2, 2013).

Located in Pamukkale, Turkey, the newly-discovered cave was known in ancient Greece as Pluto's Gate. It is a doorway to hell -- one that was discussed and revered in Greco-Roman mythology (at that time Pamukkale was known as Hierapolis).

The historic sources who discussed Pluto's Gate noted that its opening had lethal vapors. Greek geographer Strabo -- who lived between 64 B.C. and 24 A.D. -- described the gate to hell as follows: "The space is full of vapor so misty and dense that one can scarcely see the ground. Any animal that passes inside meets instant death. I threw in sparrows and they immediately breathed their last and fell."

The archeologists -- led by Prof. Francesco D'Andria of the University of Salento in Italy -- discovered the gate to hell while excavating in the area.