#gate-to-hell — Public Fediverse posts

Eternal Flames

I’ve posted a new video on natural gas “eternal flames”. This video features info about the Darvaza “gate to hell” crater, which I previously wrote about for Spooky Geology, and new content related to the Eternal Flame falls in New York. I visited the falls in June 2025 and did research on how and why the flame exists. The Darvaza section contains new information about how the Turkmenistan government is aiming to extinguish the crater.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7lhn4Lp4UU

#ChestnutRidgePark #Darvaza #Derweze #EternalFlame #EternalFlameFallsPark #gateToHell #geology #NewYork #SpookyGeology #spookyScience

https://sharonahill.com/?p=10071

Eternal Flames

I’ve posted a new video on natural gas “eternal flames”. This video features info about the Darvaza “gate to hell” crater, which I previously wrote about for Spooky Geology, and new content related to the Eternal Flame falls in New York. I visited the falls in June 2025 and did research on how and why the flame exists. The Darvaza section contains new information about how the Turkmenistan government is aiming to extinguish the crater.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7lhn4Lp4UU

#ChestnutRidgePark #Darvaza #Derweze #EternalFlame #EternalFlameFallsPark #gateToHell #geology #NewYork #SpookyGeology #spookyScience

https://sharonahill.com/?p=10071

Eternal Flames

I’ve posted a new video on natural gas “eternal flames”. This video features info about the Darvaza “gate to hell” crater, which I previously wrote about for Spooky Geology, and new content related to the Eternal Flame falls in New York. I visited the falls in June 2025 and did research on how and why the flame exists. The Darvaza section contains new information about how the Turkmenistan government is aiming to extinguish the crater.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7lhn4Lp4UU

#ChestnutRidgePark #Darvaza #Derweze #EternalFlame #EternalFlameFallsPark #gateToHell #geology #NewYork #SpookyGeology #spookyScience

https://sharonahill.com/?p=10071

Eternal Flames

I’ve posted a new video on natural gas “eternal flames”. This video features info about the Darvaza “gate to hell” crater, which I previously wrote about for Spooky Geology, and new content related to the Eternal Flame falls in New York. I visited the falls in June 2025 and did research on how and why the flame exists. The Darvaza section contains new information about how the Turkmenistan government is aiming to extinguish the crater.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7lhn4Lp4UU

#ChestnutRidgePark #Darvaza #Derweze #EternalFlame #EternalFlameFallsPark #gateToHell #geology #NewYork #SpookyGeology #spookyScience

https://sharonahill.com/?p=10071

Eternal Flames

I’ve posted a new video on natural gas “eternal flames”. This video features info about the Darvaza “gate to hell” crater, which I previously wrote about for Spooky Geology, and new content related to the Eternal Flame falls in New York. I visited the falls in June 2025 and did research on how and why the flame exists. The Darvaza section contains new information about how the Turkmenistan government is aiming to extinguish the crater.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7lhn4Lp4UU

#ChestnutRidgePark #Darvaza #Derweze #EternalFlame #EternalFlameFallsPark #gateToHell #geology #NewYork #SpookyGeology #spookyScience

https://sharonahill.com/?p=10071

#StPeters #Basilica #BenedictIX #Bergoglio #Bible #gatetohell #currentnews #demons #dimensions #spirituality #Francis #heresy #intrigue #Svatopluk #Machar #jubilee2025 #catholicism #catholicchurch #catholic #corruption #church #screaming #idolatry #UnholyFather #Fatheroflies #pope #hell #fraud #portal #pilgrimage #Rome #sheepsrobe #Satan #conspiracy #dirt #StPeter #world #secret #silencing #bribes #warning #Vatican #vatican2025 #video #visionofhell #Revelation

https://www.imatrion.cz/papezovi-se-dostalo-varovani-a-zjeveni-skutecneho-pekla-varovani-k-temer-nemoznemu-obraceni-se/

#StPeters #Basilica #BenedictIX #Bergoglio #Bible #gatetohell #currentnews #demons #dimensions #spirituality #Francis #heresy #intrigue #Svatopluk #Machar #jubilee2025 #catholicism #catholicchurch #catholic #corruption #church #screaming #idolatry #UnholyFather #Fatheroflies #pope #hell #fraud #portal #pilgrimage #Rome #sheepsrobe #Satan #conspiracy #dirt #StPeter #world #secret #silencing #bribes #warning #Vatican #vatican2025 #video #visionofhell #Revelation

https://www.imatrion.cz/papezovi-se-dostalo-varovani-a-zjeveni-skutecneho-pekla-varovani-k-temer-nemoznemu-obraceni-se/

Gates to Hell and Hellmouths

Maybe there is some crazy logic to the idea of a geologist examining the question of Hell as a real place. With the widespread belief that another world exists below the surface, it certainly falls into the realm of spooky geology and geomythology. So, I’m going to go there, so to speak. Not literally, of course, though some have tried to enter Hell on purpose. They had their reasons. Here, my reason for exploring the intersection of geology and ideas about hell is to contrast supernatural beliefs with natural science. Through time, humans have discarded supernatural ideas about the world as we gained increased understanding through scientific processes. But even in the 21st century, there are still many who think Hell is an accessible and real place.

Where is “hell”?

In the past and even today, some believe that you can get to Hell via a portal or entrance from earth. There are countless tales of trips to the underworld made by mythical persons. There continue to be legends about gates to hell around the world that we might access today. They often draw tourists.

The idea of “Hell” in modern culture often has a strong Christian connotation even though most non-Christian cultures hold their own ideas of an underworld as a realm of the dead, even a place for judgment for one’s life choices. This judgment idea was very useful in converting people to religious values. But there is very little in the canonical Bible teaching that tells Christians about Hell. Ideas about Satan’s kingdom come more from art and literature. These have been incorporated and repeated so often that it feels genuine. Dante’s Divine Comedy (1320) told of a hole to hell formed from the fall of Lucifer from Heaven. The opposite side of the earth from the crater was a displaced elevated mountain called Purgatory. Hell was at the center of the earth, as far away from Heaven as could be.

Imaginative creators like Bosch and Milton (Paradise Lost) so colored the public’s version of Hell that people eventually came to accept it as religiously sanctioned. The depiction of hell as a terrible place within reach was good for church business.

There is no reasonable claim regarding an entrance to Hell and no basis for this to be a geological question: God and Satan are supernatural entities, they do not obey the laws of nature. Hell, it would follow, is a supernatural location as well. But, let’s have some spooky fun and examine some places around the world that are said to be gateways to Hell.

Gates and Hell mouths

The prevalence of caves in Greece, in particular, influenced the idea that the underworld (Hades) could be reached via a passage from the surface. These passages contained amazing features and perhaps even a flowing stream. It was a reasonable assumption to these observers to say that the earth could be full of huge voids. It could be, they hypothesized, that the winds and vapors of the earth rushing through these voids caused earthquakes and volcanoes.

Some caves seemed to go on forever, perhaps they led all the way to the world of the dead. It’s not easy to keep track of all the locations where Greek/Roman heroes entered the netherworld with some set purpose – Aeneas, Heracles, Odysseus, Orpheus. Many of these stories have been extrapolated to modern times by those looking for the physical location where these epic tales took place. There are also additional areas that have been labeled Gates to Hades. Kroonenberg (2011) remarks that Hades looks like a rabbit warren with all these secret entrances. Some caves were natural but others were constructed, or at least physically enhanced, to represent a passage to the underworld for visitors, or as a temple to Pluto or Hades.

The Mayans believed that the cenotes (water-filled cave-opening) of the Yucatan peninsula were portals to the underworld, Xibalba. Like the legends of Greece, the Mayans also had fantastical stories of trips into Xibalba.

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.

Lake Avernus (Lago Averno)

A crater lake in Cumae, Italy (near Naples), Avernus means “birdless” because birds supposedly dropped dead out of the sky if they flew over it. The legend of Aeneas has him descending into the Underworld here. Greek geographer and historian Strabo described the location and told of the toxic vapor that kills the birds. Like Pluto’s gate, there was likely emission of carbon dioxide that caused suffocation. No bubbles of gas are apparently in the lake now. On the shore of the lake is the Cave of the Sibyl as described in Virgil’s Aeneid and also nearby is a cave of Baiae which also represented a location of an oracle of the dead. These “navels of the earth” were places where one could access the underworld and commune with the dead.

Necromanteion

An excavated area near the Acheron River was the location of a temple to Hades, the god of the underworld, and the oracle of the dead. The Acheron was also a legendary entrance to Hades, being one of the five rivers that flowed through the underworld. Kroonenberg describes that this area around the Acheron has since silted up and doesn’t look like it was described over a thousand years ago. Long ago, in spring, locals could hear a deep lowing coming from below the ground in the Acherusian swamps as though a bull had been locked in a dungeon. The roar was made by waters traveling through the subterranean openings, but it was not heard after the swamps were drained. The sound supposedly led people to believe that Hades was close by underground.

Seven Gates of Hell

Many additional surface “portals” to hell show up in modern legends. The myth of the “Seven Gates of Hell” has been cobbled together organically by mashing up ideas about ancient Mesopotamian gates of hell, seven as a magic number, and places where you can open an entrance to hell via some occult ritual. Several mundane locations have accrued a spooky reputation in this way. In the Internet age, they became prime places to go “legend tripping” – a way for young people to test the limits of courage. None of these places have genuine supernatural “energies” but the power of storytelling is very strong.

In Stull, Kansas, a private cemetery became associated with a hidden stairway to hell, much to the dismay of the local townspeople.

Similarly, the concocted legend of the gates to hell in Hellam Township, Pennsylvania continues to annoy residents. The idea of a strange and creepy-looking physical gate spawned a fictional story of hidden gates appearing at the site of an asylum that burned down. If you stepped through each gate, you would go straight to hell. The name of the township might also have been a catalyst for the story but Hellam Township was not named after hell. There was never an asylum or a fire here. It’s a very silly story without any basis in reality, but that doesn’t stop people from trying to find it.

Some other so-called “gates to hell” are even sillier. Local kids, it seems, gave the name to drainage tunnels in Clifton, New York, and Columbus, OH.  The Devil’s gate in Los Angeles County, California is also the location of a drainage tunnel but at least this location comes with a more interesting story about American physicist and occultist Jack Parsons attempting to open a portal to hell. And, more impressively, the nearby rock face formed a mimetolith that looked like the characteristic profile of Satan.

Fengdu, China has become a well-known city of the dead based on the beliefs of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. The dead must pass tests before entering the afterlife. The area now represents the cultural expression of the journey of the dead, depicting ghosts, or demons that torture people for their sins.

Pits and Holes

Around the world, we can find countless places that namecheck Hell or the Devil. I previously explored the ideas of bottomless pits on earth including Houska castle, supposedly built to cover a pit to hell. It’s possible this was a karst geology feature that eventually morphed into a more colorful story. Some other legendary pits associated with entering hell are less impressive.

Lacus Curtius, Rome

A pit of uncertain origins, now filled and marked with rock slabs. Popular rumor is that it used to be considered a door to hell within the Roman Forum that opened to accept a sacrifice of a brave soldier and his horse.

St Patrick’s purgatory

A small cave or pit on Station Island, Ireland dated from the 5th century. According to legend, Christ himself revealed the place to Patrick as a special location where people would get a glimpse of hell and change their ways (i.e., become Christian converts). By witnessing Purgatory, the people would finally know the reality of the joys of Heaven and the torments of Hell. It is now a pilgrimage site.

Batagaika

More impressive is a natural feature of Batagaika, a continually growing Siberian permafrost slump crater that locals suitably call the Hellmouth because it threatens to consume their land and villages.

Kola borehole/Well to Hell

Two man-made gates to hell continue to grow as legends that are ever further removed from their true origin. The Kola borehole is the world’s longest human-made borehole. The story of the project, which was designed for the scientific study of the deep crust, inspired a totally manufactured story by Christian fundamentalists claiming that scientists had drilled a well so deep, they inadvertently reached hell itself. The temperatures were searing and they could hear the screaming voices of the damned.

Darvaza

On a flat plain in Turkmenistan, a pit burns continuously. The location has developed a supernatural aura suited to its dramatic appearance and this overshadows its more prosaic and embarrassing origins as a place where a natural gas exploration site collapsed and was deliberately set on fire.  

Burning places

The most dramatic places associated with gates to hell are in volcanic areas. In Japan, volcanic features (Jigaku) were connected with the idea of underground prisons and a world where souls suffer. For example, Chinoike Jigoku is modernly known as the Bloody Hell Pond, a hot spring that is disturbingly red due to iron oxide. At one time, the hot waters may have been used for torture. Now, it’s a tourist attraction.

Mt. Osore in Japan, translated as “Dread Mountain” is the gateway to Hell, where souls pause on their way to the underworld. A barren volcanic wasteland of howling winds and bubbling yellow to red caldrons, this is similar to the Phlegraean Fields (Campi Flegrei) of Italy –  a “hellscape” in an active volcanic caldera area stinking of sulfurous steam with fumaroles and mud pots, with small cones and multiple craters. Solfatara crater is the mythological home of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan. Roman thinkers had many creative natural ideas about the formation of Etna and Vesuvius, the great mountains in this regionally volcanic area that rumbled and occasionally unleashed destruction.

Hades

In ancient Greece, the underworld of Hades was known to be hot. Hades was viewed as a vast opening underground. This does make sense because of the active volcanic regions of Greece and Italy. Ancient natural philosophers assumed there was space inside the earth as evidenced by caves and underground rivers. In Medieval Europe, ideas about Hades easily transitioned into that of the Christian’s Old Testament Sheol (Hell). They were alike in description. As mentioned in the Bible’s book of Revelation, hell was a place of fire and brimstone (volcanic sulfur).

Because religious texts told of the miraculous formation of the earth, the study of earth processes was set back due to these entrenched dogmatic ideas. Volcanoes were seen as the “chimneys of hell”, existing solely to remind people of a punishing fate in the subterranean fires of eternal torment. It was difficult to convince people that volcanic places were not deliberately made by an agent of destruction. Many people believed their local volcano was inhabited by demons or the devil himself.

Hekla

On the volcanic island of Iceland, people didn’t believe in a single location of “the afterlife”. By the Middle Ages, Icelanders accepted the view that Hekla, in particular, was a gateway for condemned souls to enter an area of torment. Hekla was the dominant erupting area that influenced travelers that saw it and who took back the stories to Europe. Observers thought the noises from escaping gases were the sounds of the wretched souls. Hekla’s reputation as a hellish abyss dwarfed the more familiar Mount Etna in Italy that people called “Hell’s Chimney”. 

Masaya

The example of the Nicaraguan volcano Masaya illustrates the orthodox Roman Catholic thinking about hell mouths. When the Spaniards entered the country, they didn’t have much experience with volcanic areas and referred to the active volcano as “The Mouth of Hell”. The locals considered the volcano a deity but the Christian invaders attributed the belief in false gods to the Devil’s work. In 1529, Francisco de Bobadilla climbed the volcano and erected a cross in an attempt to exorcise the evil entities. Other religious men who visited Masaya assumed the volcano was a vent for which the fires of hell escaped. Hell, they believed, was at the center of the earth. For the fire to burn without obvious fuel, it must be supernaturally stoked. However, Friar Juan de Torquemada in 1615 rejected volcanoes as Hellfire because “Hell is the prison made by God for those who are condemned, therefore the fire of Hell should only harm nor hurt those who by His just judgment have been sentenced to torments and pain.” Since volcanoes destroyed indiscriminately, they were not related to hell. And, interestingly, there was no need for Hell to have a mouth.

Literal ideas of hell faded away

In the late 16th century, natural philosophical thought was returning. Learned men started to doubt the supernatural idea of Hell and again explored creative scientific explanations. By the Enlightenment, belief in a literal hell in philosophical circles was ridiculed. Descarte was an early proponent that the earth had a core, not including any void space for Hell. The earth’s core was demonstrated in 1906 but that didn’t stop the proliferation of belief in a hollow earth or of a literal place called Hell.  

The threat of hell as a place of real punishment is on the wane worldwide with some religious figures using it only in a metaphoric sense. But in the US, survey questions regarding belief in Hell still garner very high percentages among Christians. Do they think Hell is a literal void of fire and torture at the center of the earth? I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be that surprised if they say they do. It’s a simple and powerful idea even though it is scientifically preposterous.

Sources

Kroonenberg, S. (2011). Why Hell Stinks of Sulfur: Mythology and Geology of the Underworld.

Sigurdsson, H. (1999). Melting the Earth: The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions.

Viramonte, J.G. and Incer-Barquero, J. (2008). “Masaya, the “Mouth of Hell”, Nicaragua: Volcanological interpretation of the myths, legends and anecdotes.” Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 176:419–426. https://pages.mtu.edu/~raman/papers2/ViramonteMasayaJVGR08.pdf

#caves #doorToHell #gateToHell #geologyAndHell #Hades #hell #hellHole #hellmouth #netherworld #portalToHell #scienceOfHell #supernatural #underworld #volcanic #volcanism

https://sharonahill.com/?p=1893

Gates to Hell and Hellmouths

Maybe there is some crazy logic to the idea of a geologist examining the question of Hell as a real place. With the widespread belief that another world exists below the surface, it certainly falls into the realm of spooky geology and geomythology. So, I’m going to go there, so to speak. Not literally, of course, though some have tried to enter Hell on purpose. They had their reasons. Here, my reason for exploring the intersection of geology and ideas about hell is to contrast supernatural beliefs with natural science. Through time, humans have discarded supernatural ideas about the world as we gained increased understanding through scientific processes. But even in the 21st century, there are still many who think Hell is an accessible and real place.

Where is “hell”?

In the past and even today, some believe that you can get to Hell via a portal or entrance from earth. There are countless tales of trips to the underworld made by mythical persons. There continue to be legends about gates to hell around the world that we might access today. They often draw tourists.

The idea of “Hell” in modern culture often has a strong Christian connotation even though most non-Christian cultures hold their own ideas of an underworld as a realm of the dead, even a place for judgment for one’s life choices. This judgment idea was very useful in converting people to religious values. But there is very little in the canonical Bible teaching that tells Christians about Hell. Ideas about Satan’s kingdom come more from art and literature. These have been incorporated and repeated so often that it feels genuine. Dante’s Divine Comedy (1320) told of a hole to hell formed from the fall of Lucifer from Heaven. The opposite side of the earth from the crater was a displaced elevated mountain called Purgatory. Hell was at the center of the earth, as far away from Heaven as could be.

Imaginative creators like Bosch and Milton (Paradise Lost) so colored the public’s version of Hell that people eventually came to accept it as religiously sanctioned. The depiction of hell as a terrible place within reach was good for church business.

There is no reasonable claim regarding an entrance to Hell and no basis for this to be a geological question: God and Satan are supernatural entities, they do not obey the laws of nature. Hell, it would follow, is a supernatural location as well. But, let’s have some spooky fun and examine some places around the world that are said to be gateways to Hell.

Gates and Hell mouths

The prevalence of caves in Greece, in particular, influenced the idea that the underworld (Hades) could be reached via a passage from the surface. These passages contained amazing features and perhaps even a flowing stream. It was a reasonable assumption to these observers to say that the earth could be full of huge voids. It could be, they hypothesized, that the winds and vapors of the earth rushing through these voids caused earthquakes and volcanoes.

Some caves seemed to go on forever, perhaps they led all the way to the world of the dead. It’s not easy to keep track of all the locations where Greek/Roman heroes entered the netherworld with some set purpose – Aeneas, Heracles, Odysseus, Orpheus. Many of these stories have been extrapolated to modern times by those looking for the physical location where these epic tales took place. There are also additional areas that have been labeled Gates to Hades. Kroonenberg (2011) remarks that Hades looks like a rabbit warren with all these secret entrances. Some caves were natural but others were constructed, or at least physically enhanced, to represent a passage to the underworld for visitors, or as a temple to Pluto or Hades.

The Mayans believed that the cenotes (water-filled cave-opening) of the Yucatan peninsula were portals to the underworld, Xibalba. Like the legends of Greece, the Mayans also had fantastical stories of trips into Xibalba.

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.

Lake Avernus (Lago Averno)

A crater lake in Cumae, Italy (near Naples), Avernus means “birdless” because birds supposedly dropped dead out of the sky if they flew over it. The legend of Aeneas has him descending into the Underworld here. Greek geographer and historian Strabo described the location and told of the toxic vapor that kills the birds. Like Pluto’s gate, there was likely emission of carbon dioxide that caused suffocation. No bubbles of gas are apparently in the lake now. On the shore of the lake is the Cave of the Sibyl as described in Virgil’s Aeneid and also nearby is a cave of Baiae which also represented a location of an oracle of the dead. These “navels of the earth” were places where one could access the underworld and commune with the dead.

Necromanteion

An excavated area near the Acheron River was the location of a temple to Hades, the god of the underworld, and the oracle of the dead. The Acheron was also a legendary entrance to Hades, being one of the five rivers that flowed through the underworld. Kroonenberg describes that this area around the Acheron has since silted up and doesn’t look like it was described over a thousand years ago. Long ago, in spring, locals could hear a deep lowing coming from below the ground in the Acherusian swamps as though a bull had been locked in a dungeon. The roar was made by waters traveling through the subterranean openings, but it was not heard after the swamps were drained. The sound supposedly led people to believe that Hades was close by underground.

Seven Gates of Hell

Many additional surface “portals” to hell show up in modern legends. The myth of the “Seven Gates of Hell” has been cobbled together organically by mashing up ideas about ancient Mesopotamian gates of hell, seven as a magic number, and places where you can open an entrance to hell via some occult ritual. Several mundane locations have accrued a spooky reputation in this way. In the Internet age, they became prime places to go “legend tripping” – a way for young people to test the limits of courage. None of these places have genuine supernatural “energies” but the power of storytelling is very strong.

In Stull, Kansas, a private cemetery became associated with a hidden stairway to hell, much to the dismay of the local townspeople.

Similarly, the concocted legend of the gates to hell in Hellam Township, Pennsylvania continues to annoy residents. The idea of a strange and creepy-looking physical gate spawned a fictional story of hidden gates appearing at the site of an asylum that burned down. If you stepped through each gate, you would go straight to hell. The name of the township might also have been a catalyst for the story but Hellam Township was not named after hell. There was never an asylum or a fire here. It’s a very silly story without any basis in reality, but that doesn’t stop people from trying to find it.

Some other so-called “gates to hell” are even sillier. Local kids, it seems, gave the name to drainage tunnels in Clifton, New York, and Columbus, OH.  The Devil’s gate in Los Angeles County, California is also the location of a drainage tunnel but at least this location comes with a more interesting story about American physicist and occultist Jack Parsons attempting to open a portal to hell. And, more impressively, the nearby rock face formed a mimetolith that looked like the characteristic profile of Satan.

Fengdu, China has become a well-known city of the dead based on the beliefs of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. The dead must pass tests before entering the afterlife. The area now represents the cultural expression of the journey of the dead, depicting ghosts, or demons that torture people for their sins.

Pits and Holes

Around the world, we can find countless places that namecheck Hell or the Devil. I previously explored the ideas of bottomless pits on earth including Houska castle, supposedly built to cover a pit to hell. It’s possible this was a karst geology feature that eventually morphed into a more colorful story. Some other legendary pits associated with entering hell are less impressive.

Lacus Curtius, Rome

A pit of uncertain origins, now filled and marked with rock slabs. Popular rumor is that it used to be considered a door to hell within the Roman Forum that opened to accept a sacrifice of a brave soldier and his horse.

St Patrick’s purgatory

A small cave or pit on Station Island, Ireland dated from the 5th century. According to legend, Christ himself revealed the place to Patrick as a special location where people would get a glimpse of hell and change their ways (i.e., become Christian converts). By witnessing Purgatory, the people would finally know the reality of the joys of Heaven and the torments of Hell. It is now a pilgrimage site.

Batagaika

More impressive is a natural feature of Batagaika, a continually growing Siberian permafrost slump crater that locals suitably call the Hellmouth because it threatens to consume their land and villages.

Kola borehole/Well to Hell

Two man-made gates to hell continue to grow as legends that are ever further removed from their true origin. The Kola borehole is the world’s longest human-made borehole. The story of the project, which was designed for the scientific study of the deep crust, inspired a totally manufactured story by Christian fundamentalists claiming that scientists had drilled a well so deep, they inadvertently reached hell itself. The temperatures were searing and they could hear the screaming voices of the damned.

Darvaza

On a flat plain in Turkmenistan, a pit burns continuously. The location has developed a supernatural aura suited to its dramatic appearance and this overshadows its more prosaic and embarrassing origins as a place where a natural gas exploration site collapsed and was deliberately set on fire.  

Burning places

The most dramatic places associated with gates to hell are in volcanic areas. In Japan, volcanic features (Jigaku) were connected with the idea of underground prisons and a world where souls suffer. For example, Chinoike Jigoku is modernly known as the Bloody Hell Pond, a hot spring that is disturbingly red due to iron oxide. At one time, the hot waters may have been used for torture. Now, it’s a tourist attraction.

Mt. Osore in Japan, translated as “Dread Mountain” is the gateway to Hell, where souls pause on their way to the underworld. A barren volcanic wasteland of howling winds and bubbling yellow to red caldrons, this is similar to the Phlegraean Fields (Campi Flegrei) of Italy –  a “hellscape” in an active volcanic caldera area stinking of sulfurous steam with fumaroles and mud pots, with small cones and multiple craters. Solfatara crater is the mythological home of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan. Roman thinkers had many creative natural ideas about the formation of Etna and Vesuvius, the great mountains in this regionally volcanic area that rumbled and occasionally unleashed destruction.

Hades

In ancient Greece, the underworld of Hades was known to be hot. Hades was viewed as a vast opening underground. This does make sense because of the active volcanic regions of Greece and Italy. Ancient natural philosophers assumed there was space inside the earth as evidenced by caves and underground rivers. In Medieval Europe, ideas about Hades easily transitioned into that of the Christian’s Old Testament Sheol (Hell). They were alike in description. As mentioned in the Bible’s book of Revelation, hell was a place of fire and brimstone (volcanic sulfur).

Because religious texts told of the miraculous formation of the earth, the study of earth processes was set back due to these entrenched dogmatic ideas. Volcanoes were seen as the “chimneys of hell”, existing solely to remind people of a punishing fate in the subterranean fires of eternal torment. It was difficult to convince people that volcanic places were not deliberately made by an agent of destruction. Many people believed their local volcano was inhabited by demons or the devil himself.

Hekla

On the volcanic island of Iceland, people didn’t believe in a single location of “the afterlife”. By the Middle Ages, Icelanders accepted the view that Hekla, in particular, was a gateway for condemned souls to enter an area of torment. Hekla was the dominant erupting area that influenced travelers that saw it and who took back the stories to Europe. Observers thought the noises from escaping gases were the sounds of the wretched souls. Hekla’s reputation as a hellish abyss dwarfed the more familiar Mount Etna in Italy that people called “Hell’s Chimney”. 

Masaya

The example of the Nicaraguan volcano Masaya illustrates the orthodox Roman Catholic thinking about hell mouths. When the Spaniards entered the country, they didn’t have much experience with volcanic areas and referred to the active volcano as “The Mouth of Hell”. The locals considered the volcano a deity but the Christian invaders attributed the belief in false gods to the Devil’s work. In 1529, Francisco de Bobadilla climbed the volcano and erected a cross in an attempt to exorcise the evil entities. Other religious men who visited Masaya assumed the volcano was a vent for which the fires of hell escaped. Hell, they believed, was at the center of the earth. For the fire to burn without obvious fuel, it must be supernaturally stoked. However, Friar Juan de Torquemada in 1615 rejected volcanoes as Hellfire because “Hell is the prison made by God for those who are condemned, therefore the fire of Hell should only harm nor hurt those who by His just judgment have been sentenced to torments and pain.” Since volcanoes destroyed indiscriminately, they were not related to hell. And, interestingly, there was no need for Hell to have a mouth.

Literal ideas of hell faded away

In the late 16th century, natural philosophical thought was returning. Learned men started to doubt the supernatural idea of Hell and again explored creative scientific explanations. By the Enlightenment, belief in a literal hell in philosophical circles was ridiculed. Descarte was an early proponent that the earth had a core, not including any void space for Hell. The earth’s core was demonstrated in 1906 but that didn’t stop the proliferation of belief in a hollow earth or of a literal place called Hell.  

The threat of hell as a place of real punishment is on the wane worldwide with some religious figures using it only in a metaphoric sense. But in the US, survey questions regarding belief in Hell still garner very high percentages among Christians. Do they think Hell is a literal void of fire and torture at the center of the earth? I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be that surprised if they say they do. It’s a simple and powerful idea even though it is scientifically preposterous.

Sources

Kroonenberg, S. (2011). Why Hell Stinks of Sulfur: Mythology and Geology of the Underworld.

Sigurdsson, H. (1999). Melting the Earth: The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions.

Viramonte, J.G. and Incer-Barquero, J. (2008). “Masaya, the “Mouth of Hell”, Nicaragua: Volcanological interpretation of the myths, legends and anecdotes.” Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 176:419–426. https://pages.mtu.edu/~raman/papers2/ViramonteMasayaJVGR08.pdf

#caves #doorToHell #gateToHell #geologyAndHell #Hades #hell #hellHole #hellmouth #netherworld #portalToHell #scienceOfHell #supernatural #underworld #volcanic #volcanism

https://sharonahill.com/?p=1893

The “Hellmouth” Batagaika crater

If the land under you was sinking and falling at this rate, you’d be worried too!

Villagers of Batagay in Yakutia (Sakha Republic, Siberia) reportedly believe that a mouth to hell is nearby. News stories tell of the sinking and mass wasting (“megaslump”) of the nearby land area that continues to grow and change the landscape, creating new hazards.

The Batagaika crater is the result of melting permafrost land. In the Quaternary Ice Age, the ground was permanently frozen. In the 1960s, a forested area was cleared, allowing sunlight to reach the ground surface and warm it. Without heavy vegetation, the cooling effects of transpiration were lost as well. As the ice in the soil melts, the ground compacts, slumps, and subsides. With increasing average earth temperatures, we may be seeing an increase in melting permafrost worldwide. Thanks to the internet, we can all see and share the odd and frightening phenomena that can result from it.

• “Jiggly” land surfaces
• Exploding methane craters (“pingos”)
• Thermokarst

This sunken area has been measured since the 1980s. It is currently 1 km long and 86 m deep, exposing layers of soil 120,000 to 200,000 years old, possibly up to 650,000 years old according to the preliminary dating of the lowest layer in the permafrost face – the oldest uncovered in Eurasia. The slumping movement has not stabilized and it can’t be halted. The process is self-feeding. The slump grows 20-30 m per year. [Source – BBC Reel]

According to the Siberian Times (not a reputable source), the locals fear the crater and they hear booms emanating from it. The Yakut people of the area retain some supernatural beliefs of a spirit world around them and practice Shamanism. For a culture so connected to the environment, reliant on hunting, trapping, and fishing for their subsistence, this must be a genuinely scary happening they have not witnessed in their history.

Researcher Julian Murton who has studied the “largest known retrogressive thaw slump in the world” on location did not find any tunnel or hole at the bottom.

“At the bottom of the slump is rock … I haven’t seen any gateway to hell.”

Instead, Murton and others see the crater as a gateway to the past.

Looking at the layers exposed by the slump can give indications of how our world once looked – of past climates. At the same time, the acceleration of the growth gives an immediate insight into the impact of climate change on the increasingly fragile permafrost.

In 2018, an expedition from North-Eastern Federal University, and Kindai University in Japan recovered a baby horse exquisitely preserved at Batagay. The foal was dated at approximately 42,000 years old. Along with preserved hair and internal organs intact, scientists were able to extract liquid blood from the body.

Other news stories about the crater:

Siberia’s ‘Doorway To The Underworld’ Is Rapidly Growing In Size – Forbes

Looking into Earth’s past — The Batagaika crater in Siberia – Digital Journal

#BatagaikaCrater #gateToHell #giantHole #hellmouth #megaslump #melting #permafrost #Siberia #supernaturalBelief

https://sharonahill.com/?p=387

The “Hellmouth” Batagaika crater

Originally published 2017-March 3. Updated 2020-August 1.

If the land around you was sinking and falling at this rate, you’d be worried too!

Villagers of Batagay in Yakutia (Sakha Republic, Siberia) reportedly believe that a mouth to hell is nearby. News stories tell of the sinking and mass wasting (“megaslump”) of the nearby land area that continues to grow and change the landscape, creating new hazards.

The Batagaika crater is the result of melting permafrost land. In the Quaternary Ice Age, the ground was permanently frozen. In the 1960s, a forested area was cleared, allowing sunlight to reach the ground surface and warm it. Without heavy vegetation, the cooling effects of transpiration were lost as well. As the ice in the soil melts, the ground compacts, slumps, and subsides. With increasing average earth temperatures, we may be seeing an increase in melting permafrost worldwide. Thanks to the internet, we can all see and share the odd and frightening phenomena that can result from it.

• “Jiggly” land surfaces
• Exploding methane craters (“pingos”)
• Thermokarst

This sunken area has been measured since the 1980s. It is currently 1 km long and 86 m deep, exposing layers of soil 120,000 to 200,000 years old, possibly up to 650,000 years old according to preliminary dating of the lowest layer in the permafrost face – the oldest uncovered in Eurasia. The slumping movement has not stabilized and it can’t be halted. The process is self-feeding. The slump grows 20-30 m per year. [Source – BBC Reel]

According to the Siberian Times (not the most reputable source), the locals fear the crater and they hear booms emanating from it. The Yakut people of the area retain some supernatural beliefs of a spirit world around them and practice Shamanism. For a culture so connected to the environment, reliant on hunting, trapping, and fishing for their subsistence, this must be a genuinely scary happening they have not witnessed in their history.

Researcher Julian Murton who has studied the “largest known retrogressive thaw slump in the world” on location did not find any tunnel or hole at the bottom.

“At the bottom of the slump is rock … I haven’t seen any gateway to hell.”

Instead, Murton and others see the crater as a gateway to the past .

Looking at the layers exposed by the slump can give indications of how our world once looked – of past climates. At the same time, the acceleration of the growth gives an immediate insight into the impact of climate change on the increasingly fragile permafrost.

In 2018, an expedition from North-Eastern Federal University, and Kindai University in Japan recovered a baby horse exquisitely preserved at Batagay. The foal was dated at approximately 42,000 years old. Along with preserved hair and internal organs intact, scientists were able to extract liquid blood from the body.

Other news stories about the crater:

Siberia’s ‘Doorway To The Underworld’ Is Rapidly Growing In Size – Forbes

Looking into Earth’s past — The Batagaika crater in Siberia – Digital Journal

#BatagaikaCrater #gateToHell #giantHole #hellmouth #megaslump #melting #permafrost #Siberia #supernaturalBelief

https://sharonahill.com/?p=387

Darvaza: Gate to Hell

There are many places around the world that locals have branded the “gate to hell”. One of the most dramatic examples is the Darvaza (Derweze) crater in the Karakum desert of Turkmenistan.

There is nothing else around here, the landscape is barren. There is just a “gaping burning pit” in the middle of nowhere. The 230 ft wide, 66 ft deep hole is ablaze with flickering flames fed by underground natural gas. It’s like a gigantic gas fireplace, releasing heat and dangerous fumes making the surrounding air shimmer and reek of sulfur.

The formation of the pit is mysterious. There are no records from when the area was explored by Soviet geologists in the 1950s. The most repeated story is that “geologists accidentally opened the door to hell” when a drilling rig collapsed into the sinkhole creating the crater. It’s unclear if this happened in the 60s or later in 1971. Two other craters are nearby but they are full of bubbling mud. This crater, however, was destined for greatness:

The site was identified by Soviet scientists in 1971. It was thought to be a substantial oil field site. The scientists set up a drilling rig and camp nearby, and started drilling operations to assess the quantity of gas reserve available at the site. As the Soviets were pleased with the success of finding the gas resources, they started storing the gas. The ground beneath the drilling rig and camp collapsed into a wide crater and disappeared. No lives were lost in the incident. However, large quantities of methane gas were released, creating an environmental problem and posing a potential danger to the people of the nearby villages. Fearing the release of further poisonous gases from the cavern, the scientists decided to burn it off. They thought that it would be safer to burn it than to extract it from underground through expensive methods. Environmentally, gas firing is the next best solution when the circumstances are such that it cannot be extracted for use. At that time, expectations were that the gas would burn within days, but it is still burning, more than four decades after it was set on fire. [Source]

Researchers were likely aware of the huge methane store underground. It’s unclear why they assumed it would burn out in just a few days.

In 2013, National Geographic co-sponsored researcher George Kouronis to enter the pit and take samples. He described the location as unique and “visually stunning”. Over the pit in a pulley system and Kevlar suit, he discovered that the roaring, smokeless, “coliseum of fire” contained a specific bacterial microsystem not found in the surrounding soil.

The government of Turkmenistan had plans to fill in the hole and quench the fire to aid in further resource exploration. But the pit has become a tourist attraction thanks to the Internet and features by Atlas Obscura and Lonely Planet for very adventurous travelers. It’s not easy to get there. There are no amenities on site. The site is best viewed at night but breathing the emissions around the crater for too long will make you sick.

It seems like the Darvaza crater has earned its title as one of the creepiest places on earth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF8tZjKTfEE

May 2022: Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov proposed to find a way to extinguish the crater fire and stop the loss of the gas resources just burning away. He would rather the gas be tapped and used instead of serving as the “gate to hell” tourist attraction. The methane released is a pollution source but the fix may be very difficult. No funds or plans to close the pit have been proposed.

#collapse #crater #Darvaza #Derweze #doorToHell #gateToHell #naturalGasCrater #sinkhole #Turkmenistan

https://sharonahill.com/?p=407

Darvaza: Gate to Hell

There are many places around the world that locals have branded the “gate to hell”. One of the most dramatic examples is featured in our banner image for the site. It is the Darvaza (Derweze) crater in the Karakum desert of Turkmenistan.

There is nothing else around here, the landscape is barren. There is just a “gaping burning pit” in the middle of nowhere. The 230 ft wide, 66 ft deep hole is ablaze with flickering flames fed by underground natural gas. It’s like a gigantic gas fireplace, releasing heat and dangerous fumes making the surrounding air shimmer and reek of sulfur.

The formation of the pit is mysterious. There are no records from when the area was explored by Soviet geologists in the 1950s. The most repeated story is that “geologists accidentally opened the door to hell” when a drilling rig collapsed into the sinkhole creating the crater. It’s unclear if this happened in the 60s or later in 1971. Two other craters are nearby but they are full of bubbling mud. This crater, however, was destined for greatness:

The site was identified by Soviet scientists in 1971. It was thought to be a substantial oil field site. The scientists set up a drilling rig and camp nearby, and started drilling operations to assess the quantity of gas reserve available at the site. As the Soviets were pleased with the success of finding the gas resources, they started storing the gas. The ground beneath the drilling rig and camp collapsed into a wide crater and disappeared. No lives were lost in the incident. However, large quantities of methane gas were released, creating an environmental problem and posing a potential danger to the people of the nearby villages. Fearing the release of further poisonous gases from the cavern, the scientists decided to burn it off. They thought that it would be safer to burn it than to extract it from underground through expensive methods. Environmentally, gas firing is the next best solution when the circumstances are such that it cannot be extracted for use. At that time, expectations were that the gas would burn within days, but it is still burning, more than four decades after it was set on fire. [Source]

Researchers were likely aware of the huge methane store underground. It’s unclear why they assumed it would burn out in just a few days.

In 2013, National Geographic co-sponsored researcher George Kouronis to enter the pit and take samples. He described the location as unique and “visually stunning”. Over the pit in a pulley system and Kevlar suit, he discovered that the roaring, smokeless, “coliseum of fire” contained a specific bacterial microsystem not found in the surrounding soil.

The government of Turkmenistan had plans to fill in the hole and quench the fire to aid in further resource exploration. But the pit has become a tourist attraction thanks to the Internet and features by Atlas Obscura and Lonely Planet for very adventurous travelers. It’s not easy to get there. There are no amenities on site. The site is best viewed at night but breathing the emissions around the crater for too long will make you sick.

It seems like the Darvaza crater has earned its title as one of the creepiest places on earth.

Update May 2022: Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov proposed to find a way to extinguish the crater fire and stop the loss of the gas resources just burning away. He would rather the gas be tapped and used instead of serving as the “gate to hell” tourist attraction. The methane released is a pollution source but the fix may be very difficult. No funds or plans to close the pit have been proposed.

#collapse #crater #Darvaza #Derweze #doorToHell #gateToHell #naturalGasCrater #sinkhole #Turkmenistan

https://sharonahill.com/?p=407

A Trip to Hell: Mysterious tunnel system and underground river at Baiae, Italy

The ancient village of Baiae (Baia) in Italy has secrets. A recent discovery suggests that an underground tunnel system may have served as a Oracle of the Dead and simulated a trip to Hell (Hades).

Many people are familiar with the Oracle of Delphi, where Pythia, the priestess of Apollo was said to relate messages from the god to the temple visitors. The specialness of this place was recognized prior to it being a sacred place of Apollo. The Delphic fault emits hydrocarbon gases that affect animals and humans. But, the spookiness of Delphi will be reserved for another time. In this piece, I discovered what sounds to be likely another location of an Oracle, this time, an Oracle of the dead, and geology has everything to do with its origin.

In the December 2016 issue of Fortean Times [1], the article entitled “A Visit to the Underworld” by Mike Dash describes the Oracle of the Dead proposed at Baiae (Baia), a village on the northwest shore of the Bay of Naples in Italy. Baiae flourished due to its geographical location near Naples, the coastal setting, and its connection as part of Campania, a volcanic complex that includes the Phlegraean Fields and Mount Vesuvius. The Greeks settled the area, naming it Campi Flegrei or “burning fields” (now referred to often as the Phlegraean Fields) [2] – more details about this after I tell you about why a discovery at Baiae warranted its own piece in FT and my interest in declaring it “spooky”.

Necromanteion

Dash’s piece describes a tunnel system into the cliffs at Baiae that remains mysterious and generally unstudied by archaeologists. Doc Paget (Dr. Robert Ferrand Paget) explored the system in the 1960s and concluded it was part of a Necromanteion – a temple where citizens could go to consult the dead. Keepers of such temples would create an elaborate system where visitors brave enough to undertake the ritual in order to speak to the dead would be purified with food and narcotic substances. An animal would be sacrificed. The participant would move through corridors and gates simulating a descent to the underworld (Hades). The most famous Necromanteion is that of Ephyra, in Greece. In 700-600 BC, the Greeks held the idea that more than one “navels of the earth” existed where you could access the underworld. Another of these connections to Greek Hell is proposed at the Ploutonion at Hieropolis in Turkey, where noxious gas emissions occur due to the volcanic plumbing. In this location, death was immediate due to the toxic smoke. People could not descend into the vaporous space. Volcanic areas of Greece, Turkey, and Italy lent themselves easily to an interpretation of the gates of Hell with their steaming fissures, sulfur smell, and hallucination-inducing (often toxic) gasses. It’s likely the Hellish nature of the Necromanteions were exaggerated with theatrics as well.

Philosophers of the time said an Oracle of the Dead existed in the Phlegraean Fields, near Lake Avernus (around Naples, Italy). Greeks settled the area due to the climate and good soil [2]. As with the Greek locations, this was a very active volcanic area with sulfur vents and boiling springs. The sibyl, a prophetess, was said to be the bridge between the voices of the living and dead. Several spots for the oracle were proposed. In 1932, Amedeo Maiuri discovered the Antro della Sibilla in Cuma which he interpreted to be the Cave of the Sibyl described in Virgil’s Aeneid. The chamber had been excavated into the volcanic deposits, accessed by a trapezoidal passage. Paget and Keith Jones searched a wide range around Avernus for other tunnels and discovered those hidden at Baiae.

Discovery at Baiae

Baiae was a happening place during Greek and Roman times: Atlas Obscura refers to it as the “Las Vegas” of its day, particularly towards the end of the Roman Republic. The saunas and hot baths complimented the hedonistic reputation of the resort town. It later became part of Port Julius of the Roman Navy and finally was deserted. Parts of the city sunk several meters as a result of its location within an active volcanic caldera. Remains of the city can be seen via underwater excursions into the bay, a spooky side note unto itself.

Paget’s discovery in 1962 and his conclusions about the tunnel at Baiae are chronicled in his books which I don’t have at hand. But an informative (though slow-loading) website, Oracle of the Dead, describes the tunnels, their re-discovery, and the most current exploration in detail. According to Dash, A. Maiuri also discovered the overgrown Baiae tunnel entrance in the 1950s among the ruins of the ancient spa that existed in the town. At that time, the narrow passage was too hot and dangerous to enter.

Paget assembled a team to help him. The claustrophobic entrance tunnel is only 21 inches wide, barely enough for one person, and 6 ft high. Walking sideways is preferred so as not to bump along the walls. The single long and “dead straight” passage goes on for about 400 feet (122 m) before making a bend that appeared intended to obscure what sight was beyond. A door likely existed at this “Dividing of the Ways” providing an option to keep going or to enter the Oracle Sanctuary. Paget named the straight tunnel the Great Antrum 270 due to its declination of 270 degrees. Later researchers noted that the tunnel opening may have astronomical alignment. Lamp holds were found niched into the smoothed walls suggesting it was amply lit.

The complex was dug out of a deposit created when a massive amount of pulverized material ejected from an eruption about 39,000 years ago. Still raging hot, the material partially welded under the pressure. I can’t find a detailed geologic map of the deposit but it is described as tuff (or tufa), a poorly sorted mix of pumice bits, glassy ash, and rock fragments, derived from a Plinian-type eruption of great violence. More about the volcanism of the area at the end.

What other features were inside the Baiae tunnels and their particular uses is a matter of debate. Some even call the tunnels a hoax. What makes the complex particularly spectacular is that it culminates in the appearance of a “river”, supposedly representing the Styx. The 6 ft wide, 2 ft deep waterway in a 5 ft high excavated area is man-made, fed by two boiling springs discovered by a very intrepid diver. The water is drinkable and Paget reported the levels do not change, therefore it is not dependent upon rainfall, but there are rim marks on the wall that indicate the levels do change. Yet the hydrology is a mystery. It’s difficult to judge the characteristics of the stream since no monitoring over any length of time was done. The design of the tunnels to reach the watercourse is deliberate but how they knew of the underground water source is unresolved. Some think that a surface cave elsewhere signaled its location. Where the flow ultimate goes is also unknown. Fluorescein dye was used as a tracer with no known springs emitting the trace.

Paget’s idea was that the participant crossed the river of the dead during the ritual. The darkness and drug use may have made the trip down the very small “river” seem more dramatic. On the other side was an exit tunnel, created with precision engineering design, that led back to the Oracle sanctuary. One area had been blocked up with material that Paget thought must have been carried back into the tunnel system, possibly by the Romans at a later date. It was also assumed that some ventilation system was used to keep the foul air moving out and fresh air in. Or, it was designed to exaggerate the effect of smoky vapors in certain areas. Robert Temple, a later explorer, reports that the heat and air quality was not bad but one did get low in oxygen in the farthest reaches.  Temple received permission to re-enter the tunnels long after Paget and when they had mostly been forgotten. He produced a book and documentary for National Geographic (2001). He commented on the Smithsonian piece:

It took me 20 years to get permission from the archaeological authorities to undertake the investigations and to film the site, because they believed it to be full of poison gas. But it is not full of poison gas, and the oxygen cylinders and other such precautions which I brought on the first occasion proved to be unnecessary, as well as the rope tied around my ankle so that they could pull out my corpse (I had already signed a form stating that the Italian Government was not responsible for my death). If anyone wants to fund the clearance so that the tunnels may be more fully investigated, let me know.

Temple also says no Italian archaeologists were willing to go with him into the cave, but more work certainly needs to be done. He states there are additional passes to be uncovered and cleared because, he suggests, soil and rubble were placed by the Romans to block them and ‘decommission’ the Oracle. Additional work is required by qualified archaeologists into the tunnels at Baiae to document them more carefully (and officially), discern best when and why they were constructed, how and by whom they were maintained, and what purposed they served through their history. We may not ever know much more if the earth gods have anything to say about it and certainly if the observations do not get into the scientific literature.

Hell just below the surface

The area of Vesuvius and the Phlagraean Fields are part of a very complex and still active volcanic system. Recent research suggests that the deep magma chamber (that is shared by various discrete volcanoes) is getting shallower, meaning the heat can dissipate in less violent ways than blowing a huge chunk of earth into tiny specks of glass, forming searing clouds of white, buoyed by their own hot gasses, and flow faster than sound to bury the surrounding towns. Pompeii, anyone?

With the huge population areas of Pozzuoli and Napoli (2 million) within the danger zones, this is one of the world’s most dangerous volcanic areas. A Plinian-type eruption starts with a big explosion that can send even geologically-small pyroclastic flows and a rain of ash onto towns [3]. It does not take much to cause havoc and death and authorities are very concerned about evacuating everyone threatened. There is no reason to think that the last recorded big eruption (Vesuvius in 1944) means the end to the hazard. It’s a matter of when and where the eruption will manifest. Baia and Pozzuoli have been subject to really nasty seismic movement related to the expanding and contracting ground within the caldera. Called bradyseisms, the land moves meters up and down in a short time. These movements buried the coast of Baia 10 m under water and raised part of Pozzuoli in 1982-1984 damaging 8,000 buildings in the city center and raising the sea bottom by almost 2 m. This area of Italy is now up to a code yellow in warning (green-yellow-orange-red) for activity. Many people living and visiting here are nervous about Vesuvius but fail to grasp the extensive volcanic and associated seismic hazards that can come at any moment without warning. That, dear readers, is truly terrifying. Hellish conditions are around the geologic corner, so visit Italy while you can and enjoy the moment. (Don’t worry, we’ll probably all be dead by the next con-Flegrei-tion anyway.)

————

1. The article from FT346:32-37 is basically a repeat of a piece that appeared in Smithsonian magazine in 2012. That is available here.
2. H. Sigurdsson (1999), Melting the Earth, p 51.
3. G.A. Macdonald (1972), Volcanoes. Macdonald attributes the name ‘Plinian’ to Pliny the Elder, but it was Pliny the Younger, his nephew, who wrote about it in great detail. Pliny the Elder died in the eruption.

#Baia #Baiae #CampanianPlain #CampiFlegrei #CaveOfTheSibyl #fumeroles #gateToHell #Hades #HellPlaces #Naples #Necromanteion #oracleOfTheDead #PhlegraeanFields #Pozzuoli #prophecy #tunnelsOfBaia #Vesuvius #volcanism

https://sharonahill.com/?p=148

A Trip to Hell: Mysterious tunnel system and underground river at Baiae, Italy

The ancient village of Baiae (Baia) in Italy has secrets. A recent discovery suggests that an underground tunnel system may have served as a Oracle of the Dead and simulated a trip to Hell (Hades).

Many people are familiar with the Oracle of Delphi, where Pythia, the priestess of Apollo was said to relate messages from the god to the temple visitors. The specialness of this place was recognized prior to it being a sacred place of Apollo. The Delphic fault emits hydrocarbon gases that affect animals and humans. But, the spookiness of Delphi will be reserved for another time. In this piece, I discovered what sounds to be likely another location of an Oracle, this time, an Oracle of the dead, and geology has everything to do with its origin.

In the December 2016 issue of Fortean Times [1], the article entitled “A Visit to the Underworld” by Mike Dash describes the Oracle of the Dead proposed at Baiae (Baia), a village on the northwest shore of the Bay of Naples in Italy. Baiae flourished due to its geographical location near Naples, the coastal setting, and its connection as part of Campania, a volcanic complex that includes the Phlegraean Fields and Mount Vesuvius. The Greeks settled the area, naming it Campi Flegrei or “burning fields” (now referred to often as the Phlegraean Fields) [2] – more details about this after I tell you about why a discovery at Baiae warranted its own piece in FT and my interest in declaring it “spooky”.

Necromanteion

Dash’s piece describes a tunnel system into the cliffs at Baiae that remains mysterious and generally unstudied by archaeologists. Doc Paget (Dr. Robert Ferrand Paget) explored the system in the 1960s and concluded it was part of a Necromanteion – a temple where citizens could go to consult the dead. Keepers of such temples would create an elaborate system where visitors brave enough to undertake the ritual in order to speak to the dead would be purified with food and narcotic substances. An animal would be sacrificed. The participant would move through corridors and gates simulating a descent to the underworld (Hades). The most famous Necromanteion is that of Ephyra, in Greece. In 700-600 BC, the Greeks held the idea that more than one “navels of the earth” existed where you could access the underworld. Another of these connections to Greek Hell is proposed at the Ploutonion at Hieropolis in Turkey, where noxious gas emissions occur due to the volcanic plumbing. In this location, death was immediate due to the toxic smoke. People could not descend into the vaporous space. Volcanic areas of Greece, Turkey, and Italy lent themselves easily to an interpretation of the gates of Hell with their steaming fissures, sulfur smell, and hallucination-inducing (often toxic) gasses. It’s likely the Hellish nature of the Necromanteions were exaggerated with theatrics as well.

Philosophers of the time said an Oracle of the Dead existed in the Phlegraean Fields, near Lake Avernus (around Naples, Italy). Greeks settled the area due to the climate and good soil [2]. As with the Greek locations, this was a very active volcanic area with sulfur vents and boiling springs. The sibyl, a prophetess, was said to be the bridge between the voices of the living and dead. Several spots for the oracle were proposed. In 1932, Amedeo Maiuri discovered the Antro della Sibilla in Cuma which he interpreted to be the Cave of the Sibyl described in Virgil’s Aeneid. The chamber had been excavated into the volcanic deposits, accessed by a trapezoidal passage. Paget and Keith Jones searched a wide range around Avernus for other tunnels and discovered those hidden at Baiae.

Discovery at Baiae

Baiae was a happening place during Greek and Roman times: Atlas Obscura refers to it as the “Las Vegas” of its day, particularly towards the end of the Roman Republic. The saunas and hot baths complimented the hedonistic reputation of the resort town. It later became part of Port Julius of the Roman Navy and finally was deserted. Parts of the city sunk several meters as a result of its location within an active volcanic caldera. Remains of the city can be seen via underwater excursions into the bay, a spooky side note unto itself.

Paget’s discovery in 1962 and his conclusions about the tunnel at Baiae are chronicled in his books which I don’t have at hand. But an informative (though slow-loading) website, Oracle of the Dead, describes the tunnels, their re-discovery, and the most current exploration in detail. According to Dash, A. Maiuri also discovered the overgrown Baiae tunnel entrance in the 1950s among the ruins of the ancient spa that existed in the town. At that time, the narrow passage was too hot and dangerous to enter.

Paget assembled a team to help him. The claustrophobic entrance tunnel is only 21 inches wide, barely enough for one person, and 6 ft high. Walking sideways is preferred so as not to bump along the walls. The single long and “dead straight” passage goes on for about 400 feet (122 m) before making a bend that appeared intended to obscure what sight was beyond. A door likely existed at this “Dividing of the Ways” providing an option to keep going or to enter the Oracle Sanctuary. Paget named the straight tunnel the Great Antrum 270 due to its declination of 270 degrees. Later researchers noted that the tunnel opening may have astronomical alignment. Lamp holds were found niched into the smoothed walls suggesting it was amply lit.

The complex was dug out of a deposit created when a massive amount of pulverized material ejected from an eruption about 39,000 years ago. Still raging hot, the material partially welded under the pressure. I can’t find a detailed geologic map of the deposit but it is described as tuff (or tufa), a poorly sorted mix of pumice bits, glassy ash, and rock fragments, derived from a Plinian-type eruption of great violence. More about the volcanism of the area at the end.

What other features were inside the Baiae tunnels and their particular uses is a matter of debate. Some even call the tunnels a hoax. What makes the complex particularly spectacular is that it culminates in the appearance of a “river”, supposedly representing the Styx. The 6 ft wide, 2 ft deep waterway in a 5 ft high excavated area is man-made, fed by two boiling springs discovered by a very intrepid diver. The water is drinkable and Paget reported the levels do not change, therefore it is not dependent upon rainfall, but there are rim marks on the wall that indicate the levels do change. Yet the hydrology is a mystery. It’s difficult to judge the characteristics of the stream since no monitoring over any length of time was done. The design of the tunnels to reach the watercourse is deliberate but how they knew of the underground water source is unresolved. Some think that a surface cave elsewhere signaled its location. Where the flow ultimate goes is also unknown. Fluorescein dye was used as a tracer with no known springs emitting the trace.

Paget’s idea was that the participant crossed the river of the dead during the ritual. The darkness and drug use may have made the trip down the very small “river” seem more dramatic. On the other side was an exit tunnel, created with precision engineering design, that led back to the Oracle sanctuary. One area had been blocked up with material that Paget thought must have been carried back into the tunnel system, possibly by the Romans at a later date. It was also assumed that some ventilation system was used to keep the foul air moving out and fresh air in. Or, it was designed to exaggerate the effect of smoky vapors in certain areas. Robert Temple, a later explorer, reports that the heat and air quality was not bad but one did get low in oxygen in the farthest reaches.  Temple received permission to re-enter the tunnels long after Paget and when they had mostly been forgotten. He produced a book and documentary for National Geographic (2001). He commented on the Smithsonian piece:

It took me 20 years to get permission from the archaeological authorities to undertake the investigations and to film the site, because they believed it to be full of poison gas. But it is not full of poison gas, and the oxygen cylinders and other such precautions which I brought on the first occasion proved to be unnecessary, as well as the rope tied around my ankle so that they could pull out my corpse (I had already signed a form stating that the Italian Government was not responsible for my death). If anyone wants to fund the clearance so that the tunnels may be more fully investigated, let me know.

Temple also says no Italian archaeologists were willing to go with him into the cave, but more work certainly needs to be done. He states there are additional passes to be uncovered and cleared because, he suggests, soil and rubble were placed by the Romans to block them and ‘decommission’ the Oracle. Additional work is required by qualified archaeologists into the tunnels at Baiae to document them more carefully (and officially), discern best when and why they were constructed, how and by whom they were maintained, and what purposed they served through their history. We may not ever know much more if the earth gods have anything to say about it and certainly if the observations do not get into the scientific literature.

Hell just below the surface

The area of Vesuvius and the Phlagraean Fields are part of a very complex and still active volcanic system. Recent research suggests that the deep magma chamber (that is shared by various discrete volcanoes) is getting shallower, meaning the heat can dissipate in less violent ways than blowing a huge chunk of earth into tiny specks of glass, forming searing clouds of white, buoyed by their own hot gasses, and flow faster than sound to bury the surrounding towns. Pompeii, anyone?

With the huge population areas of Pozzuoli and Napoli (2 million) within the danger zones, this is one of the world’s most dangerous volcanic areas. A Plinian-type eruption starts with a big explosion that can send even geologically-small pyroclastic flows and a rain of ash onto towns [3]. It does not take much to cause havoc and death and authorities are very concerned about evacuating everyone threatened. There is no reason to think that the last recorded big eruption (Vesuvius in 1944) means the end to the hazard. It’s a matter of when and where the eruption will manifest. Baia and Pozzuoli have been subject to really nasty seismic movement related to the expanding and contracting ground within the caldera. Called bradyseisms, the land moves meters up and down in a short time. These movements buried the coast of Baia 10 m under water and raised part of Pozzuoli in 1982-1984 damaging 8,000 buildings in the city center and raising the sea bottom by almost 2 m. This area of Italy is now up to a code yellow in warning (green-yellow-orange-red) for activity. Many people living and visiting here are nervous about Vesuvius but fail to grasp the extensive volcanic and associated seismic hazards that can come at any moment without warning. That, dear readers, is truly terrifying. Hellish conditions are around the geologic corner, so visit Italy while you can and enjoy the moment. (Don’t worry, we’ll probably all be dead by the next con-Flegrei-tion anyway.)

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1. The article from FT346:32-37 is basically a repeat of a piece that appeared in Smithsonian magazine in 2012. That is available here.
2. H. Sigurdsson (1999), Melting the Earth, p 51.
3. G.A. Macdonald (1972), Volcanoes. Macdonald attributes the name ‘Plinian’ to Pliny the Elder, but it was Pliny the Younger, his nephew, who wrote about it in great detail. Pliny the Elder died in the eruption.

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#Baia #Baiae #CampanianPlain #CampiFlegrei #CaveOfTheSibyl #fumeroles #gateToHell #Hades #Naples #Necromanteion #oracleOfTheDead #PhlegraeanFields #Pozzuoli #prophecy #tunnelsOfBaia #Vesuvius #volcanism

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