There are places in the world where cracks in the planet continually release noxious fumes that catch fire, leaving destruction in their wake for centuries, sometimes millenia.
Then there are the places where the Earth covertly, quietly takes your life, with only the mist around you.
Today’s Moment of Science… Pluto’s Gate.
Wherever the Earth’s plates are bumping and grinding, a variety of inconvenient bullshit can happen. Earthquakes, volcanoes, gently flaming bits of planet, and various unpleasant gasses are churned out depending on the rhythm the tectonic plates are dancing to.
So, the Ploutonium.
Ancient Hierapolis sounded pretty lit. By the second century AD, the place had running water (via a structure called a Nymphaeum, i.e. a shrine to the nymphs, as you do). There were gorgeous hot springs, and if you wanted entertainment?Well.
Eunuch priests would kill animals by taking them for a walk in this cave that they named for the God of the Underworld, Pluto. Likely because of all the death.
I’d say that they did some strange things for amusement back in the day, but we made Jillian Michaels a celebrity for torturing fat people, so.
(Allegedly or whatever).
In some cases, animals were just thrown into the pit and spectators would watch safely from their seats above, waiting for the newly deceased animal to be pulled back out on a rope. In other cases, the priests would lead animals down to the pit as a part of a ritualistic sacrifice. The fact that the priests survived clearly showed they were magical or blessed by God or some hocus pocus.
Strabo, an ancient historian, reported that “any animal that passes inside meets instant death. I threw in sparrows and they immediately breathed their last and fell.” It’s only so surprising that priests made themselves a little business selling animals for people to throw into the pit.
The site was destroyed in an earthquake in the sixth century, lost to history, and seemingly relegated to legend.
Until just a few years ago.
In 2013, archaeologist Francesco D’Andria announced at a conference that he’d found the site of the Ploutonium in modern day Turkey. During field work, they’d witnessed birds standing at the entrance, suffering the mythical fate. Centuries later, the same cause of death still wafted up from the Earth.
The answer was carbon dioxide gas, and specifically that it’s heavier than air. CO2 is also a toxicant. It was at elevated enough levels to reportedly make those priests hallucinate, but if they held their breath and stayed on their tippy toes, they’d emerge victor of the ‘staying alive while breathing at my height’ championship with a dead bull.
A study released in 2018 from archaeologist Hardy Pfanz showed that carbon dioxide concentrations ranged from 4-53%, depending on the distance from ground level. In the grotto area, near the vent where that deep fissure allows volcanic gas to creep up into this anti-cave-of-wonders, it can reportedly rise as high as 91%.
You don’t just need a minimum level of oxygen. Breathing in too much carbon dioxide can fuck up your day. It’s present at about 0.04% in the atmosphere, which really doesn’t affect our lungs. Toxic effects start at about five percent, ten percent will kill you if you don’t get your ass out of there too quickly, and by thirty percent? You’re out cold before you can say “close your eyes and think of England.”
I would have stuck to the hot springs.
This has been your daily Moment of Science, suggesting there’s maybe a time and a place when “don’t hold your breath” is not great advice.
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