Archaeologists discover Pluto’s “Gate to Hell” in southwestern Turkey

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Known as Pluto’s Gate, the famous “Gate to Hell” cave was celebrated as the portal to the underworld in Greco-Roman mythology and tradition. It was said to be located in the ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis, now called Pamukkale, and described as filled with lethal mephitic vapors. Last week, Italian archaeologists announced that they have…

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3.5 billion year old fossils found that predate oxygen on Earth

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Researchers have found fossils of bacteria in northwest Australia’s Pilbara region, that are dated at 3.49 billion-years-old. That’s older than oxygen and just one billion years after Earth’s formation. The fossils, which are textures on the surfaces of sandstone thought to be sculpted by once-living organisms, are believed to be the oldest visible fossils ever…

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The Grand Canyon’s rock record is missing 1.2 billion years of history

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Called “The Great Unconformity”, the Grand Canyon has a 1.2 billion year gap in the rock record. Above the gap is 500 million-year-old sandstone (Cambrian age), a time of billions of shelled marine creatures. Below the gap is metamorphic rock of the Slatherian period aged 1.75 billion years where no fossils exist at all. But…

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