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Entrances to the Underworld - Ep 05
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In this episode we return to Ireland for a look at the Cave of the Cats associated with The Morrigan and Queen Medb and journey to a haunting volcanic mountain in Japan where mediums commune with the dead. Then to Iceland’s highly active volcanoes that were thought to be the Gates of Hell, and then to Greco-Roman caves that granted prophecies and access to the underworld. Join me as we explore the legends, archaeology, and ancient beliefs that echo through these otherworldly landscapes.
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Transcript
Introduction to Underworld Sites
00:00:01
Speaker
You're listening to the Archaeology Podcast Network.
00:00:28
Speaker
Welcome to the past macabre, where we journey through history to explore how our relationship with death reflects the values, fears, and hopes that shape how people live. I'm your host, Stephanie Rice. Thank you for joining me for episode five, entrances to the underworld.
Owen Nagat: Gateway to the Underworld
00:00:47
Speaker
Throughout human history, and spanning nearly every continent, certain natural places have evoked fear,
00:01:10
Speaker
In this episode, we'll look at a few of the naturally formed places where myths claim the realm of death overlaps with ours. These places were crafted by natural
00:01:35
Speaker
Maybe our desire to build structures where the supernatural can only manifest
00:02:03
Speaker
Nagat, known as the Cave of the Cats, lies within the Ratcrowan complex. This is one of Ireland's six royal sites, and it embodies Ireland's rich interplay of history and myth. Ratcrowan was once the seat of Irish kings for this western region called Connacht.
00:02:21
Speaker
Its landscape is marked by over 240 archaeological sites, including ceremonial mounds, ancient fortifications, and burial cairns. The sheer number of these sites tells us that this land was important to the Irish people for millennia.
00:02:36
Speaker
Among these sites, Owen Nagat stands as the physical passage to the other world. Today, the entrance just looks like an unassuming hole under a hawthorn tree, but inside is a man-made sauteran, which is an underground tunnel supported with stone walls that were built without any mortar.
00:02:54
Speaker
Visitors have to crawl through until it opens into a natural, narrow limestone cave that extends about 50 meters underground and slowly descends deeper into the earth. The origin of the name Cave of Cats is lost to history, but Conect has quite a few feline folktales that were likely inspired by rare sightings of real wild cats.
00:03:20
Speaker
It was previously assumed that Ireland had no wildcats of their own because any remains of cats were found near other domesticated animals. 19th century attempts to trace any references to wildcats were brushed off as just displaced Scottish wildcats or Eurasian lynxes, and sometimes even pine martens, since people in Western Ireland often called them tree cats.
00:03:46
Speaker
But more and more remains were found over the 20th century that led researchers to confirm only in 2014 that Ireland did have two different species of wildcats. The Eurasian lynx had a sizable but very elusive population in Ireland up to about the sixth century CE. And Ireland had its own population of wildcat distinct from the Scottish wildcat that went extinct around the end of the Bronze Age around 1200 BCE.
00:04:16
Speaker
Maybe ancient sightings of the dwindling lynx and wildcat populations sparked the myths across Ireland, like the king of cats, the cat she, or the cat-headed armies that were led by mythological kings. The cries of lynx and wildcats are incredibly unnerving for anyone unaware of what they are. Lynx have an especially uncanny ability to sound like a screaming human sometimes.
00:04:44
Speaker
I can easily understand how hearing strange human-like cries nearby would inspire legends that this cave is a site where supernatural beings gather, perhaps waiting for their chance to pass through the world of the living. Irish legend tells us that Owainnegat is a place where creatures of pestilence and misfortune emerge from the underworld to cross into the realm of the living.
00:05:08
Speaker
In one tale, The Adventures of Nera, the hero enters Ohan Nagat on Samhain Knight and encounters strange beings and unsettling visions. He sees armies of supernatural creatures preparing to emerge, bound to wreak havoc on the mortal realm on the next Samhain Knight unless Nera rushes to warn Queen Maeve.
00:05:30
Speaker
According to the tale, Neder was successful and Queen Maeve was able to stop the otherworldly invaders. But other myths speak of later invasions of hordes of supernatural creatures that made it through, bringing plagues and famine with them. They were often led by the Morrigan into the land of the living on Samhain Night, and it was said that the only way to go outside after dark safely was to dress as one of these monsters.
00:05:58
Speaker
sounds a lot like our modern trick-or-treating costumes. Just inside the entrance to Owen-Nagat, a stone over the doorway that marks the start of the walls stands out. It's inscribed with the 4th to 6th century Owen script that was used in early medieval Ireland. One of the stones holds only a fragment of the original translation, making it illegible now, but the other translates to of-freak, son of Maeve.
00:06:28
Speaker
Maeve was the warrior queen who became a goddess over time who was said to rule over Connacht in several Irish epics. The main huge mound at Ratcrowan is said to be the ruins of Queen Maeve's ancient palace here. To this day the mound has not been excavated but geophysical imaging has revealed that there was once a large wooden building or possibly a hinge on top of the mound at one point.
00:06:57
Speaker
At the center of it, there is an older, smaller mound, but it's not clear what any of these were used for. Maybe it is actually associated with an ancient queen who inspired the legends of Maeve.
00:07:11
Speaker
The epics also include the story of the trials that Frank went through in order to earn the right to marry Maeve's daughter, Finnabear. He succeeded and became Maeve's son-in-law, as we would now call it, but then he would have simply been called her son. The archaeological presence of the Oum Stones links Owen Nagat directly to the tales of Frank and Maeve, centuries before they were written and altered by Christian monks.
00:07:37
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It supports the theory that the recorded myths of Ireland hold fragments of older oral stories that were passed down.
Mount Osore: Spiritual Communication in Japan
00:07:45
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Hundreds of years ago, possibly even further back, this site was one of cultural significance that was associated with leadership. That connection continued through Irish history as the kings of Connacht continued to have themselves buried nearby. Owen Nagat even has almost supernatural ties to modern leaders.
00:08:06
Speaker
Carved into the limestone walls inside the cave is the name of one, the first president of Ireland and founder of the movement to save the Irish language, Douglas Hyde. He grew up nearby and carved his name here during his childhood, long before any aspirations of a political career. Now it's time to leave Owen Nagat and cross continents to Japan.
00:08:32
Speaker
There's another ancient place here that blends the natural landscape, death, and the supernatural. Mount Osore is known in Japanese as Osorizan, which translates to Dread Mountain. It has a haunting volcanic landscape with active s sulfuric gas vents, twisted rock formations and lava flows, and thermal pools that are tinted with otherworldly hues.
00:08:58
Speaker
The land here appears almost lifeless, marked by volcanic remnants that mirror descriptions of Buddhist hells. As s sulfurous steam rises from the bubbling lakes and the acidic ground, the air itself seems to invoke images of the realms of the dead that are described in Buddhist teachings. And these are where souls undergo punishment and purification.
00:09:22
Speaker
Here at Osorizan, the lines between life and death blur, and the living feel close to the spirits of the dead. The earliest written records of Osorizan date back to the 17th century. It became known as a place for grieving families to seek communion with deceased loved ones. Across the volcanic landscape, there are different sites associated with specific types of death, and these reflect the ancient beliefs that were held.
00:09:50
Speaker
For example, there's a specific dry riverbed that is said to be the place that spirits linger when they are trapped between worlds, unable to reach paradise. The spirits stack stones in an endless task, their towers knocked down by demons every time. Families who visit this riverbed often leave offerings of stones or flowers as an act of comfort and remembrance, a gesture meant to ease their suffering in the afterlife and help them with their endless task to help them move on.
00:10:20
Speaker
Another site here is named the Blood Pool Hell and is associated with menstruation and childbirth. There's a ritual performed here to relieve the spirits of people who died in childbirth. A stand-in for the deceased, like a small statue or doll, was thrown into the crimson acidic pool in order to cleanse them. At Azoresan, the living also communicate directly with the dead through the rituals of the Itako, which were blind mediums who held seances during the summer festival.
00:10:54
Speaker
This tradition has continued today and during the summer festivals, they still have these seances at Azoresan. These women serve as intermediaries, channeling the spirits of the deceased and allowing families to receive messages from beyond. The Itako gained popularity in the 20th century, cementing Azoresan's reputation as a place where the supernatural and mortal worlds meet.
00:11:21
Speaker
Today, Pilgrim's still journey to Azoresan to experience a landscape steeped in the unknown to feel the weight of a place as close to the underworld or the afterlife as the living might dare to go.
Mount Hekla: Iceland's Gateway to Hell
00:11:35
Speaker
Now, we'll travel to the dramatic Icelandic landscape where myths of hellish realms come to life in the volcanic peaks of Mount Hekla. Hekla's frequent and violent eruptions have inspired many mythological disasters.
00:11:52
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Medieval Christians even believed it to be the literal gateway to hell. The imagery surrounding Hecla, its fiery plumes, molten rivers of lava, and towering ash clouds fueled centuries of legend and superstition.
00:12:09
Speaker
In medieval European lore, Hecla became a symbol of hellish landscapes, possibly even inspiring Dante's Inferno, and it was thought to be a place where souls would descend into the underworld, and sometimes escape it.
00:12:24
Speaker
This reputation was reinforced through medieval literature. Like in The Voyage of Saint Brendan, Hecla was described as a place of eternal fire and torment. In the tale The King's Mirror, it was portrayed as a terrifying landscape filled with smoke and ash.
00:12:43
Speaker
There are stories that flocks of birds circling over Hekla after an eruption were the souls of the damned forever trapped in the fiery underworld with only a glimpse of ours. Each eruption bringing with it destruction and chaos added to the volcano's fearsome myths.
00:13:04
Speaker
Even though Iceland wasn't inhabited until the 9th century CE, archaeological evidence reveals that thousands of years before humans ever laid eyes on Hekla, its eruptions had a powerful impact on the environment and humanity. Hekla erupted around 2300 BCE with the same force as the Mount Vesuvius eruption that buried Pompeii.
00:13:28
Speaker
This eruption at Hecla left a trail of ash as far west as Ireland. There were tree ring records that show reduced growth, which suggests that there was widespread cooling and probably failed harvests. And there was ash found as far east as Estonia, where peat bogs preserved it.
00:13:51
Speaker
Researchers have theorized that this is what led to many people moving around Western Europe at the beginning of the Bronze Age and spreading the metalworking technology the way that it did. The very first copper mining in Ireland began about this time at Ross Island in County Kerry, and the presence of certain types of pottery there indicate that the local inhabitants were shown how to work this copper by outsiders from mainland Europe.
00:14:16
Speaker
Centuries later, the Hecla III eruption in 1135 BCE, again with the same magnitude as Mount Vesuvius, sent ash across northern Europe, darkening skies and triggering years of famine.
00:14:32
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Researchers think that the collapse of most Bronze Age societies in Europe at this time and even the Mediterranean were caused by the environmental impact of a more powerful eruption at what is now called Santorini that caused mass famine in the Mediterranean region and was then followed by the Hekla III eruption which caused mass famine to the north not long after.
00:14:56
Speaker
Even as the volcanic activity left physical scars on the landscape, it left deeper marks on the collective imagination from the trauma endured for years. The repeated impact of Hekla's eruptions and Iceland's other active volcanoes across the North Atlantic likely inspired Ragnarok in Norse mythology. Serder, the fire giant said to engulf the world in flame during Ragnarok, is often seen as a personification of fire and lava.
00:15:26
Speaker
The poem Volspa from the poetic Edda is a pretty accurate description of the aftermath of a major volcanic eruption. The sun turns black. Earth sinks in the sea. The hot stars down from heaven are world. Fierce grows the steam and the life-feeding flame till fire leaps high about heaven itself. Similarly, researchers think that fimble winter was inspired by the volcanic winter caused after another period of major eruptions from Hekla and other Icelandic volcanoes in the sixth century CE.
00:16:02
Speaker
This caused such a drastic temperature drop in Europe that it snowed in the summertime for 10 years straight. Famine spread and violent conflicts broke out all over Europe for quite some time. The long winter caused a global cooling effect that led to what we call the Little Ice Age, a nearly 500 year period of famine and instability that was caused by colder than usual temperatures across Europe.
Cenotes & Lake Avernus: Cultural Portals
00:16:30
Speaker
Hekla's legacy endures today in the way that it shaped the course of European history, as seen in the myths inspired by the cultural memories of it, and through the physical layers of ash that tell the story of fire, destruction, and creation. Each eruption leaves a new layer of earth, and Hekla's eruptions have been so frequent and massive that they have created roughly 10% of Iceland's entire landmass.
00:16:59
Speaker
Maybe this too is reflected in Norse myth. It is said that when Ragnarok is over, a new world will rise from the seas. This new world is said to be repopulated by humans and the surviving gods became a new pantheon led by Balder.
00:17:18
Speaker
As Europe was experiencing volcanic winter and widespread famine due to Hekla and the other large volcanoes in the area, the Mayans of the Yucatan Peninsula across the Atlantic were experiencing their Golden Age. Construction was started at Chichen Itza in the 6th century CE, and it was expanding into a large center for trade and religious practices. Underneath the steppe pyramid at the center of Chichen Itza is a sacred pool called a Sinote.
00:17:48
Speaker
Cenotes are natural sinkholes that form over millions of years when water dissolves parts of the porous limestone shelf that forms the peninsula. These cenotes were essential freshwater sources and spiritual centers and territorial boundaries for the ancient Mayans. They still hold deep cultural and spiritual significance to modern Mayans who work to protect them from many environmental problems that they are facing.
00:18:15
Speaker
The name Chichen Itza means at the edge of the well of the Itza, and this reflects the importance of these pools. The Itza are an ethnic group of Mayans whose name comes from the Mayan term for enchanted water. This seems fitting for the stewards of this sacred cenote.
00:18:34
Speaker
Cenotes were often considered to be portals to Shabbalba, the Maya underworld, which is a realm of darkness and decay ruled by fearsome deities associated with death, disease, and misfortune. The Mayans left sacrifices at Cenotes since they saw them as gateways between the world of the living and the dead.
00:18:54
Speaker
Archaeological evidence found within these water-filled caves reveals traces of ritual offerings like ceramics, stone artifacts, jade artifacts even, and sometimes human remains. The sacred cenote at Chichen Itza is perhaps the most famous example, and it's a site where priests conducted ceremonies to appease the gods. For the Maya, these cenotes served as points of communion with divine forces.
00:19:23
Speaker
In Maya cosmology, cenotes represented the physical gateway. Modern Maya communities continue to honor these sacred sites, blending ancient beliefs with Catholic rituals. Now, offerings of candles and flowers are left at theciota the The cenotes not only preserve the spiritual history, but also serve as historical archives going way back.
00:19:45
Speaker
While diving in cenotes to learn more about the ancient Mayans, archaeologists have found the fossils of extinct megafauna, like the giant sloth, which provides a glimpse even further back in time. These cenotes truly do offer a glimpse into the dark, hidden places where death has rained for much longer than humans have been present.
00:20:06
Speaker
From the waters of the Yucatan, we continue our journey now to the waters of Italy, where a volcanic lake known as Lake Avernus holds its own legends of darkness and descent into the underworld. Lake Avernus is near Kumai, and people have believed this lake to be the entrance to the underworld for a long time. The name Avernus itself means birdless in ancient Greek due to the sulfuric gases that rise from the waters and prevent birds from flying overhead without risk of suffocating.
00:20:37
Speaker
The lake's dark reflective surface and the perpetual haze that covers it from these vapors evoke a sense of foreboding. With these conditions, Lake Avernus easily gained its reputation as a place where life seemed to wither and fade, a natural portal to the land of the dead. Virgil immortalizes Lake Avernus in his epic, The Aeneid.
00:20:59
Speaker
Here, the Trojan hero, Aeneas, embarks on his journey into the underworld to seek wisdom and closure from his father. A cave on the lake's edge, known as the Cave of the Sybil, was said to be home to a seer who could guide pilgrims through her cave and into the underworld. Ancient sources describe it as a labyrinthine network of corridors that lead deeper and deeper into the earth.
00:21:23
Speaker
The Greek geographer Strabo, for example, recounted that the cave was vast and dark, with echoes filling its winding passages. These descriptions reinforced the supernatural air around the cave and attracted pilgrims over time. The sibyl is depicted as both revered and feared. Her wisdom was tainted with a certain danger, yet it was also highly sought after in the Roman world.
00:21:49
Speaker
Her prophecies were notoriously ambiguous, requiring interpretation and quite a lot of caution. In the Aeneid, she leads Aeneas into the entrance of the underworld, her knowledge of the realm of the dead positioning her as the intermediary between the living Aeneas and the deceased.
00:22:08
Speaker
but she could only share her knowledge in cryptic phrases that demanded careful reflection. Some ancient accounts even claimed that she inscribed her predictions on leaves that would scatter into the wind, forcing those who sought her guidance to interpret fragments of her words. The site around Lake Avernus and the Cave of the Sibyl also provides rich archaeological evidence of the Roman era offerings to gods that were associated with Earth and the underworld.
00:22:37
Speaker
Archaeologists have found remnants of altars, vessels, and other ritual objects near the lake's edge. These indicate that pilgrims left offerings here to appease spirits or seek favor from the gods. In this place, the Romans could confront the mysteries of life, death, and prophecy. Avernus, with its toxic mist and silent waters, was a terrifying natural phenomena that became associated with the crossing point between realms.
00:23:05
Speaker
The Sybil's cave was partially natural but was altered by humans to become a subterranean temple. This gave the perception of control within the reverence, fear, and awe that surrounded Lake Avernus. It was here that the veil between worlds thinned, but mortal visitors could seek answers from a supernatural source at the time of their choosing and with the knowledge that they would be safely guided back.
00:23:31
Speaker
For ancient Greeks and Romans, lakes and caves were often seen as places that bridged life and death. In the modern day countries of Greece and Turkey, similar sacred caves were dedicated to Pluto or Hades and provided ancient initiates with physical locations to commune with death's mysteries.
00:23:51
Speaker
These caves, known as Plutonians, or Pluto's gates, were found in Hierapolis, Turkey and Eleusis, Greece. They were dedicated to Hades, who was known by many names. In ancient Greece, it was considered bad luck to say Hades' true name. A common Greek name for him was Pluton, which meant wealthy one, and this is what the Romans based their name, Pluto, off of.
00:24:16
Speaker
The Plutonian at Hierapolis was well known in antiquity for emitting toxic gases that were lethal to those that were thought to be unworthy of entry. Ancient writers like Strabo observed how birds that flew too close would fall lifeless from the sky and animals left as sacrifices at its entrance would perish within moments. Strabo's vivid descriptions once again reinforced the idea that this site was imbued with supernatural qualities.
00:24:45
Speaker
This, again, cemented its reputation as an authentic gateway to Hades. It became a popular pilgrimage site and priests at the Plutonian would sell many birds to pilgrims, and they were specifically sacrificed just to show the power over death that this cave held. In some accounts, priests here knew of specific pockets of oxygen that would allow them to descend into the temple and then safely re-emerge after a while through seemingly divine intervention.
00:25:15
Speaker
The Plutonian at Eleusis was also associated with the kidnapping of Persephone. It played a central role in the Eleusian mysteries, which were a secret rite focused on death, rebirth, and the journey of the soul. Here, initiates would descend into the cave near the Temple of Demeter, reenacting Persephone's journey into and then the return from the underworld. This process was believed to offer insight into the soul's journey through life, death, and rebirth.
Plutonians: Myths of Hades
00:25:46
Speaker
Unlike the Plutonian at Herapolis, which involved toxic gases and public demonstrations, arguably what we would call a very commercial fashion, the Plutonian at Eleusis was a sensory deprivation experience that was meant to emphasize personal transformation.
00:26:03
Speaker
It was a dark, silent, and entirely enclosed space designed to isolate the initiate from the outside world. People would go in one at a time, not in large groups, and they wouldn't watch a priest go in for them.
00:26:18
Speaker
The rituals surrounding the Plutonian were shrouded in secrecy and the initiates were sworn to silence, so we don't have a lot of details, but ancient writers have described pieces here and there and explained it as a powerful transformative experience. Archaeological remains at Eleusis further support the idea of the Plutonian as a key part of the mystery rites.
00:26:43
Speaker
A large rock cut chamber with multiple levels and alcoves has been identified, along with altars, libation vessels, and the remnants of offerings that were made to Demeter, Persephone, and Hades.
00:26:55
Speaker
The artifacts found here range from simple pottery to intricately carved votive objects, suggesting that a personalized choice and offerings, unlike the birds that were sold to be sacrifices at Heropolis en masse, were used here along with these personal rites. These Plutonians reveal the ancient's desire to engage with the mysteries of death to face its shadows in a place where life and death were merged.
00:27:23
Speaker
Unlike the unpredictable thresholds of Owen Nagat or Hecla or the Cenotes, Plutonians provided structured encounters with death's mysteries, offering initiates a transformative experience through controlled ritual and in controlled spaces.
Human Fascination with the Afterlife
00:27:41
Speaker
These ancient sites remind us that life and death are closely entwined. People sought connections to the afterlife through landscapes shaped by volcanoes, sacred pools, and deep caves. But just as we did with nature, we still built our own structures and attempt to control the interactions with the supernatural.
00:28:02
Speaker
Each place reminds us of our own eternal desire to understand our place and connect with those we have lost to the realm of the dead, while also safely protecting ourselves.
Conclusion & Future Episodes
00:28:13
Speaker
The topic for our next episode was chosen by all of you. So thank you for answering the poll that I put up on Instagram. We'll return to Egypt to descend into another portal between realms and explore the ancient Egyptian underworld known as the Dua. Until next time.
00:28:33
Speaker
Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe to keep up with new releases. Please leave a rating and a comment that helps the show reach others who may be interested in the past macabre. For access to bonus content from all archaeology podcast network shows, become a member at arcpodnet dot.com slash members.
00:28:57
Speaker
com slash members. You can find show notes for this and other episodes at
00:29:40
Speaker
This episode was produced by Chris Webster from his ah RV traveling the United States, Tristan Boyle in Scotland, DigTech LLC, Cultural Media, and the Archaeology Podcast Network, and was edited by Rachel Rodin. This has been a presentation of the Archaeology Podcast Network. Visit us on the web for show notes and other podcasts at www.archapodnet.com. Contact us at chrisatarchaeologypodcastnetwork.com.