Paul Cooper

Amazing video of the construction of the Kusuma Neolithic Hall, a recreation of a 4,500 year old structure found near Stonehenge... More: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

From inscriptions on lead pipes and tiles, it soon became clear that what had been discovered were the pleasure barges of the infamous first-century Roman Emperor Caligula.

Still, the stories about the gigantic ship persisted. In the middle ages, fishermen even used grappling hooks to bring up ancient artefacts from the supposed wreck to sell as curiosities. In 1446 a young Cardinal & nephew of the Pope, Prospero Colonna, decided to investigate the rumours.

For centuries, the fishermen who sailed in the placid waters of Lake Nemi, 30km south of Rome, knew a secret. Legend had it that the rotting timbers of a gigantic ancient wreck lurked below the water's quiet surface.

Very excited to announce that Fall of Civilizations has been named a "Book of the month" by Blackwell's bookshop. Just a short thank you video to everyone who has helped make this possible. Pre-order your copy if you haven't already: blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...

Today, the Ploutonion at Hierapolis reminds us of a time when gods and demons used to breathe out of the cracks in the earth. It reminds us that another world used to exist just out of sight, beneath the surface of our own.

Over time, Hierapolis became a draw for ancient tourists, who wanted to see the macabre spectacle themselves. The eunuch priests of the temple led bulls down into the cave tied with ropes, while spectators watched from the stands. They would drag out its corpse minutes later.

Scientists testing the ruins found CO₂ making up to 53% of the air at the mouth of the cave, and reaching as high as 91% inside. Normal atmospheric levels of CO₂ are around 0.039%, and 10% is enough to asphyxiate a person in 30 minutes. (Pfanz et al. link.springer.com/article/10.1...)

Archaeologists led by volcanologist Hardy Pfanz have found that the same geological activity that causes the Pamukkale hot springs also causes noxious gases, particularly CO₂, to pour out of the earth in this region.

The Greek scholar Strabo visited Hierapolis in the first century BCE, and wrote about the frightening properties of its Ploutonion in his Geographica: “the Ploutonion… is an opening large enough to admit a man, but it reaches a considerable depth…”

But as well as its healing thermal waters and its grand temple to the sun god Apollo, Hierapolis had a darker side. This was expressed in its Ploutonion, a temple for the worship of Pluto. Pluto was the ruler of the underworld in Roman myth, and a cognate with the Greek god Hades.

The city was founded as a thermal spa early in the 2nd century BCE, and rose to prominence as a place where thermal waters could heal ailments. It became a Roman possession when Attalus III, King of Pergamon bequeathed his entire kingdom to Rome on his death.

Hierapolis was a city built on a plateau over the modern Turkish site of Pamukkale, meaning “cotton cliffs”. This unique landscape was formed as calcium deposits bubbled from thermal springs and formed cliffs of white limestone.

The printed ends look absolutely incredible! Apparently the printers have never done a run-on design like this before, and had to do a few proof of concept tests first. Only these limited edition copies have them. 😍