Take this story that’s been passed down through more than 230 generations of Gugu Badhun Aboriginal people, for example.

Once upon a time, a huge explosion rocked the land and a massive crater appeared in the ground. A malicious dust filled the air, and when people wandered into it, they disappeared forever. The air was so hot that along the waterfronts, the ground appeared to be on fire.

This story was first definitively documented in the 1970s, when a recording was made of an Aboriginal elder talking about it. At the time, it was considered to be nothing more than a work of someone’s imagination.

As it so happens, a brand new study has just confirmed that this 7,000-year-old epic has likely been true all along, and it probably won’t surprise you that it was based on a volcanic eruption.