Story perspectives

Study Links Dante’s Inferno to Chicxulub Impact, Remains Speculative

5/10/2026

50 5

Summary

Story summary

Dr. Iain Stewart of the University of Plymouth presented a study in Vienna in April 2026 linking Dante’s Inferno to an impact geometry.
The authors compare Hell’s inverted-conical pit with circles to the walls and uplift of the 66-million-year-old Chicxulub crater.
They estimate Hell’s size as roughly the Mediterranean basin, matching a large impact structure.
Timothy Burbery of Marshall University says the hypothesis remains speculative, is not peer-reviewed, and fits an archaeogeophysics tradition.

1 of 1

Story summary

Dr. Iain Stewart of the University of Plymouth presented a study in Vienna in April 2026 linking Dante’s Inferno to an impact geometry.
The authors compare Hell’s inverted-conical pit with circles to the walls and uplift of the 66-million-year-old Chicxulub crater.
They estimate Hell’s size as roughly the Mediterranean basin, matching a large impact structure.
Timothy Burbery of Marshall University says the hypothesis remains speculative, is not peer-reviewed, and fits an archaeogeophysics tradition.