Overview
- A British Museum–led team reports in Nature that a disused clay pit at Barnham, Suffolk, preserves the oldest known signs of humans making fire.
- Magnetic and infrared analyses show reddened clay was heated above 700°C through repeated burning at a fixed spot, consistent with a hearth rather than wildfire.
- Two tiny pieces of iron pyrite—scarce in the local geology—were found alongside fire-cracked flint handaxes, indicating pyrite was brought to the site as a spark-making material.
- The find likely involves early Neanderthals, inferred from similarly aged fossils at Swanscombe in Kent and Atapuerca in Spain, though no human remains were recovered at Barnham.
- The study pushes intentional fire-making back by about 350,000 years from the previous best evidence in northern France, as outside experts note the case is strong but lacks direct use-wear tying the pyrite and tools to ignition.