Overview
- At Barnham in Suffolk, researchers identified a fired-clay patch, flint handaxes fractured by intense heat, and two iron pyrite fragments.
- Analyses showed temperatures exceeding 700°C and repeated burning in the same spot, with deposits preserved within ancient pond sediments.
- Iron pyrite is rare locally, indicating deliberate collection for spark-making and pointing to planning and technological know‑how.
- The British Museum–led study, published in Nature after four years of testing, pushes back confirmed European fire production by roughly 350,000 years from the prior 50,000‑year benchmark in northern France.
- No human remains were recovered, but tool types and nearby fossils suggest early Neanderthals as the likely fire-makers, and the team aims to apply this toolkit to other Middle Pleistocene sites.