New analysis from a Stone Age site at Barnham, Suffolk, suggests deliberate fire use about 400,000 years ago. Excavators found heat-damaged flint tools, a patch of scorched soil and rare iron pyrite fragments — the latter capable of producing sparks when struck with flint. Published in Nature, the study moves the timeline for controlled fire in northern Europe back by roughly 350,000 years and points to early Neanderthals as the likely users.
Burning Breakthrough: Evidence Suggests Controlled Fire Use in England 400,000 Years Ago
Discovery of the first fragment of iron pyrite in 2017 at Barnham, Suffolk, England- Jordan Mansfield/Pathways to Ancient Britain Project via AP
For decades archaeologists have debated when humans first learned to make and control fire. New results from a Stone Age site at Barnham in Suffolk suggest early humans were deliberately using fire around 400,000 years ago — a discovery that significantly revises the timeline for controlled fire use in northern Europe.
What Researchers Found
A team led by the British Museum reports heat-damaged flint hand axes, a discrete patch of scorched soil, and small nuggets of iron pyrite at the Barnham excavation. These lines of evidence, published in Nature, together point to repeated use of hearths or campfires rather than the accidental presence of burned material.
“This is the most exciting discovery of my long 40-year career,” said Nick Ashton, curator of Palaeolithic collections at the British Museum.
Why Pyrite Matters
Iron pyrite, commonly called fool's gold, produces sparks when struck against flint. Archaeologists recovered two pyrite fragments at Barnham and note that pyrite is rare in the local geology. That rarity, combined with the association of pyrite with heat-damaged tools and scorched soil, supports the interpretation that people brought pyrite to the site to make fire on purpose.
Significance for Human Evolution
Controlled fire use is considered a pivotal development in human prehistory. Fire provided warmth in cold climates and protection from predators, and it made cooking possible — unlocking more calories and nutrients by breaking down toxins in plants and killing pathogens in meat. Those dietary advantages are widely regarded as factors that supported larger brains and changed social dynamics. Campfires would also have been social hubs where people bonded, exchanged information, and practised complex communication.
Who Lived at Barnham?
Chris Stringer, a human evolution specialist at the Natural History Museum, observes that fossils from Britain and Spain suggest the Barnham occupants were early Neanderthals. Their cranial features and genetic evidence point to growing behavioural and technological sophistication. These early Neanderthals lived roughly contemporaneously with the earliest Homo sapiens populations emerging in East Africa.
The Barnham discoveries push back the earliest firmly interpreted evidence of deliberate fire use in this region by roughly 350,000 years compared with previously accepted examples. While some questions about exact techniques and frequency of use remain, the find offers a major new data point on when hominins began to reliably make and control fire.
