The world's oldest bonfire has been found in the UK

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest evidence to date of artificial fire making, which radically changes ideas about human evolution. A new study has shown that humans were able to make and control fire on their own more than 400,000 years ago - about 350,000 years earlier than previously thought.

The discovery was made at the Palaeolithic site of Barnham in Suffolk County (UK). The work was led by a team from the British Museum, and the results were published in the journal Nature.

Not just fire, but the ability to create it

Previously, scientists believed that ancient humans started making fire about 50,000 years ago. Earlier findings in Africa indicated only the use of natural fires, not the purposeful creation of fire.

At the Barnham site, the researchers found:

• an area of burnt clay,

• flint hand chippers showing signs of intense heat,

• two fragments of iron pyrite, a mineral that sparks when struck against flint.

Geochemical analysis showed that the temperature in this place exceeded 700 °C and the fire was lit repeatedly in the same place. This strongly suggests the existence of a fire or hearth created by humans rather than a natural fire.

The oldest "lighter" in human history

Iron pyrite is extremely rare in this region, indicating a purposeful search for and transport of the mineral. This means that ancient people already knew the properties of flint, pyrite and trutite and knew how to use them to make fire.

According to scientists, the find belongs to one of the earliest groups of Neanderthals living in Europe.

Why controlling fire was a game changer

The ability to make fire on your own changed the course of human history. It made it possible

• to choose where to camp independently of natural fires;

• to keep warm and protect themselves from predators;

• to explore cold and harsh regions;

• to expand the diet through thermalisation of food.

Cooking reduced the risk of poisoning and infection, improved nutrient absorption and released energy that could be channelled into brain development. This favoured population growth and more complex social relationships.

Why this finding was so difficult to prove

Traces of fire are rarely preserved in archaeological material. Ash and embers are easily eroded by water and carried away by the wind, and burnt sediments deteriorate over time.

This is why the find at Barnham is considered exceptional. Scientists spent four years proving that the burnt clay was not caused by a forest fire, but by human activity.

This was done using advanced analytical techniques including soil micromorphology, archaeomagnetism and chemical analysis of organic compounds.

Why this discovery changes the story of evolution

The researchers emphasise: control of fire is a key step in human evolution. The new findings push this moment back hundreds of thousands of years, making Barnham one of the most important archaeological sites in the world.

According to scientists, this discovery explains why it was between 500,000 and 400,000 years ago that fire began to play an increasingly important role in the lives of ancient people - because they learnt to create it themselves.