A breakthrough discovery by a team of researchers from the British Museum has unveiled a human-made fireplace estimated to be 400,000 years old near Barnham, a village in Suffolk, eastern England.

Remarkably, the team suggests this ancient fireplace may have been used by Neanderthals, often regarded as one of the most misunderstood branches on the human evolutionary tree.

The first clue pointing to the existence of this fireplace emerged in 2021, when scientists detected sediment at the site showing evidence of exposure to repeated heating.

Sarah Hlubik, a pyroarchaeologist from St. Mary’s College of Maryland, who was not involved in the study, expressed her enthusiasm about the discovery, stating to AFP, “This is a really exciting find.”

Sarah Hlubik, a pyroarchaeologist at St Mary’s College of Maryland in the United States not involved in the research, told AFP: “This is a really exciting find.”

The earliest known evidence of fire-making by humans has been discovered at a disused clay pit near Barnham, Suffolk, indicating humans were making fire 350,000 years earlier than previously known. Source: AAP / Jordan Mansfield

Being able to start our own fires, rather than grabbing burning branches from a naturally lit blaze, provided many benefits that likely influenced human history.

Everyone “can connect with the idea of a group of humans around a campfire, it’s something we’ve all experienced,” Ashton said.

There is fossil evidence from around 400,000 years ago suggesting that humans’ brains were approaching their modern size, the researchers said.

Neanderthals not so dumb

There has been a long-running debate about whether Neanderthals could make fire, with sites in France once used to cast doubt on their abilities.