There are evidence of hominin use of fire and cooking that was used in the Middle East around 790,000 years ago, and prehistoric hearths, earth ovens, and burnt animal bones were spread across Europe and the Middle East by at least 250,000 years ago. Excavations of the Minoan settlement of Akrotiri unearthed stone supports for skewers used before the 17th century BC. In Ancient Greek times, Homer in the "Iliad" (1.465) mentions pieces of meat roasted on spits (),