The world's oldest known natural pearl has been found on an island off Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Excavations at Marawah Island turned up the pearl in a layer dated to roughly 8,000 years old, alongside the earliest architecture so far recorded in the UAE.

For a pearl dealer the date matters: it places the trade in natural Gulf pearls in the Neolithic, thousands of years before cultured pearls existed. Every pearl from that era was natural, formed without human nucleation, which is exactly why such finds are so rare.

Authorities said the discovery shows pearls were already being collected and traded in the region at that time. The piece went on display at Louvre Abu Dhabi.

"The discovery of the oldest pearl in the world in Abu Dhabi makes it clear that so much of our recent economic and cultural history has deep roots that stretch back to the dawn of prehistory," said Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism.

Source: BBC NEWS