Archeologists unearthed what is believed to be the world’s oldest pearl at the Marawah Island, off the Capital of the United Arab Emirates, Agence France Presse reported.
The area from which the natural pearl was discovered was carbon dated 5800 to 5600 B.C. or the Neolithic period.
“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 Department of Culture and Tourism Chairman Mohamed Al-Muabarak.
The pearl, now dubbed as the “Abu Dhabi Pearl”, will be on display in the exhibition “10,000 years of Luxury” at the Louvre Abu Dhabi on Oct. 30.
There was a thriving pearl industry in the United Arab Emirates until the 1930s when the Japanese introduced cultured pearls.
Gulf nations then turned to the oil industry, which is still their prime source of income to this day.
