Australian scientists said Wednesday they have uncovered a ‘very rare’ 2,000-year-old natural sea pearl — the first found on the vast island continent — while excavating a remote coastal Aboriginal site. Archaeologists were working the site on the north Kimberley coast of Western Australia when they came across the unique gem below the surface, said Kat Szabo, an associate professor at the University of Wollongong. ‘Natural pearls are very rare in nature and we certainly — despite many, many (oyster) shell middens being found in Australia — we’ve never found a natural pearl before,’ Szabo, who specialises in studying shells at archaeological sites, told AFP. A midden is a prehistoric refuse pit. ‘The location makes it particularly significant because the Kimberley coast of Australia is synonymous with pearling, and has been for the better part of the last century.’ The

Read More: Archaeological excavations in Australia reveal a 2,000-year-old natural marine pearl