The most ancient emoji in the world has been discovered in Turkey.

Axar.az informs citing Hurriyet news agency.

A group of Turkish and Italian archaeologists has discovered during the excavations in Karkamish city in the southern-eastern province of Gaziantep a pot with the most ancient graphic picture of a smiling human face.

"One of the most interesting findings of this season is the pot with the picture of an emoji. The finding is dated back to approximately 1, 700 years B.C., and apparently, we have found the most ancient emoji in the world. We do not know why masters drew this symbol on the pot, but we call it an emoji," said head of the group, professor of the Bologne University Nicollo Marcetti.

According to him, the pot will be presented to the Archaeological Museum of Gaziantep.