Is this the world’s oldest emoji?

The world’s first emoji may have been carved in Turkey in 1700 BC.

Archaeologists have discovered a 3,700-year-old pitcher engraved with what appears to be a smiley face in an ancient city. According to Daily mail

The vase-like, off-white coloured pot features a small handle, and has a prominent smiley face drawn on its front.

It was discovered under the guidance of Professor Nicolo Marchetti, an archaeologist

‘We have found a variety of cubes and urns,’ Professor Marchetti said

The most interesting of them is a pot from 1700 BC that features an image of a “smile” on it.

‘The pot was used for drinking sherbet.

‘Most probably, [this depicts] the oldest smile in the world,’ he added.

Professor Marchetti said much of the pottery found at the site depicts the era of an ancient civilisation.

 Officially created in the 1980’s as a form of expressing digital emotion, about six billion emojis are sent around the world every day.

The smiley face carving is not the first to be declared the ‘world’s oldest emoji’ this year

In February, a group of researchers also made the claim – this one a 382-year-old smiley face.

The evidence suggests the inventor of the iconic smiley face is a lawyer by the name of Jan Ladislaides.

Head of the archive Peter Brindza said: ‘We found a smiley face, which dates from the 17th century – from 1635 – by notary Jan Ladislaides next to his signature.’

The hand-drawn smiley face emoji appears after a passage where Ladislaides had checked several municipal accounts.

He states that he had no objections or problems, and the smiley face indicates he was happy with the documents.

There also appears to be a clown’s finger with a hashtag drawn on it, though the context is unclear.

Mr Brindza said hive was hugely surprised by his exceptional find and said: ‘In contemporary writings, of course, it is not a common thing.

‘I do not know if it’s the oldest smiley or the world’s oldest, but it is certainly one of the oldest in the region.’

N..H.Kh