Archaeologists have unearthed a remarkable 7,000-year-old figurine resembling an alien at an ancient settlement in Kuwait.
The clay artefact was discovered at the Bahra 1 site, featuring distinctive slanted eyes, a flat nose and an elongated skull.
Whilst drawing comparisons to both an alien and the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter, this style of figurine was actually common in ancient Mesopotamia.
This marks the first discovery of its kind in Kuwait and the Arabian Gulf region.
7,000 year-old figurine
Adam Oleksiak/CAŚ UWThe discovery came as a complete surprise to the archaeological team working at the site.
"[The] discovery of the figurine was a total surprise for the whole team," expedition leader Agnieszka Szymczak told Live Science.
She noted it was unprecedented among their findings: "It was the first such find not just among the over 1.5k [1,500] small finds excavated from the Bahra 1 site but also from the Arabian Gulf region."
The joint Kuwaiti-Polish team have been excavating one of the oldest known settlements in the Arabian Peninsula.
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The site's occupation dates back to between 5500 and 4900 BC, representing a significant Stone Age settlement.
The figurine, whilst unusual in its location, is typical of artefacts from the Neolithic Ubaid community.
Professor Piotr Bieliński from the University of Warsaw's Mediterranean Archaeology centre highlighted the figurine's cultural significance.
"The presence of this figurine at our site raises intriguing questions about its purpose and the symbolic, and perhaps ritual, meaning it may have had for the community inhabiting this settlement," he said.
The discovery came as a complete surprise to the archaeological team working at the site
Adam Oleksiak/CAŚ UW
Beyond the figurine, archaeologists made another significant discovery at the Bahra 1 site regarding ancient pottery production.
Two distinct types of vessels were found at the settlement, including imported Ubaid pottery and locally-made Coarse Red Ware (CRW).
The discovery of an unfired clay vessel provided crucial evidence that Bahra 1 was a manufacturing site.
This finding confirms Bahra 1 as the oldest known location for pottery production in the Gulf region.
