Ancient diamonds have been found near the Earth鈥檚 core

Image source, Graham Pearson

Image caption, The diamonds can help scientists learn more about how the Earth was formed

It's not every day that you stumble across one of the world's most precious stones, but a group of scientists have made a pretty remarkable discovery!

Ancient diamonds - which are older than the Moon - have been discovered 410 kilometres below the Earth's surface hidden in the planet's mantle.

The rocks are thought to have been sitting close to the Earth's core for more than 4.5 billion years until a volcanic eruption in Brazil caused them to move closer to the surface.

The discovery has proven to be a very exciting one and researchers believe the diamonds can help them learn more about the Earth's internal structure.

They were able to extract helium gas from 23 super-deep diamonds in Juina, Brazil.

Super-deep diamonds can provide scientists with more information about how the Earth was formed as they carry impurities from many years ago.

Video caption, The Big Question: How do we know the Earth is four billion years old?

The scientists were able to work out that the diamonds had come from an area 410 to 660 kilometres below the Earth's surface. They are believed to have started out in a reservoir sitting either around or underneath this area.

The researchers are still unsure about the size and make up of the reservoir, but the recent discovery has allowed scientists to make some welcomed progress.