Ancient sources have suggested that the Judean date palm tree had many unique medicinal properties no longer found in todays palm varieties. Available at: https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/extinct-tree-resurrected-ancient-seeds-now-dad-002838, Hassan, N. (2020) Israeli Researchers Mate 2,000-year-old Date Seeds, Hope for Fruit. Haaretz. At the heart of the ceremony was a small package of dates. It included the Jewish Sheheheyanu prayer recited on momentous occasions, as well as the traditional offering and tithing ceremony. And though Sallon compares the taste of these ancient Judean dates to the Medjool, she reiterates that she is not a food expert and simply happens to eat the Medjool variety. In 2005, several of these seeds were obtained by the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center of the Hadassah Medical Organization, which gave them to Dr. Elaine Solowey at the Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Solowey soaked the seeds in enzymatic water and fertilizer and planted them in sterile potting soil in pots in a greenhouse. How Credible Are the Superstitions Surrounding the Mystical Irish Fairy Trees? The researchers discovered that the seeds were up to 30 percent larger than date seeds today, which probably meant the fruit was larger, too. (Guy Eisner) Scientists have cultivated plants from date palm seeds that languished in ancient ruins and caves for 2,000 years. Fancy Sipping a Pint in a 1700-Year-Old Tree? A date harvest from 2000-year-old seeds. Actually, this one came from Qumran -- was found in the caves -- and much to our astonishment, she also sprouted, said Elaine Solowey, the botanist who coaxed the seeds to grow. ( Marcos Schonholz ). So, in 2005, Sallon turned to Solowey, an expert on arid agriculture, for help. Ancient Judean date palm trees resurrected from ancient seeds. The same is true for date palms. Especially now, I think that people need that. The seven ancient Judean date palm accessions originate from the germination of date palm seeds collected during archaeological excavations of three sites in the Judean desert (21, 22). Sallon explained that the taste is very close but not exactly the same as what the residents of the country would have eaten 2,000 years ago since in ancient times dates were grown from shoots from the best producing trees rather than by pollinating date palm flowers. The site of the ceremony was not happenstance. Like Methuselah, they have all been given Biblical names. The species of palm was thought to be extinct for 800 years but hundreds of seeds of Phoenix dactylifera were collected from Judean desert archaeological sites such as an ancient palace-fortress built by King Herod and caves located in southern Israel at Masada, Qumran, Wadi Makukh, and Wadi Kelt, located in the Judean desert between the Judean Hills and the Dead Sea. The experiment seeks to rediscover the origins of the historic date palm population and confirm the date seeds long-term durability, while shedding light on ancient cultivation techniques that nurtured this unique fruit and exploring its potential relevance for modern date agronomy. The Judean date palm is a date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) grown in Judea. Sallon, who lives in Jerusalem, offered one to a friend, but because she is an observant Jew, she couldnt accept it because it wasnt properly tithed, as Jewish religious law requires. Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked! Methusaleh was even given the Guinness WorldRecords designation as the oldest seed cultivated. I think thats why weve got such a tremendous response to bringing these dates back from extinction, she says. Uriel and Jonah date back to the first to second centuries CE. And they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there beside the water. As the researchers hoped would be the case with their revived date palms, plants irrigated from the Jerusalem waters would be uniquely vibrant and grant special medicinal qualities. In March of this year, she was pollinated using pollen from Methuselah. Judean date palm in 2012. said Solowey. In the middle of Israels Arava Desert, a farming community is bringing trees back to life thats bearing fruit from the time of the Bible. The Judean Date Palm symbolized ancient Judah and was mentioned in the Bible but when the nation it symbolized was conquered and sent into exile in 70 CE, cultivation of dates in the region began to decline. Watch the video below to learn more about the resurrection of this formerly extinct Judean date palm tree. I think the biggest problem is hydrating them because if you hydrate them too quickly, you kill them and you only get one crack at each seed, Solowey told CBN News. Sallon obtained five of those original seeds and gave them to Solowey. But 800 years ago, crusaders destroyed the last Judean palm and rendered the plant extinct. Read more: Date palm grown from 2,000-year-old seed is a dad . A team led by Sarah Sallon, which planted these six trees, first tried in 2005 to germinate a 2,000-year-old seed from the . They became symbols of "beauty, precious shade and succulent plenty," Kershner wrote. [20] The genomes of these Judean date palms germinated from ancient seeds were sequenced and analyzed. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. The Judean Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is known from historical accounts for its sweet, large fruit, which even had medicinal properties. One was separated out as a control. Help us continue to be a voice for truth in the media by supporting CBN News for as little as $1. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The seeds of Judean date palms turn out to have remarkable longevity. You can help bring hope today! BEST OF 2021: Forests of Judean date palm trees once covered ancient Israel, from Lake Galilee to the Dead Sea. So far, we have five males and two females seven altogether, and I've tried lots of seeds and most of them are deader than door nails, Solowey said. A Blazing Weapon: Unraveling the Mystery of Greek Fire. Judean Date Palm Grown From 2,000 Year Old Seed Bears Fruit. Top Image: Methuselah is a Judean date palm grown from a 2,000-year-old seed found at Masada. Sarah Sallon, director of the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center in Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, led a team that included Elaine Solowey, and Nathalie Chabrillange. They were then dosed with Gibberellic acid, a growth-promoting plant hormone, and enzymatic fertilizer. Two beautiful bathtubs Hanukkah or the Jewish Festival of Lights is celebrated in memory of the recovery of the Second Temple in Jerusalem from the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BC. Ancient Judean date palm trees resurrected from ancient seeds. In February of this year, the latest scientific paper published about the germination of these seeds inScience Advances,revived new interest in these dates, says Sallon. The harvest of the much-extolled but long-lost Judean dates was something of a scientific miracle. It is not clear whether there was ever a single distinct Judean cultivar, but dates grown in the region have had distinctive reputations for thousands of years, and the date palm was anciently regarded as a symbol of the region and its fertility. Pollinated by Methuselah, Hannah had around 100 dates last year and this year she had more than 600 dates. She was also interested in how plants can be used for medicine. [26] They may have shared the same wild ancestor. Scientists determined that Methuselah was of the Hayany breed originally from Egypt. Back in the 1960s, famed Israeli archeologist Professor Yigal Yadin discovered thousands of date seeds buried under rubble during his excavations of Masada. Why does Judaism matter and how is it connected to Christianity? Judith and Boaz date back to approximately mid-second century BCE. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail; they will yield new fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the Temple. Its fruit was a staple of the Judean Desert and grew in thick forests along the Dead Sea and Jordan River valley. her team just so happens to have one other Judean date palm on hand in . Luckily two of the subsequent. About 100 ripe, tasty dates were cut from Hannah. Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? [17] By November 2011 it was 2.5 metres (8ft 2in) high, having been transplanted from pot to earth. Over the past decade, they grew an ancient Judean . Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, "New Life, From an Arctic Flower That Died 32,000 Years Ago", "After 2,000 Years, These Seeds Have Finally Sprouted", "2000-Year-Old Date Pit Sprouts In Israel", "2,000-Year-Old Seed Sprouts, Sapling Is Thriving", "Extinct Judean Date Palm Grows After 1500 Years", "1.4.8 The Crusader period and Little Ice Age, 1.0 ka to 0.4 ka BP, and 1.4.9 The Moslem-Ottoman period, 0.4 ka to 0.1 ka BP", "From Extinction to Resurrection: The Judean Date Palm Tree", "Origins and insights into the historic Judean date palm based on genetic analysis of germinated ancient seeds and morphometric studies", "Researchers confirm age of "Methuselah" tree", "2000-Year-Old Date Pit Sprouts in Israel", "Medicinal date palm from oldest known seed planted", "Date palm grown from 2,000-year-old seed is a dad", "Israeli researchers grow new date plants from 2,000-year-old seeds", "The genomes of ancient date palms germinated from 2,000 y old seeds", "Scientists Resurrect Mysterious Judean Date Palms From Biblical Era", "Extinct tree from the time of Jesus rises from the dead", How King Solomon and the Romans Shaped the Judean Date Palm, "Germination, Genetics, and Growth of an Ancient Date Seed", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Judean_date_palm&oldid=1142182782, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2018, Articles with disputed statements from July 2018, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from December 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 23:58. They selected 34 seeds they thought were the most viable. The researchers conducted a series of tests to verify the age of the seeds, and it was confirmed through carbon 14 dating that they were more than 2,000 years old. Scientists Resurrect Mysterious Judean Date Palms From Biblical Era Methuselah the tree was grown from a 2,000-year-old seed found at Masada. The ancient fruit made tonics for longevity, laxatives, and aphrodisiacs; lore claims they could cure infections. After being kept in storage for over 40 years, a project initiated by Dr. Sallon, aimed to germinate ancient seeds found on archaeological sites in an effort to reintroduce extinct plants previously grown in the region. On August 23rd, 2021, Arava Institute staff harvested three bunches of dates from our world-famous ancient date palms. References to it are made in the Bible, the Koran, and other ancient literature. It is interesting to note that the Ezekiel prophesied that in the Messianic era, a river would flow from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, revitalizing the saline water, transforming it into a thriving ecosystem. A 15-year effort to germinate 2,000-year-old seeds from an ancient date palm is finally bearing fruit. (DtoF) Boaz (54 months), Judith (47 months), and Hannah (88 months). In early 2019, three of the six trees named by Dr. Solowey Adam, Jonah and Hannah were moved out of their greenhouse home to be planted outdoors at the Arava Institutes Daniel Fischel & Sylvia Neil Research & Visitors Park. 2023 The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., A nonprofit 501 (c)(3) Charitable Organization. Spanish conquistadors couldn't believe their eyes while exploring the rugged terrain of the Andes during their invasion of Peru. Methuselah the Judean Date Palm is still going strong even after sprouting from a 2,000-year-old seed. But then, in 2005, botanical researcher Elaine Solowey decided to plant one and see what, if anything, would sprout. [18] By May 2015, the palm was 3.0 metres (9.8ft) tall and was producing pollen. Home Judean Date Palm Grown From 2,000 Year Old Seed Bears Fruit. The seeds were held in storage for 40 years at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan.. Judith and Hannah were female, but only Hannah flowered. Germination of 2000-year-old seeds of Phoenix dactylifera from Judean desert archaeological sites provides a unique opportunity to study the Judean date palm, described in antiquity for the quality, size, and medicinal properties of its fruit, but lost for centuries. Available at: https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/palm-tree-0013259. An ancient coin design depicting a date palm and two baskets full of dates has been reused for the front side of the modern Israeli ten-shekel coin. . The Bible says that it is not good for man to be alone. Medieval Sea Monster Was Likely a Whale, New Research Reveals, What is Shambhala? Why? The largest and most famous so far has been dubbed Methuselah, but the plant turned out to be a male, meaning it will never bear fruit. The species of palm was thought to be extinct for 800 years but hundreds of seeds of. Because they were famous. symbolized ancient Judah and was mentioned in the Bible but when the nation it symbolized was conquered and sent into exile in 70 CE. After this process, one seed was found to be damaged and was subsequently discarded. The date palms are named for Biblical figures. They were widely used for different kinds of diseasescancers, TB [tuberculosis]all kinds of problems., Harvested dates grown on the ancient Judean date palm. Photo: Marcos Schonholz, What Do 2,000-Year-Old Ancient Judean Dates Taste Like? For more information and/or interview requests, please contact Institute Deputy Director Eliza Mayo. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. Photo: CBN News, Error: There was an internal error submitting your form. (Guy Eisner / Sciencemag). I am sure you are familiar with his legend which states that he was born in a manger surrounded by shepherds, about Herod the Greats Alabaster Bathtubs, about Seleucid Sling Stone Sheds New Light on Jewish Hannukah Story, about Rogue Priest Second Temple Silver Coin Found By Girl in Jerusalem, about Evidence of Hannukah Story Found in Razed Hellenistic Fortress, about New Study Reveals How Legendary Assyrian Siege Ramp Overcame Lachish, about Mesopotamian Superpowers Laying Waste To The Ancient Near East, For Sale In Britain: A Small Ancient Man With A Colossal Penis, Sacred Marvels: 17 Cathedrals That Will Take Your Breath Away, In Pictures, Egyptologists Reveal a Lost Chamber in the Great Pyramid With Cosmic Rays, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Unleashing the End of the World. In 2011, the plant produced its first flowers and today, the living archaeological treasure continues to grow and thrive. There are other types of dates in the world, but according to Pliny the Elder (writing in the first century AD), none were as succulent or as sweet as the Judean date palm. CBN Partners provide hope to those who are suffering! [17][20] By 2015 Methuselah had produced pollen that has been used successfully to pollinate female date palms. 3 min read. And though shes just nine-years-old, she carries an ancient heritage.

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