To donate to Dr. Soloweys ancient dates research project, click here. ( The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies ) So valued was the tree that it became recognized as a symbol of good fortune in Judea. 6. Scientists Resurrect Mysterious Judean Date Palms From Biblical Era Methuselah the tree was grown from a 2,000-year-old seed found at Masada. In Egypt and the Land of Israel, the two species come together. In the paper published by Science Advances, the scientists say the genetic relationships between the ancient date and current varieties show Methuselah and Adam close to eastern modern varieties Fardh4 and Khalass, respectively, assigned to current Arabian Gulf varieties; Hannah and Judith related to modern Iraqi varieties Khastawi and Khyara, respectively; and Uriel, Boaz, and Jonah, the most western genotypes, related to modern Moroccan varieties, Mahalbit, Jihel, and Medjool, respectively.. It played a significant role in the Judean economy for about two millenniaat the least from the fifth century B.C.E. This is the second year of harvesting fruit from this previously extinct tree, brought back to life by Dr. Elaine Solowey. [dubious discuss] Goor quotes several later, Ottoman-period travellers to the area as to the rarity of date palms, including Pierre Belon, who in 1553 scoffed at the idea that the region could have ever produced the bounty of dates reported in ancient sources. Sallon is hopeful that Hannah, a female date tree, will flower this year and the plant could be pollinated by Methuselah - a tree the team grew from a 1,900-year-old Judean date palm seed in 2008. . According to the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, Radiocarbon dating at the University of Zurich confirmed the seeds dated from between 155 BC to 64 AD. Over the past 15 years, a project has been underway in Israels southern Arava region to revive ancient species of date palms germinated from seeds found at archaeological digs in the Judean Desert. They were the first dates to ripen from date palms grown from seeds that are more than 2,000 years old. CBN News got its first look ten years ago when Methuselah was still in the lab. In addition to its honoured place in the history of Judea, the palm may contribute useful characteristics, such as environmental tolerance and disease resistance, to modern date cultivars. Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? Out of the changes from natural weather shifts, new life can grow again. Seeds found in Judean desert are male and female, leading to hopes of producing dates. 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. Elaine Solowey of the Arava Institute of Environmental Studies with the tree named 'Judith. Eventually, Hannah produced 111 dates weighing between 15 and 18 grams each. 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. Its a childrens story about the science and what it represents., Viva Sarah Press is a journalist and speaker. Also available on most smart TVs and streaming services. During Yigal Yadins excavations of Masada in the mid 1960s, ancient date seeds were discovered beneath rubble at the Northern Palace approach. Radiocarbon dating at the University of Zurich confirmed the seeds dated from between 155 BC to 64 AD. By Benjitheijneb (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons Get out the cigarsMethuselah, a. The remaining 33 were carefully soaked in water and fertilizer to encourage germination. The species of palm was thought to be extinct for 800 . The seeds were held in storage for 40 years at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan.. Top Image: Methuselah is a Judean date palm grown from a 2,000-year-old seed found at Masada. In experiments praised by the Dalai Lama, for example, Dr. Sarah Sallon has shown that ancient Tibetan cures for cardiovascular disease really do work. Of these, six of the seeds successfully sprouted. During 19631965, excavations at Herod the Great's palace on Masada, Israel, revealed a cache of date palm seeds preserved in an ancient jar. 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. All kinds of trees for food will grow up on both banks of the stream. But now, after 2,000 years, the Judean date palm is back and the sweet ancient fruit has been harvested once again. Solowey soaked the seeds in enzymatic water and fertilizer and planted them in sterile potting soil in pots in a greenhouse. The Judean Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is known from historical accounts for its sweet, large fruit, which even had medicinal properties. reported that Methuselah was over ten-feet tall and had been used to pollinate a wild modern female date palm. The seeds were germinated by warming and hydrating them slowly and gradually. A land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey. . 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. Hannahs DNA is reminiscent of that of ancient trees from Mesopotamia, todays Iraq, as is the modern zahidi variety, which is considered an Iraqi species. Though it was disputed for many years, there is conclusive evidence that Neanderthals bred with modern humans (Homo sapiens). The Bible says that it is not good for man to be alone. In the future, the hope is for Methuselah, a male tree, to be bred with a female to produce the same date variety eaten commonly in ancient Judea, where it was valued as much for its delicious flavor as for its medicinal properties., We all know the resurrection story from 2,000 years ago described in the pages of the Christian bible. I wrote about the date, from the point of view of the date, he goes to sleep during the siege of Masada and literally wakes up in a laboratory. [4], Its likeness was engraved on shekalim, the ancient Hebrew unit of currency. But Dr. Sarah Sallon of the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem began to look for more Judean date palm seeds and 30 of the ancient seeds were recovered from Qumran, the same location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the desert. Methuselah was chosen to father the fruit and pollen from his plant was placed onto Hannah's flowers. It is chronicled in the Bible, Quran, and ancient literature for its diverse powers. 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. Stay informed with the latest from CBN News delivered to your inbox. Who would have thought seeds thousands of years old would germinate?!? As soon as the ancient Judean date palm had grown into a tree, Ms. Solowey used genetic testing on it to confirm if it was indeed male and thus incapable of producing fruit. But these werent ordinary dates. Spanish conquistadors couldn't believe their eyes while exploring the rugged terrain of the Andes during their invasion of Peru. ( Arava Institute for Environmental Studies ). Uriel and Jonah date back to the first to second centuries CE. But all was not lost, because in 1963, the late archeologist Yigael Yadin began excavating Masada, a mountaintop fortress built over 2,000 years ago on the shore of the Dead Sea, where King Herod built a spectacular palace. The remaining 33 were carefully soaked in water and fertilizer to encourage germination. The experiment worked. The species has earned the new name Judean date palm, along with the scientific name Phoenix dactylifera. For the next four decades, the ancient seeds were kept in a drawer at Tel Aviv's Bar-Ilan University. She writes and talks about the creativity and innovation taking place in Israel and beyond. The remaining 32 seeds were planted in a quarantined site at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Kibbutz Ketura in southern Israel. said Solowey. A 15-year effort to germinate 2,000-year-old seeds from an ancient date palm is finally bearing fruit. Phoenix dactylifera and over 1000 other quality seeds for sale. How Credible Are the Superstitions Surrounding the Mystical Irish Fairy Trees? Scientists determined that Methuselah was of the Hayany breed originally from Egypt. The first of the ancient date seedlings, Methusaleh, is named for the oldest person mentioned in the Bible. How could it be?" Dr. Solowey - and that at least one is a female! The age of the seeds range from some of the oldest germinated seeds in the world - Methuselah, Hannah, and Adam with a carbon date to the first to fourth centuries BC, to the mid-second century BC to mid-first century AD plants known as Judith and Boaz, to the youngest of the Judean date palms - Uriel and Jonah are the youngest (first to second centuries AD). 3 min read. 2023 The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., A nonprofit 501 (c)(3) Charitable Organization. The Romans eventually succeeded and by 500 AD the once plentiful date palm had almost completely disappeared, driven to extinction for the sake of conquest. Because they were famous. Germinated ancient Judean date seedlings. Scientists Revive Ancient Trees From 2,000-Year-Old Seeds, Aided by Modern Ingenuity, a Taste of Ancient Judean Dates, Scientists pick and taste ancient dates for first time since the Second Temple, Dates from time of Maccabees & Jesus are revived, bring Jewish, Arab unity, Date Seeds Unearthed From the Time of Jesus Are Revived, Adding Fruit to Jewish, Arab Unity, Scientists grow fresh dates from a 6th BCE seed, What do 2,000-year-old Ancient Judean Dates taste like? Available at: https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/palm-tree-0013259. Female plants need male pollen to produce fruit, and all six of the new date palm trees are female, Sallon explains. And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there existcountless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts thathave yet to be discovered and explained. The plant was nicknamed "Methuselah," after the longest-lived person in the Bible. In the Kingdom of Judea it was a source of food, shelter, medicine, and shade. Available at: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/6/eaax0384, Whelan, E. (2020) Fabled Palm Trees Reborn From Ancient Seeds In Israel. Ancient Origins. Available at: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/science/.premium-israeli-researchers-mate-2-000-year-old-date-seeds-hope-for-fruit-1.8503447, Kalman, M. (2005) Seed of extinct date palm sprouts after 2,000 years. SFGATE. In March of this year, she was pollinated using pollen from Methuselah. Hannah was the first female tree. Watch the video below to learn more about the resurrection of this formerly extinct Judean date palm tree. It included the Jewish Sheheheyanu prayer recited on momentous occasions, as well as the traditional offering and tithing ceremony. Sallon has a hypothesis regarding Hannahs ancestors. Interesting Engineering reports that Recently, Hannah's fruit was harvested for the first time.. 1. "I assumed the food in the seed would be no good after all that time. But the plant went extinct due to waves of conquest and intentional destruction. The two researchers pollinated the flowers from Hannah with those of Methuselah to reconstruct the taste of ancient date palms to the maximum extent possible. And I look at the plantations on Ketura. After all, date palms are praised in the Bible as well as in Islam, Greek and Roman civilizations as symbols of beauty, fertility, peace, and victory. She lives in Ashland, Ohio, with her husband, Brandon, and their four children, Lydia, Elvis, Henry, and Izzy (their Westie). Both Adam and Jonah have produced flowers. Submitted by escamp on August 31, 2015 - 3:04pm. In the Shephelah region or the Judean foothills of south-central Israel, archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a Seleucid Hellenistic fortress that was burned by Hasmonean (Judean) conquerors Israeli archaeologists have revealed the secrets behind the Assyrian siege ramp that conquered the ancient Judean town of Lachish. It grew around the Dead Sea in the south, to the Sea of Galilee and the Hula Valley regions in the north. Methuselah the Judean Date Palm is still going strong even after sprouting from a 2,000-year-old seed. Methuselah happens to be a male Judean date palm, so the team of scientists planted a few more seeds from the cache of ancient seeds unearthed in Herods palace excavation to see if they could propagate a bride for Methuselah. Specimen Pindo Palm Tree can be seen on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, GA. Especially now, I think that people need that. Sallons near future plans include learning more about the new-old dates, how to reintroduce the Judean date to the market, and continue to research the medicinal properties of these dates. The first complete mapping of a Neanderthal genome took place about five years ago - supporting the human-Neanderthal hook-up and also showing that Neanderthal DNA in humans is a thing. In daily prayers, we note how the righteous (tzadik) will grow. Elaine Solowey, Desert Plant Pioneer, successfully grew an extinct Judean Date Palm tree from a 2000 year old seed. In 2005, a team of scientists sprouted a preserved 2,000-year-old seed, the oldest seed germinated with human-assistance (with the claim in 2012 of a 32,000-year-old arctic flower involving fruit tissue rather than a seed). Hannah grew for six years, then flowered. Now that the Judean date palm has been brought back to life and its fruit has even been harvested, researchers finally have the opportunity to study if the ancient medicinal claims are true. Morphology of six germinated ancient Judean date seeds before planting. However, its value was also the source of its demise and eventual extinction. NoCamels.com is the leading news website covering breakthrough innovation from Israel for a global audience. In this age of global warming and species loss, I thought its important to try and bring back to life these ancient varieties. Nevertheless, the taste and shape of these revived dates are consistent with the history of the dates that the two women have derived from their genetic research. The harvested fruit is currently being analyzed for its nutritional value. (Guy Eisner) Scientists have cultivated plants from date palm seeds that languished in ancient ruins and caves for 2,000 years. The species of palm was thought to be extinct for 800 years but hundreds of seeds of. You can help bring hope today! I think thats why weve got such a tremendous response to bringing these dates back from extinction, she says. 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. Phoenix dactylifera date or date palm is a flowering plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Most people know of the great construction achievements of the dynastic Egyptians such as the pyramids and temples of the Giza Plateau area as well as the Sphinx. While the scientific and agricultural communities celebrated this landmark harvest, only Sallon, Solowey, a handful of the other scientists involved in the revival project and a few kibbutz members got to sample bits of this long-lost variety of dates, last tasted back in the times of Jesus and the Maccabees. Throughout the history of civilization, the concept of the apocalypse has been ever present, in one way or another. Home Judean Date Palm Grown From 2,000 Year Old Seed Bears Fruit. Most of the haul is being kept for science purposes. 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. Extensively described in antiquity, its image appeared on coins and synagogues as a symbol of the region while its fruits were famous for their taste, large size and medicinal . The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is an important symbol in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.Methuselah represents a variety of date palm that was grown in ancient Judea but disappeared many hundreds of years ago. Five years ago. In Scripture, Hannah prayed and prayed for a child, promising that if God would answer that prayer, she would dedicate her child to a life of serving the Lord. A little, young-looking palm tree named Judith was planted on Kibbutz Ketura recently. One was separated out as a control. The seeds were held in storage for 40 years at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan.[10][11]. It takes time for seedlings to become seed-bearing trees, but eventually, that time came. Soak them in a bowl of cool water for 48 hours. In ancient times the Judean date palm was a staple source of food, shelter, and shade. Dr. Sallon, who researches natural medicine, is one of the few lucky ones to have had the opportunity to taste one of the 111 ancient Judean dates harvested in September at Kibbutz Ketura in southern Israel. Growth and development of the seedling over 26 months was compatible with normal date . To read about Dr. Soloweys work to protect other endangered plant species click here. (DtoF) Boaz (54 months), Judith (47 months), and Hannah (88 months). So valued was the tree that it became recognized as a symbol of good fortune in Judea. Judean Date Palm Grown From 2,000 Year Old Seed Bears Fruit. [10] The plant was nicknamed "Methuselah" after the longest-lived person listed in the Bible. And Solowey and Salone are hoping eventually to add the revived Judean dates to the harvest. Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist of the 1st century AD, wrote that Jericho's dates were known for their succulence and sweetness, though he distinguished a considerable variety of them and discussed several different varieties by name. [7] However, study of contemporary sources indicates that the date industry continued in Judea throughout the Roman period and that, indeed, the Roman Imperial treasury collected a good deal of the profits. 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