Vision Logo Circle
Vision Logo Circle

Date Palms from Biblical Times Grown From 2000 Year Old Seeds

by | Thu, Oct 21 2021

Text size: A- A+

An Israeli farming community is bringing date palms that were once considered extinct, back to life.

They’ve already had two harvests of the honey-flavoured fruit from the time of the Bible.

The trees sprouted from 2,000 year old seeds which were found by archaeologists in jars at the ancient fortress of Masada, and in the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered

Many experts believed it was botanically impossible to germinate the seeds.

But scientists at the desert-based Arava Institute proved them wrong.

They initially cultivated the trees for several years in a greenhouse before planting them outside.

They represent the recovery of a lost genetic diversity which could now help modern date growers battle pests, diseases and climate change.

Israel is the world’s largest date exporter from around 850,000 palm trees.