[TheOtherOne]

The plant is now 11.8 inches tall and has produced seven leaves, one of which was removed for DNA testing. Radiocarbon dating in Switzerland on a snip of the seed showed it to be 1,990 years old, plus or minus 50 years. So the date seed dates from 35 B.C. to A.D. 65, just before the famed Roman siege.

Three date seeds were taken from Level 34 of the Masada dig. They were found in a storeroom, and are presumably from dates eaten by the defenders, Dr. Sallon says.

[Born Conservative]

If they look hard enough, they may be able to find a Methuselah plant growing at a construction site in California...

[RightWhale]

This is amazing. Seed packets often say something like guaranteed to sprout but you might assume they would not guarantee seeds more than a year old.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

..................

My kind of gardener!

I had no idea if the food in the seed was still good, but I put them in new pots in new potting soil and plugged them into drip irrigation and kind of forgot about them

[vetvetdoug]

Anthrax can germinate from samples taken from a mummy then it can be possible for a plant to germinate after a very long hibernation.

[mmercier]

Interesting to say the least.

I seem to remember 2,000 year old wheat or barley found in Egypt being successfully germinated in the 80's.

Who is to say, people still eat 8.000 year old mammoth flesh.. But only when they can.

[Red Sea Swimmer]

Great story.

Where there is life there is hope.

[RedRover]

Great story! And great news!

[M. Espinola]

Another amazing story from the Holy Land similar to Israel being a nation again after 2000 years.

[kharaku]

And yet this incredible seed is part of a class that darwin even said likely did not experience evolution and thus couldn't explain, plants. Tough little buggers; for not having fought for survival, they survive pretty well.

[Thinkin' Gal]

The date palm symbolized ancient Israel; the honey of "the land of milk and honey" came from the date.

Ezekiel 37:1-6

1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

The first two leaves looked odd, she said, very flat and pale. "But the third looked like a date leaf with lines, and every one since has looked more and more normal - like it had a hard time getting out of the seed."

[de Buillion]

Amazing!

[FairOpinion]

"The seed, nicknamed Methuselah, was taken from an excavation at Masada, the cliff fortress where, in A.D. 73, 960 Jewish zealots died by their own hand, rather than surrender to a Roman assault."


GGG PING

[NRA2BFree]

That's totally awesome!

[fso301]

Just one sprouted? Are they self fertile?

[fso301]

The point is to find out what was so exceptional about the original date palm of Judea, much praised in the Bible and the Koran for its shade, food, beauty and medicinal qualities, but long ago destroyed by the crusaders.

I never heard of crusaders destroying a species of vegetation. Can someone help me out?

[glorgau]

...but long ago destroyed by the crusaders.

NT Times had to get in the obligatory shot at Christians and Western Civilisation.

[Old Professer]

I'll believe this story when this woman takes off her hate suit.

[sonofatpatcher2]

Bump for later read

[dervish]

Ping!

acid for germinating a seed. Interesting.