In Pictures: The Ancient Judea Date Palm is Resurrected After a 2000-Year Slumber
Adam, Jonah, Uriel, Boaz, Judith, and Hannah are the names of old date palm trees located in Jerusalem. And although these trees were planted a few years ago, the seeds, according to radiocarbon dating, are about 2,000 years old! The Judea date turned out to have exceptional longevity. Led by Sarah Sallon, the team initially started planting the ancient trees back in 2005, trying to sprout a 2,000-year-old seed from the historic citadel of Masada, and surprisingly, Sallon and her colleagues succeeded, the tree actually sprouted!
The reason the date-palm seeds remained viable for so long is still unclear, but the seeds appear to be physically tough, and since they’re adapted to the desert weather it means they’re tolerant of arid climates. Sallon also pointed out the type of environment where the dates were found, near the Dead Sea, which is the lowest spot on Earth, meaning it has a special thick layer of atmosphere that protects them from any radiation that can harm the seeds.
Scroll down to check out the beautiful dates!
