Kibbutz Harvests Previously Extinct Dates Eaten In Judea 2000 Years Ago

Researchers from the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies at Kibbutz Ketura recently harvested the second crop from a group of palm trees grown from 2,000-year-old seeds retrieved from the archaeological excavations in the region, the institute announced Monday.

After one of the trees bore fruit for the first time last September, in 2021 the harvest has increased and some of the dates will be available for visitors to buy and taste a staple of the ancient Judeans’ diet.

According to those who have tasted them, the special fruit – which resembles that of modern species of dates – presents a very sweet taste, similar to that of honey.

The ancient palm grove at Ketura is home to a few trees. The most senior, which researchers have named Methuselah – the oldest man who ever lived according to the Bible – was planted in 2005 from a seed found in Masada in the 1960s during excavations led by legendary Israeli archaeologist Yigal Yadin.

Over the following years, the researchers decided to replicate the experiment, planting another 32 seeds from various excavations. Some six of them eventually germinated, mostly from Masada or the Qumran – another iconic site, where the world renowned Dead Sea Scrolls were unearthed.

While Methuselah was found to be a male tree, some of the new palms turned out to be female, allowing pollination.

“It’s very exciting to taste the dates and see such a large and significant amount of fruit because we had no guarantees that we would get a fruit-bearing female tree,” said Dr. Elaine Solowey, director of the Arava Institute’s Center for Sustainable Agriculture, who leads the project together with Dr. Sarah Sallon, director of the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center of Hadassah-University Medical Center.

“It looks like a miracle on several levels – seeds from archaeological digs sprouted successfully, and against all odds, female trees sprouted among them,” she added. “We are excited to revive an ancient variety of dates.”