Methuselah: The Miraculous Story of a Date Palm Resurrected from a 2,000-Year-Old Seed

In the 1960s, during the archaeological excavations at Masada led by Prof. Yigael Yadin, an extraordinary discovery was made: a clay jar containing ancient date pits. The pits, found near the food storerooms in the Northern Palace, were carbon-14 dated and determined to be approximately 2,000 years old. The period is the end of the Second Temple era. While it is difficult to date them precisely enough for absolute certainty, it is compelling to imagine that these were the pits of dates eaten by the Jewish rebels who fortified themselves on the mountain during the Great Revolt against the Romans (66–73 CE).

For over 40 years, the pits were stored in laboratory conditions, until a revolutionary vision was born in 2005. Dr. Sarah Sallon, director of the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah Medical Center, initiated a project aimed at germinating ancient seeds from archaeological sites, with the ambition of reintroducing extinct plant species to nature.

Dr. Elaine Solowey, founder of the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at the Arava Institute, took on the germination challenge, which seemed nearly impossible. In March 2005, following a complex process involving heating, controlled hydration, and the use of plant hormones and fertilizers, the unbelievable happened: one of the pits sprouted.

The Birth of "Methuselah"

The tender seedling, which has since grown into a tree, was named "Methuselah," after the oldest figure in the Bible. It was registered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest seed ever to be germinated. The project's success gained worldwide acclaim, especially after the research was published in June 2008 in the prestigious scientific journal Science. In November 2011, Methuselah was planted in a festive ceremony at its permanent home in Kibbutz Ketura in the Arava.

Methuselah is more than just a tree; it is a living organic remnant from the Second Temple period, a tangible link to the distant past. It grew from a pit that existed in the days when Jesus walked in the Galilee, and just as imagination connects it to the story of the Great Revolt, it is also fascinating to think that it might be a descendant of the famous "Judean" date palms, whose fronds were carried by pilgrims on their way to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Future: A New Generation of Ancient Dates

Following this success, Dr. Sallon and Dr. Solowey continued their efforts. Out of 32 additional intact pits that were found, six more were germinated and given names such as "Adam," "Jonah," "Hannah," and others. But here, a new challenge arose: DNA tests revealed that Methuselah is a male tree and therefore cannot bear fruit.

Fortunately, two of the newly germinated trees, including "Hannah," were found to be female. The researchers' great hope now is to use pollen from Methuselah to fertilize the female trees, thereby reviving the biblical desert date palm variety. The fruits of that variety were known for their exceptional size, exquisite taste, and medicinal properties. Will we one day have the chance to taste the mythological date fruit of the land of Judea again? Time will tell.

Source: Arava Institute - https://did.li/arava-metushelach