Ancient seed revived

A Judean date palm, thought to be extinct, has been brought back to life from a 2,000-year-old seed found in Masada, a fortress near the Dead Sea. The seed was discovered in a jar during excavations at the palace of Herod between 1963 and 1965.

Seed stored for decades

The seed was stored at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for 40 years before Elaine Solowey, an Israeli researcher, planted it in 2005. To everyone's surprise, a green shoot appeared from the soil a few weeks later.

Tree named after biblical figure

The resulting tree was named Mathusalem, after the biblical patriarch known for his long life. Carbon-14 dating of the seed's shell, done at the University of Zurich, placed its origin between 155 BCE and 64 CE, a time when Jewish defenders at Masada resisted Roman forces during the siege of 73 CE.

Germination process used

The seed was germinated using a process that involved soaking it in hot water, followed by a solution of hormones and fertilizer. Over the years, Mathusalem grew to over three and a half meters in height and was identified as a male palm.

First flowers and pollination

It produced its first flowers in March 2011, and its pollen was used to mate with a female palm, marking a significant step in the revival of the species. An Israeli team led by Sarah Sallon and Elaine Solowey detailed this achievement in Science Advances in February 2020.

Rare exception to seed rules

Normally, seeds lose their ability to germinate within a few decades, and almost none survive beyond a century. The successful germination of this ancient seed represents a rare exception to this rule, allowing the Judean date palm, a variety lost since antiquity, to reemerge from a single seed preserved dry in the desert.