old seed

An Israeli scientist was able to grow a date palm from a 2,000 year old seed. The seed was found at Masada, the hilltop fortress beside the Dead Sea built during King Herod's rule and destroyed by the Romans in CE 73. Dr. Sarah Sallon planted three seeds of several that were collected during the 1960's. One germinated and is now a healthy plant about three feet tall. This makes it by far the oldest seed ever to sprout. What's more this plant comes from a line of date palms that were famed for their taste and quality but had died out.