Original Source Israeli scientists have germinated a sapling from a date palm seed that is nearly 2,000 years old! “We are interested in preserving very valuable species in the Middle East,” Dr. Sarah Sallon, who heads the project, told israel today.
“Some of them are extinct but may be able to be resurrected.” Sallon, who works at the Louis Borick Natural Medicine Research Center in Jerusalem, said it is the oldest seed ever brought back to life. Until now, the oldest specie to be revived came from a 1,200-year-old lotus seed that was germinated in China.
The palm seed was found at the historic fortress of Masada near the Dead Sea, where 960 Jewish zealots chose suicide over capture by the Romans in 73 A.D. “We managed to get a few of these seeds, and we planted them, and some six or seven weeks later a bud appeared,” said Sallon.
The sapling is now about 14 inches (36 centimeters) tall. If it survives, the team hopes to revive the Judean date palm praised in the Bible. “In antiquity, there was a very famous date of ancient Israel,” Sallon said. “It was one of the most important exports of ancient Israel, it was on the coins, it was of extraordinary importance for the economy, for ceremonial reasons and also for medicinal reasons.” 
Original Source