As published by Dr. Sallon and her colleagues, in the journals Science (Brevia 2008 and Letters 2008), Science Advances (2020) and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2021), the reason for these ancient seed’s unusual longevity is unknown. However, one explenation may be due to the Dead Sea’s exceptional environment. At 415M below sea level and the lowest place on earth, the Dead Sea has the world’s thickest atmosphere, unique cosmic radiation, a complex chemical haze, and an extremely arid climate – all factors which may have prevented seed deteriation.
Dr. Solowey described the germination of “Methuselah” in 2005, “… I couldn’t believe it. On January 25th I planted 3 seeds in fresh clean potting soil in my greenhouse. Weeks passed without any change, and I really did not believe anything would happen. Then on March 18th a tiny delicate leaf emerged. At first it was very pale, and then it turned green! I was so excited”. While other ancient seeds have been germinated, including 1200 year old Lotus seeds and more recently, Silene stenophylla seeds preserved for 30,000 years in the Siberian permafrost, these ancient date seeds are the oldest to be successfully grown without any laboratory intervention.
