How Old are the Olive Trees in the Garden of Gethsemane?
Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem
“They went to a place called Gethsemane...”
We know from the gospels that Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane on the night of his arrest. This garden was an olive grove and it still exists today. Gethsemane means "oil press" in Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus.
In 2012 a group of Italian scientists studied and tested the eight oldest trees in the garden and found that they were about 900 years old. This would mean that today's trees are not the same trees that Jesus saw.
Furthermore, we know that in 70AD the Roman general Titus conquered Jerusalem and destroyed all the ancient groves in the area. Interestingly, the scientists mentioned that olive trees can grow back from roots after being cut down.
Is it possible that these old olive tress may have grown from the root systems of olive trees standing two thousand years ago?
Some of the oldest olive trees in the garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem
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