How old are the olive trees in the holy land?

Asked 3 years ago

Hi, I wondered since you get Bethlehem olive wood, and olive trees are the sacred trees in Israel. Do olive trees originate from Israel? How long have they been there?

Olive tree Nature in israel Israel Holy land

Carmen Slabbert

Sunday, October 10, 2021

Olive trees are native to Israel and are mentioned in the Bible (Deuteronomy 8:8), where people were anointed with olive oil. The olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane were radiocarbon-dated to provide an estimate of their ages. The oldest tree dated to be at least 100 000 years old.