Research discovers Gethsemane olive trees age

For the first time, scientists have worked out the exact age of the eight remaining olive trees in Gethsemane, the garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where, according to the gospels, Jesus and his disciples are said to have prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion. Custodian of the Holy Land Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who is an officer of the Franciscan order, will be present at the October 19 press conference in Rome, in which the two scientists who worked on this project, agronomist and Mediterranean olive expert, Prof. Giovanni Gianfrate and Prof. Antonio Cimate from the Florence-based National Research Center (CNR), will present their findings based on the trees' genetics and health conditions. Conflicting historical testimony as to the true age of the trees led the scientists to take extracts from their trunk, roots, and branches, both to establish whether or not they were alive at the time of Christ, and to protect them from disease and pollution. The results of the research are ''very, very interesting,'' said Prof. Gianfrate, who declined to specify the age of the trees. ''Normally we would expect to find viruses, fungi or bacteria, but the Gethsemane olives are free of everything, even the common olive scab. It is quite exceptional.''