24 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Bidnija olive trees have seen medieval, not the Roman period

The olive trees in the Bidnija grove on the island of Malta are believed to be 2000 years old. But research says that’s not true.

The Bidnija olive grove study was carried out by Dr. Jonathan Lageard and Dr. Francis Brearley from the Manchester Metropolitan University, and Dr. Daniel Sultana from the Environment and Resources Authority and Junior College, University of Malta.

The researchers used radiocarbon dating of tree trunks to determine the ages of six olive trees in a grove near Bidnija, which they published in the International Journal of Archaeological Studies.

The study revealed that trees from the Bidnija grove were planted in the mid to late medieval period (15th to 17th century), rather than in far earlier Roman times when the surrounding agricultural terrain was considered to be an important olive producing area.

A concentration of archaeological discoveries surrounds the Bidnija trees, showing the presence of a significant olive-producing region dating back to the Romans.

Small fields surround the site, which is typical of the island’s agricultural cultivation, and it is next to a small limestone promontory on which the remains of a Roman-era villa, Tal-Bidni, were discovered in 1912.

The grove is one of the few sites on the Maltese islands where old trees still thrive and are legally protected. However, while veteran olive trees have traditionally been seen as tangible connections to former agricultural landscapes, their dating has proven difficult.

Because of the tiny cells in the anatomical structure of the wood, olive trees cannot be dated like other trees, and they grow in twisted patterns and produce hollow trunks, making dating procedures even more difficult to apply.

The researchers found a significant mismatch between the scientifically determined ages of olive trees and more romantic ideas of longevity.

So, while the Bidnija site might have been utilized for olive tree cultivation as far back as the Roman period and probably beyond, the current olive trees were planted more recently and are part of a continuity of olive tree replanting and management.

Cover Photo: Wikiwand

Related Articles

An amateur archeologist has discovered a Roman war site

1 November 2021

1 November 2021

Thanks to the insistence of an amateur archaeologist, a Roman battlefield in Switzerland has been identified. Shortly before the birth...

Ancient skeletons buried with gold jewelry and expensive leather shoes found in newly discovered Roman necropolis in Italy

5 January 2024

5 January 2024

Archaeologists involved in a two-year-long excavation project at the site of a planned solar energy plant ancient city of Tarquinia,...

3500-year-old menhir discovered in Mahbubabad, India

15 March 2022

15 March 2022

Six feet in height stone, also called a menhir, was found on the roadside of Ellarigudem, a hamlet of Beechrajupally...

Archaeologists in the Tangier Peninsula Discovered Three Ancient Cemeteries, Including a Stone Burial Dating to Around 4,000 Years Ago

17 May 2025

17 May 2025

A significant archaeological discovery in northern Morocco’s Tangier Peninsula, situated just south of the Strait of Gibraltar, has led to...

700-Year-Old Lord Vishnu’s Sculpture Washes Ashore on Pedda Rushikonda Beach

23 March 2025

23 March 2025

On a serene Friday evening, the tranquil shores of Pedda Rushikonda beach were disrupted by an extraordinary sight: a centuries-old...

Thousands of ignored ‘Nummi Minimi’ Coins Found in the Ancient City of Marea in Egypt

11 December 2023

11 December 2023

Numismatists from the Faculty of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw have examined thousands of previously ignored small coins (Nummi...

Medieval Moat and Bridge Discovered Protecting Farmhouse in England

14 March 2024

14 March 2024

Cotswold Archaeology’s excavations in Tewkesbury, a historic riverside town north of Gloucestershire, England, have revealed a medieval moat and bridge...

Two Deep Ritual Wells Sealed with 3100-year-old Calcium Carbonate Discovered on Greek Island

6 August 2024

6 August 2024

Aerial photographs of the “Kotroni” Lakithra region, strategically located on the island of Cephalonia, west of the Greek mainland, revealed...

25 Qing Dynasty tombs found in China’s Hunan

25 May 2022

25 May 2022

25 graves dating from the Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1644–1912) have been uncovered in the Houbeishan tomb complex in southern China,...

2,000-year-old unique luxury Roman villa with “underfloor heating” found in Germany

3 November 2022

3 November 2022

A luxury Roman villa with a thermal bath and underfloor heating has been unearthed in Kempten, Bavaria, one of the...

‘Mysterious’ inscription on ancient Dacia sphinx is deciphered

3 January 2024

3 January 2024

The mystery of the inscription on the bronze sphinx statue discovered in the early 19th century was solved 200 years...

2,000-year-old stone faces and engravings emerge amid severe drought in Amazon

24 October 2023

24 October 2023

As a result of record-low water levels brought on by the region’s worst drought in over a century, faces carved...

Advanced imaging techniques reveal secrets of sealed ancient Egyptian animal coffins

21 April 2023

21 April 2023

Researchers from the British Museum have gained valuable insight into the contents of six sealed ancient Egyptian animal coffins using...

Well-Preserved Wooden Houses Over 2,000 Years Old Discovered in Zhejiang, China

15 March 2025

15 March 2025

In a remarkable archaeological find, researchers in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China, have uncovered exceptionally well-preserved wooden houses dating back over...

A well-preserved comb discovered in a 4th-century rare Alemannic chamber grave in Germany

4 September 2024

4 September 2024

During a rescue excavation in the center of the village of Gerstetten, located in the Heidenheim district of southwestern Germany,...