9 December 2023 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

Archaeologists have found a previously unknown Roman city with buildings of monumental proportions in Spain’s Aragon Region

17 July 2022

17 July 2022

Archaeologists from the University of Zaragoza in Spain have discovered a previously unknown Roman city with buildings of monumental proportions....

New AI Tool ‘Fragmentarium’ Brings Ancient Babylonian Texts Together

6 February 2023

6 February 2023

An artificial intelligence (AI) bot was developed by linguists at the Institute for Assyriology at Ludwig Maximilian University in Germany...

Archaeologists may have found the Sanctuary of Samian Poseidon described in ancient texts

11 October 2022

11 October 2022

During excavations in the foothills at the ancient acropolis of Samicum in Greece, archaeologists may have found the sanctuary of...

Archaeologists have discovered a large-sized 4,000-Year-Old steppe pyramid of the Bronze Age in Kazakhstan

10 August 2023

10 August 2023

Archaeologists of L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University discovered a massive Bronze Age steppe pyramid associated with a horse cult...

Gladiators were mostly Vegetarians and they were fatter than you may think

6 August 2023

6 August 2023

What better epitomizes the ideal male physique than the Roman gladiator? Gladiators were the movie stars of the first century,...

Rare ivory plaques from First Temple Period were discovered in Jerusalem

8 September 2022

8 September 2022

An extraordinary find was made in Jerusalem: an assemblage of ivory plaques from the First Temple period, one of only...

2100-year-old women skeleton found lying in bronze ‘Mermaid Bed’

4 June 2022

4 June 2022

Archaeologists have discovered the 2100-year-old skeleton of a woman lying in a bronze ‘Mermaid Bed’ near the city of Kozani...

A new Archaeological Site has been Discovered in Oman

7 July 2021

7 July 2021

Oman‘s Ministry of Heritage and Tourism recently discovered an ancient site in the town of Al Khobar, Sumail Province, Al...

Jordan Valley Reveals Earliest Cotton Use in the Ancient Near East

18 December 2022

18 December 2022

During excavations at Tel Tsaf, a 7,000-year-old town in the Jordan Valley, Israeli archaeologists discovered the earliest evidence of cotton...

Precious Roman Gem Engraved with Mythological Figure Discovered in Italian Lagoon

8 August 2023

8 August 2023

During excavations at Lio Piccolo (Cavallino-Treporti), conducted by Ca’ Foscari University, a precious agate stone carved with a mythological figure...

Saudi shipwreck excavation reveals hundreds of 18th-century artifacts on sunken ship in the north Red Sea

25 February 2022

25 February 2022

Divers from Saudi Arabia’s Heritage Authority have discovered a shipwreck in the Red Sea from the 18th century filled with...

Ancient Christian Settlement Discovered in Egypt

14 March 2021

14 March 2021

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities said on Saturday that a French-Norwegian archaeological team had discovered a new ancient Christian settlement...

Important archaeological find in the seas of Sicily: Archaic stone anchors found off Syracuse

24 November 2023

24 November 2023

During a joint operation by the Maritime Superintendency of the Sicilian Region and the Diving Unit of the Guardia di...

Archaeologists revealed Urartian King Menua second temple in Van excavations

22 December 2022

22 December 2022

The second temple of King Menua as well as a chamber tomb were unearthed during the excavations carried out this...

Archaeologists find the largest bronze beast of Sanxingdui ruins

4 September 2022

4 September 2022

The largest and only one of its kind discovered in China to date, the bronze beast was discovered by archaeologists...