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Abstract
The age of living massive olive trees is often assumed to be between hundreds and even thousands of years. These estimations are usually based on the girth of the trunk and an extrapolation based on a theoretical annual growth rate. It is difficult to objectively verify these claims, as a monumental tree may not be cut down for analysis of its cross-section. In addition, the inner and oldest part of the trunk in olive trees usually rots, precluding the possibility of carting out radiocarbon analysis of material from the first years of life of the tree. In this work we present a cross-section of an olive tree, previously estimated to be hundreds of years old, which was cut down post-mortem in 2013. The cross-section was radiocarbon dated at numerous points following the natural growth pattern, which was made possible to observe by viewing the entire cross-section. Annual growth rate values were calculated and compared between different radii. The cross-section also revealed a nearly independent segment of growth, which would clearly offset any estimations based solely on girth calculations. Multiple piths were identified, indicating the beginning of branching within the trunk. Different radii were found to have comparable growth rates, resulting in similar estimates dating the piths to the 19th century. The estimated age of the piths represent a terminus ante quem for the age of the tree, as these are piths of separate branches. However, the tree is likely not many years older than the dated piths, and certainly not centuries older. The oldest radiocarbon-datable material in this cross-section was less than 200 years old, which is in agreement with most other radiocarbon dates of internal wood from living olive trees, rarely older than 300 years.
Highlights
Olive trees (Olea europaea) are able to survive for many years, potentially representing a valuable source of information for dendrochronology
We explore the chronological pattern of xylem deposition in olive wood from a modern olive tree which grew in northern Israel, utilizing radiocarbon
Growth Ring Count Compared with Radiocarbon Dates
Summary
Olive trees (Olea europaea) are able to survive for many years, potentially representing a valuable source of information for dendrochronology. 4500 BC are frequently found in archeological contexts in the eastern Mediterranean (Galili et al, 1989; Liphschitz et al, 1991; Epstein, 1993; Gibson and Rowan, 2006). These frequent finds are rarely utilized, as the identification of annual rings is problematic. Trees are able to endure the cold season by dormancy of cambial activity, resulting in earlywood and latewood (Cherubini et al, 2003; Fromm, 2013). Water availability was shown to have a positive effect on girth (Terral and Durand, 2006; LópezBernal et al, 2010) and vessel size in olive wood, with earlywood and latewood detected in rainfed trees but not in irrigated ones (Rossi and Sebastiani, 2014)
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