Fossilized Pollen helps Recreate Ancient Royal Gardens (Name here)

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1 Fossilized Pollen helps Recreate Ancient Royal Gardens (Name here)

2 WHO: WHAT: Fossilized Pollen Unlocks Secrets of Ancient Royal Garden WHEN: February 16-th WHERE: Ramat Rahel Israel, Jerusalem WHY: Release evidence In regard to new archaeological findings SUMMARY: On a hilltop above Jerusalem, digs have revealed that there was an ancient garden, known as Ramet Rahel, an archaeological site located high above the modern city of Jerusalem, about midway between the Old City of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Scientists have not known what the garden looked like or what grew in it until recently. Researchers discovered that the garden had been made with plaster, which caused pollen to stick and dry within the plaster. By looking at the pollen assemblage, researchers were able to discover what kind of plants grew in the garden. It was a paradise of exotic plants. They found evidence of willow and poplar trees, which would have required irrigation to survive in the garden. They also found pollen of ornamentals, such as myrtle and water lilies; native fruit trees, including grape vine, common fig and olive; and imported citron, Persian walnut, cedar of Lebanon and birch trees. This has had an impact on Judaism and the region as a whole. Scientists want to recreate the garden of Ramet Rahel with their new information so that visitors can come. This site was inhabited since the last century of the Kingdom of Judah (seventh century B.C.) until the early Muslim reign in Palestine (10th century), a period that saw many wars and exchanges of power, with the garden evolving under each civilization.

3 OPINION: I think this changes history through tiny grains of pollen, because this is the first time the botanical elements of an ancient royal garden have been reconstructed. Archaeology provided more data; plus the chance to recreate the royal gardens. Since these gardens were once the ultimate symbol of power, they must have made an obvious statement of status, for economic wealth and royalty. The plants must have been perceived as a precious commodity or luxury, or maybe even necessity like providing shade. Otherwise, why go through such trouble to have a massive and lush green space surrounding one's palace, especially when the surrounding area is desert, as it would have been in the dry climate of the Judean Hills. It makes little sense to built irrigation systems, pools, channels and tunnels, stone carved gutters and the framework for elaborate waterfalls, just for the fun of it. PREDICTION: It s clear that pollen can be found in sediments. If plants produce pollen in large quantities, then it can become extremely resistant to decay. It is possible to identify a plant species from its pollen grain. I predict that the fossil seeds and pollen in the sediment layer will provide information about the climate, weather condition and the soil PH. It will definitely give clues in regard to trade patterns and commerce. I also predict that some of the plants grown that shed this pollen were used for medicinal and religious purpose, as well as to show off status, because countries in the Middle East have a long tradition in such matters. My Jewish neighbors told me that the imported species of citron, or etrog, is one of the four species of plants used at Sukkot, a biblical holiday. So, it s obvious it was brought to flaunt. SOLUTION: In my opinion, archaeologists need to research the history of the garden with a close analysis of soil. They need to dig in more areas of the Middle East; open new archaeological sites and get more samples of pollen grains. Also, scientists should catalog the many different types of pollen; then test and subject them to germination trials. They should make the effort to revive these exotic plant species and re-create the garden.

4 FACT: I researched the study of prehistoric pollen grains and spores found in archaeological or geological deposits it s called palynology.

5 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Fossilized Pollen Unlocks Secrets of Ancient Royal Garden ScienceDaily (Feb. 16, 2012) Researchers have long been fascinated by the secrets of Ramat Rahel, located on a hilltop above modern-day Jerusalem. The site of the only known palace dating back to the kingdom of Biblical Judah, digs have also revealed a luxurious ancient garden. Since excavators discovered the garden with its advanced irrigation system, they could only imagine what the original garden might have looked like in full bloom -- until now. Using a unique technique for separating fossilized pollen from the layers of plaster found in the garden's waterways, researchers from Tel Aviv University's Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology have now been able to identify what grew in the ancient royal gardens of Ramat Rahel. And based on the garden's archaeological clues, they have been able to reconstruct the lay-out of the garden. According to Prof. Oded Lipschits, Dr. Yuval Gadot, and Dr. Dafna Langgut, the garden featured the expected local vegetation such as common fig and grapevine, but also included a bevy of exotic plants such as citron and Persian walnut trees. The citron, which apparently emigrated from India via Persia, made its first appearance in the modern-day Middle East in Ramat Rahel's royal garden. Plastered pools a "pollen trap" One of the unique features of Ramat Rahel's garden is its advanced irrigation system. The scope of the garden is even more impressive, says Dr. Gadot, because there was no permanent water source at the site. Rainwater was efficiently collected and distributed throughout the garden with aesthetic water installations that included pools, underground channels, tunnels, and gutters. These installations finally allowed researchers to uncover what they had been searching for. Early attempts to remove pollen grains

6 from the site's soil in order to reconstruct the botanical components of the garden were unfruitful because the pollen had oxidized. But after noticing that the channels and pools themselves were coated with plaster, probably due to renovation, the researchers theorized that if the plaster had ever been renewed while the garden was in bloom, pollen could have stuck to the wet plaster, acting as a "trap," and dried within it. Luckily, this hunch proved to be correct. While some plaster layers included only typicalnative vegetation, one of the layers, dated to the Persian period (the 5th-4th centuries B.C.E.), also included local fruit trees, ornamentals, and imported trees from far-off lands. "This is a very unique pollen assemblage," explains Dr. Langgut, a pollen expert. Among the unusual vegetation are willow and poplar, which required irrigation in order to grow in the garden; ornamentals such as myrtle and water lilies; native fruit trees including the grape vine, the common fig, and the olive; and imported citron, Persian walnut, cedar of Lebanon, and birch trees. Researchers theorize that these exotics were imported by the ruling Persian authorities from remote parts of the empire to flaunt the power of their imperial administration. This is the first time that the exact botanical elements have been reconstructed in an ancient royal garden, say the researchers. The botanical and archaeological information they have collected will help them to re-create the garden so that visitors can soon experience the floral opulence of Ramat Rahel. The origins of tradition In their migrations, human beings distributed different plants and animals throughout the world, mostly for economic purposes, says Dr. Gadot. In contrast, at Ramat Rahel, royalty designed the garden with the intent of impressing visitors with wealth and worldliness. Certainly, the decision to import various trees has had a lasting impact on the region and on Judaism as well, says Prof. Lipschits. The citron tree, for example, which made its first appearance in Israel in this garden, has worked its way into Jewish tradition. The citron, or etrog, is one of the four species of plants used at Sukkot, and the earliest appearance of these species was at the garden of Ramat Rahel.