The research conducted by the Agricultural Economy Directorate of the South Aegean Region for the registration of the old olive trees on the islands in order to protect and promote them as an element of our cultural heritage has been completed.
The research led to important conclusions such as the fact that an olive tree over 2,000 years old was found, which is considered the oldest on the Dodecanese islands.
The specific olive tree, as stated to RES-MPA by the deputy regional governor Filimonas Zannetidis, is located in the area «Lambra» in the village of Asklipeio in southern Rhodes, while in the same area there are other olive trees hundreds of years old. «It is likely that we are dealing with an olive grove of very old trees,» the vice-regional governor points out.
As Mr.Zannetidis notes, he has instructed the competent authorities to proceed to the next stage which is the settlement of the ownership so that «we know where these olive trees belong, in order to ensure the consensus to proceed to the next stage which will be the protection of the necessary fencing and the recording of information that will be on special signs, as well as the marking on the tourist maps of our region».
According to what has been made known, the number of olive trees declared in the Dodecanese was over 500 and an estimate of 166 of which 71 olive trees appear to be significant, with an age of over 400 years. Of the 71, 9 are particularly significant with an age of more than 800 years, while one case out of the 9 may involve an olive tree more than 2,000 years old. .
Mr. Zannetidis, referring to the difficulties, stated that some trees had very dense and numerous offshoots. Some trees were in now forested areas with dense vegetation which made them difficult to approach, while some trees had been partially felled so assumptions had to be made about the perimeter.
According to the research it was observed that the oldest olive trees were found near religious places of worship, churches, monasteries (Kalithies, Siana, Asclepeio, Theologos), in some old, ancient settlements (Siana, Asclepeio) and on the banks of rivers (Vati, Asclepeio).
In fact, in the village of Vati, several important olive trees have been identified whose age is estimated to be over 700 years old, while for the 9 cases that stand out, the service will proceed to a more in-depth study in order to see as accurately as possible the age of the trees and give the final results.
A similar recording effort is underway for the Cyclades islands and the results are expected to be announced soon.
