Edin Buzuku knew his olive tree was old. Now, with the help of scientists from Istanbul Forestry University, he knows how old: 1,314 years.
The ancient tree stands within Buzuku’s family grove in the seafront city of Ulcinj in Montenegro.
The plantation’s other trees are a relatively young 800 years of age, Buzuku said, all bearing olives of the local Zutica variety from which the family has for centuries produced its Montenegro extra virgin olive oil and soaps.
A certificate granted by the Wood Anatomy and Tree-Ring Research Laboratory at Istanbul University, indicates the age was determined by dendrochronological methods, which is the scientific process of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree rings.
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