During a programme to identify and register ancient olive trees on the island of Rhodes, carried out by the Directorate of Agricultural Economy of the South Aegean region, an olive tree has been identified that is over 2,000 years old, making it the oldest yet found in the Dodecanese group of islands.

The olive tree is located in the ‘Labra’ area in the village of Asklipeio in the southeast of Rhodes.

The programme’s aim is to identify and protect ancient trees and the cultural heritage of the islands. It has already identified 71 trees in the Dodecanese that are over 400 years old, with 9 of those being at least 800 years old.

It has become apparent that the oldest olive trees are to be found near religious places of worship, churches and monasteries, in old ancient settlements and on the banks of rivers.