Turkish arachaeologists have discovered some 4,000 year old, intact, lentil seeds, when excavating in the Seyitomer District of Turkey. The seeds have been germinated in a sterile environment and are now ready for planting out of doors. It is not known how the plants will react once they are exposed to a non-sterile atmosphere.
     "We have in hand 17 [plants grown from the] 4,000-year-old lentils. Now we're going to plant our sprouts in the field and try to get seeds from them,"  Dr. Nüket Bingöl of the biology department at Dumlupınar University said.
     Scientists are interested in their development as the seeds are quite different to modern day lentils and may assist in the development of Genetically Modified foods

Source: Todays Zaman (22 April 2010)