Amanda Borschel-Dan

Amanda Borschel-Dan is The Times of Israel's Jewish World and Archaeology editor.

Curator Tali Sharvit (from left) with artist Zohar Gotesman and co-curator Sally Haftel Naveh clown around next to the first of seven contemporary art sculptures inspired by the Israel Museum's archaeology wing. (© Israel Museum, Jerusalem, by Zohar Shemesh)

January 27, 2023, 10:37 am

Podcast: At the Israel Museum, touring 7 new wonders of the ancient world

Hear our host find spots on the treasure map that is the new archaeologically inspired exhibit Disrupted Layer, and match her impressions with the artist’s intentions

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

Indiana University Prof. Alvin Rosenfeld, December 2022. (Gale Nichols)

January 6, 2023, 11:04 am

Podcast: ‘Antisemitism is now a form of entertainment – and that’s new’

Kanye West and Dave Chappelle are not isolated incidents of ‘performative’ Jew-hatred, says Prof. Alvin Rosenfeld, head of IU’s Center for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

One of the images from the City of David's Siloam Tunnel in which Prof. Gershon Galil claims he reads the names and deeds of the biblical King Hezekiah of Judah in ancient Israel. (Eli Shukrun)

December 26, 2022, 5:28 pm

Bible scholar’s sensational Hezekiah inscription claims prompt researchers’ outcry

Academics publish open letter calling for scientific treatment of ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ claims after new round of unsupported popular press headlines regarding Jerusalem ‘discovery’

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

2,200-year-old silver coins that were discovered in a wooden box inside a cave in Wadi Muraba‘at near the Dead Sea. (Shai Halevy, Israel Antiquities Authority)

December 13, 2022, 8:32 am

2,200-year-old coin hoard gives hard proof of Book of Maccabees, say archaeologists

Trove of silver coins – two months’ average salary – documents bloody persecution preceding the famous Hanukkah revolt when Jews fled to the desert, as written in I Maccabees 2:29

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

The excavation at the medieval Jewish cemetery of Erfurt. (TLDA Ronny Krause)

November 30, 2022, 7:14 pm

Largest study of ancient DNA shows medieval Ashkenazi Jewry was surprisingly diverse

Scientists find that some 700 years ago, the Jews of Erfurt, Germany, formed 2 groups; rabbinic consultants stipulated that they study only loose teeth from pre-excavated skeletons

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

A 17th century BCE inscription in early Canaanite script from Lachish, incised on an ivory lice comb. (Daniel Vanstub)

November 9, 2022, 6:09 am

Ivory lice comb – a dating head-scratcher – may hold earliest Canaanite sentence

With a paucity of contemporary Bronze Age examples for comparison, scholars believe relatable 7-word inscription is first recorded complete proto-Canaanite sentence in Holy Land

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

October 25, 2022, 10:58 am

Israeli researchers say magnetic fields provide way to securely date biblical events

Team discovers that from layers of historical destruction springs a new hope of accurate chronological dating, plus deeper understanding of a powerful cosmic force

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

TOI senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur (courtesy)

October 6, 2022, 5:00 pm

Journey into Paralyzed Nation with our new ToI limited series podcast

ToI’s team of political experts — David Horovitz, Haviv Rettig Gur, Tal Schneider, Carrie Keller-Lynn and Jeremy Sharon — weigh in on your burning issues

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

September 23, 2022, 11:08 am

Podcast: Secret Holocaust poems set to haunting music by survivor’s granddaughter

Czech-born musician Lenka Lichtenberg speaks about her new album, ‘Thieves of Dreams,’ based on poetry written in Theresienstadt and hidden in Prague. NEW: Full transcript included

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

An employee at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) holds one of the vessels that are believed to have contained opium in the 14th century BC, found at the Tel Yehud burial site and on display at the IAA offices in Jerusalem on September 20, 2022.(AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

September 20, 2022, 3:02 pm

Israeli archaeologists uncover earliest known use of opium in the ancient world

Traces of psychoactive drug found in pottery from Tel Yehud; with new forensic scientific protocols at sites in Israel, discovery may herald many exciting new ‘firsts’

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

Preliminary IAA inspection of the 3,300-year-old cave at Palmachim National Park, September 13, 2022. (Emil Eljam/IAA)

September 18, 2022, 11:37 am

Frozen in time: 3,300-year-old burial cave from Ramses II era found at popular beach

During construction work at Palmachim National Park near Tel Aviv, a fallen rock reveals an ancient treasure trove from the era of the biblically notorious pharoah

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

Novelist Elyssa Friedland with her new book, 'The Most Likely Club.' (Courtesy)

September 9, 2022, 12:04 pm

Podcast: After writing the great Jewy-American novel, author Elyssa Friedland’s back

This week, the ‘Last Summer at the Golden Hotel’ and ‘Floating Feldmans’ author releases her newest work and tells us all about it. NEW: Full transcript included

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

The 'Ishmael Papyrus,' a rare document from the First Temple period. (Shai Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority)

September 7, 2022, 1:45 pm

Ingathering of the exiles? Extremely rare First Temple-era papyrus repatriated

2,700-year-old inscribed papyrus, a letter to ‘Ishmael’ written in early Hebrew script, joins only two others from biblical times. But that’s just the beginning of the story

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

Reli Avisar from Tel Aviv University with a 8th-7th century BCE ivory plaque adorned with a lotus flower from the City of David. (Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority)

September 5, 2022, 4:07 pm

Were First Temple Jerusalemites living in lap of luxury? Rare ivory finds offer clue

Considered one of the most precious materials in antiquity, 1,500 ivory fragments discovered in ongoing City of David excavations open debate about a more globalized Holy City

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

Kfir Arbiv, Israel Antiquities Authority excavation director, cleans a 2000-year-old ballista stone at the Russian Compound excavation site in Jerusalem. (Yoli Schwartz/srael Antiquities Authority)

August 7, 2022, 11:26 am

Proving Josephus: Research on Roman ballistics confirms Second Temple battle account

Computer calculations of 70 CE Roman arsenal uncovered in excavations in Jerusalem demonstrate veracity of Jewish historian Josephus’s report of intense fighting near Third Wall

By Amanda Borschel-Dan