Elad Ben-Dor

• Bachelor of Science
• Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Local olive germplasm of the southern Levant includes wild populations of var. sylvestris and local traditional cultivars that are thought to be well-adapted to the region’s arid conditions. By controlling water availability, we tested the response of the Barnea cultivar, two local traditional cultivars (MLL1 and MLL7) and var. sylvestris to low (1...

אוכלוסיות של זית הבר, האב הקדמון של עצי הזית המתורבתים, פזורות בכל רחבי אגן הים התיכון. עם זאת, לאחר אלפי שנים של קיום בסמיכות לזני תרבות, זהותן הטקסונומית כזן הבר אינה ברורה. בדרום הלבנט, האתר המרכזי הסביר ביותר לתִרבות זני הזית המודרניים, רבים מהעצים הגדלים טבעית נחשבים פליטי תרבות שהופצו מעצים נטועים. זיהוי אוכלוסיות של זן הבר המקורי של זית אירו...

Background Populations of Olea europaea subsp. europaea var. sylvestris, the ancestor of cultivated olives, are scattered across the Mediterranean Basin. However, after millennia of possible hybridization with cultivated varieties, the genetic identity of many of these populations remain questionable. In the southern Levant, the plausible primary d...

The olive tree (Olea europaea) is the most important fruit tree of the Mediterranean Basin, possessing both economic and cultural significance. The earliest evidences of olive fruits usage (table olives and oil extraction) that had been found in the southern Levant (modern Israel) indicate on the focal role of this region in olive domestication and...

It is known that the ancestor of cultivated olives (Olea europaea) is its wild relative- O. europaea subsp. europaea var. sylvestris, yet the original gene pool of var. sylvestris remains unknown and whether genuine populations of the wild ancestor still exist is the subject of debate among botanists. In this research we focused on the most hypothe...

The Ma‘agan Mikhael B shipwreck was found about 30 km south of Haifa, Israel. It is the remains of a 25-meter-long merchantman which plied the Mediterranean Sea at the early Islamic period (7th–8th century CE). The shipwreck was found in pristine condition and excavated in the course of eight seasons (2016–2022). The 250 amphorae found in the hull...

The domestication process of olives (Olea europaea) is still a subject for debate among scholars. One of the main hypothesis is that its domestication started in the southern Levant. With that assumption in mind and with some of the earliest evidences of olive fruits usage (table olives and olive oil) that have been found in this region, the histor...