DiscoverScroll article

Tel Megiddo (from Hebrew: תל מגידו; Arabic: تل المتسلم, Tell el-Muteselim) is the site of the ancient city of Megiddo (; Hebrew: מגידו; Greek: Μεγιδδώ), the remains of which form a tell or archaeological mound, situated in northern Israel at the western edge of the Jezreel Valley.

During the Bronze Age, Megiddo was an important Canaanite city-state, and in the Iron Age, it became a royal city in the Kingdom of Israel. The site is renowned for its historical, geographical, and theological significance, especially under its Greek name Armageddon (Ἁρμαγεδών), which appears once in the Koine Greek New Testament in Revelation 16:16. Excavations have unearthed 20 strata of ruins since the Neolithic phase, indicating a long settlement period. Occupied continuously from the early Bronze Age (c. 332 BCE), Megiddo was strategically located at the crossroads of major ancient trade routes, making it a key center for trade, politics, and military affairs. Excavations have uncovered impressive fortifications, including massive city walls and gates, as well as palaces, temples, residential buildings, and a sophisticated water system. The site is protected as Megiddo National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Revelation 16:16 describes an apocalyptic battle at Armageddon (Koine Greek: Ἁρμαγεδών, romanized: Harmagedōn, a transliteration of the Hebrew Har Megiddo "Mount Megiddo").

Archaeological Stratum XX at Tel Megiddo began around 5000 BCE during the Neolithic.

The Chalcolithic period came next, with significant content around 4500–3500 BCE, as part of the Wadi Rabah culture, at the following base level of Tel Megiddo, as other large tell sites in the region, was located near a spring.

Magnetometer research, before the 2006 excavations, found that the entire Tel Megiddo settlement covered an area of ca. In 2014, the archaeologist Pierre de Miroschedji stated that Tel Megiddo covered around 25 hectares in the Early Bronze IA and IB periods, when most settlements in the region only covered a maximum area of 5 hectares, but that excavations suggest large sites like Tel Megiddo were "sparsely built, with dwellings disorderly distributed and separated by open spaces."

A royal burial was found in Tel Megiddo, dating to the later phase of the Middle Bronze Age, around 1700–1600 BCE, when the power of Canaanite Megiddo was at its peak and before the ruling dynasty collapsed under the might of Thutmose's army.

At the end of Stratum IX (LB IB/IIA), during the Battle of Megiddo, the city was subjugated by Thutmose III (r. Thutmose III's campaign is attested in Stratum IX at Tel Megiddo, a well fortified site in Late Bronze Age I. Biridya of Megiddo is mentioned in several letters from Megiddo (EA 242, 243, 244, 246, 247, 365) and from Taanach (EA 248).

1150–950 BCE) began in Tel Megiddo around 1150 BCE.

In 609 BCE, Megiddo was conquered by Egyptians under Necho II, during the Battle of Megiddo.

Archaeologist Eric Cline considers that Tel Megiddo came to an end later, around 350 BCE, during Achaemenid times.

The Megiddo church is next to Megiddo Junction, inside the precinct of the Megiddo Prison.

Megiddo is south of Kibbutz Megiddo by 1 kilometre (0.62 mi).

Battle of Megiddo (15th century BCE): fought between the armies of the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition led by the rulers of Megiddo and Kadesh.

The Megiddo ivories are thin carvings in ivory found at Tel Megiddo, mostly excavated by Gordon Loud.

Since 1994, Megiddo has been the subject of biannual excavation campaigns conducted by the Megiddo Expedition of Tel Aviv University, co-directed by Israel Finkelstein, David Ussishkin, Norma Franklin, and Baruch Halpern with Eric H. Adams of Bucknell University in cooperation with the Megiddo Expedition, undertook excavations of the eastern extension of the Early Bronze Age town at the site known as Tel Megiddo East.

May Archaeology of Palestine Collection - contains images of several archaeological sites, including Tel Megiddo

Quick Facts

• During the Bronze Age, Megiddo was an important Canaanite city-state, and in the Iron Age, it became a royal city in the Kingdom of Israel.
• Adams of Bucknell University in cooperation with the Megiddo Expedition, undertook excavations of the eastern extension of the Early Bronze Age town at the site known as Tel Megiddo East.
• Archaeological Stratum XX at Tel Megiddo began around 5000 BCE during the Neolithic.
• The site is protected as Megiddo National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Since 1994, Megiddo has been the subject of biannual excavation campaigns conducted by the Megiddo Expedition of Tel Aviv University, co-directed by Israel Finkelstein, David Ussishkin, Norma Franklin, and Baruch Halpern with Eric H.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Tel Megiddo". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.