Tel Megiddo

Megiddo () is a hill in modern Israel near the Kibbutz of Megiddo, known for its historical, geographical, and theological importance.

In ancient times Megiddo was an important city state. It is also known alternatively as Tel Megiddo (Hebrew) and Tell al-Mutesellim (Arabic). Megiddo is a tel (hill or mound) made of 26 layers of the ruins of ancient cities in a strategic location at the head of a pass through the Carmel Ridge, which overlooks the Valley of Jezreel from the west. The name Armageddon mentioned in the New Testament derives from Megiddo.

History

Megiddo was a site of great importance in the ancient world, as it guarded the western branch of a narrow pass and an ancient trade route which connected the lands of Egypt and Assyria. Because of its strategic location at the crossroads of several major routes, Megiddo and its environs have witnessed several major battles throughout history. The site was inhabited from 7000 BC to 500 BC.

Megiddo is mentioned in Ancient Egyptian writings because one of Egypt's mighty kings, Thutmose III, waged war upon the city in 1478 BC. The battle is described in detail in the hieroglyphics found on the walls of his temple in Upper Egypt. Named in the Bible Derekh HaYam (), or "Way of the Sea," it became an important military artery of the Roman Empire and was known as the Via Maris.

Modern Kibbutz of Megiddo is nearby just a little less then 1 km away to the south.

Today, Megiddo is an important junction on the main road connecting the center of Israel with lower Galilee and the northern region. Therefore, to this day it remains a site of strategic importance as it lies at the northen entrance to Wadi Ara, an important mountain pass connecting the Jezreel Valley with Israel's coastal plain.

Megiddo has been the site of numerous battles throughout history, with the site changing hands many times. Three of the more famous battles include:

• Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC): fought between the armies of the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition led by the rulers of Megiddo and Kadesh; this is the first documented battle in recorded history.
• Battle of Megiddo (609 BC): fought between Egypt and the Kingdom of Judah, in which King Josiah fell.
• Battle of Megiddo (1918): fought during World War I between Allied troops, led by General Edmund Allenby, and the defending Ottoman army.

The Book of Revelation mentions apocalyptic military amassment at Armageddon, a name derived from Megiddo. The word has become a byword for the end of the age.Revelation 16:16

Megiddo has been excavated three times. The first excavations were carried out between 1903 and 1905 by Gottlieb Schumacher for the German Society for Oriental Research. In 1925, digging was resumed by Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, financed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. until the outbreak of the Second World War. During these excavation it was discovered that there were twenty levels of habitation, and many of the uncovered remains are preserved at the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

Yigael Yadin conducted a few small excavations in the 1960s. Megiddo has most recently (since 1994) been the subject of biannual excavation campaigns conducted by The Megiddo Expedition of Tel Aviv University, directed by Israel Finkelstein and David Ussishkin, together with a consortium of international universities.

Ancient church discovered under prison

In 2005, Israeli archaeologist Yotam Tepper of Tel-Aviv University discovered the remains of a church, believed to be from the third century, a time when Christians were still persecuted by the Roman Empire. Among the finds is an approx. 54 square meter large mosaic with a Greek inscription stating that the church is consecrated to "the God Jesus Christ." The mosaic is very well preserved and features geometrical figures and images of fish, an early Christian symbol. It is speculated that this may be the oldest remains of a church in the Holy Land.Greek inscription in 'oldest church' The remains were found within the grounds of a military prison, and Israeli authorities are currently speculating about moving the prison.

An inscription in the Megiddo church calls for a Roman officer, "Gaianus," who donated "his own money" to have a mosaic made. Those who propose an early dating for this site have questioned whether a Roman officer would risk his career or even his life to build a churchIsraeli Prisoners Dig Their Way to Early Christianity. On the other hand, persecution of Christians was sporadic in the Roman Empire during the early third century. The archaeological evidence is pointing to a later date placing the church in the last quarter of the 3rd or first quarter of the 4th century.

The Megiddo Stables

At Megiddo two stable complexes were excavated from Stratum IVA, one in the north and one in the south. The southern complex contained five structures built around a lime paved courtyard. The buildings themselves were divided into three sections. Two long stone paved aisles were built adjacent to a main corridor paved with lime. The buildings were about twenty-one meters long by eleven meters wide. Separating the main corridor from outside aisles was a series of stone pillars. Holes were bored into many of these pillars so that horses could be tied to them. Also, the remains of stone mangers were found in the buildings. These mangers were placed between the pillars to feed the horses. It is suggested that each side could hold fifteen horses, giving each building an overall capacity of thirty horses. The buildings on the northern side of the city were similar in their construction. However, there was no central courtyard. The capacity of the northern buildings was about three hundred horses altogether. Both complexes could hold from 450-480 horses combined.

The buildings were found during excavations between 1927 and 1934 at Megiddo. Head excavator, P.L.O. Guy, originally interpreted the buildings as stables. Since then his conclusions have been challenged by scholars such as James Pritchard, Ze'ev Herzog, and Yohanan Aharoni. They suggest that the buildings should be interpreted as either storehouses, marketplaces or barracks. Nevertheless, Yigael Yadin and J. S. Holladay strongly argue against this conclusion. Other Tripartite Buildings have been found at other sites such as Hazor and Beer-Sheba. The evidence at these other sites is not absolutely conclusive. It is also possible, as Amihai Mazar suggests, that similarly shaped buildings in different cities may have been put to different uses.Amihai Mazar, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 476-78.

References in popular culture

In literature

• The apocalyptic novel Alas, Babylon is centered around a nuclear war which is started after an inadvertent United States airstrike against the Soviet-backed port of Latakia, Syria. Right before launching the missile that caused the harbor's destruction, an American fighter pilot sights the Megiddo, which is symbolic of the "armageddon" to come with the destruction of numerous cities and entire regions.

In games

• Megiddo was the name of a 1985 board game, loosely based on the historic battleground, published by a small company called Global Games from Spokane, Washington.
• Megiddo is featured in the Game Boy Advance game, Golden Sun: The Lost Age as a special move usable when the Sol Blade is equipped.
• In the Square-Enix game Final Fantasy VIII, the most powerful monster in the game (Omega WEAPON) casts a spell called Megiddo Flame.
• In the Square-Enix game Final Fantasy X, there are creatures named Chimaera who cast a spell also called Megiddo Flame, which is a ball of flame dealing damage to one character.
• In the Sega game series Phantasy Star, the most powerful offensive technique is known as Megido.
• The RPG game series Megami Tensei also features a spell called Megido, dealing damage regardless of any elemental resistances.
• The Meggido Cannon is the second most powerful gun in the popular strategy RPG Disgaea 2.
• In Digimon Tamers, Megidramon is a Mega-level Digimon whose name comes from the word "Megiddo".
• In Tales of the Tempest, Rubia learns Megiddo Flame at level 64, as it is the last spell she learns.
• Megido is a magic spell family in Japanese video game series Megami Tensei. Suffix indicates higher tier. They deal Almighty-elemental damage to large number of foe.
• The boss Cubia in the RPG series .hack has an attack called Megiddo Flame.
• Tel Megiddo was the main inspiration behind the fictional Tell Makor in the novel The Source by James A. Michener.
• Star Wars Battlefront 2 for the Xbox and Playstation 2 had a war-town planet called Mygeeto that sounds very close to Megido. This is thought to be intentional.

In motion pictures

• The evangelical Christian motion picture Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 is an apocalyptic thriller released theatrically in 2001.
• In the film The Omen, daggers capable of killing the Anti-Christ were buried at Megiddo. In the film, Robert Thorn acquired the daggers by way of a fallen priest named Bugenhagen, and passed on to Robert's brother, Richard in Damien: Omen II and to Father Decarlo in Omen III: The Final Conflict.
• In the one shot story Spriggan: First Mission by Ryoji Minagawa and Hiroshi Takashige, archaeologists uncovered an artifact in the Middle East called the Megiddo Flame.
• In the science fiction manga (and anime) series Toward the Terra there are huge cross shaped weapons in space which are called Megido. Even one Megido has the power to destroy a whole planet in an instant.
• In Bill Maher's 2008 documentary Religulous, Maher delivers his opening and closing theses from the ruins of Tel Megiddo.

In music

• The Japanese band, Pierrot, released a song called "Megido no oka" (The Hill of Megido - メギドの丘).
• The Swiss avant-garde metal band Celtic Frost recorded a song called "Dawn of Megiddo" on their album To Mega Therion.
• The Polish black metal band Behemoth recorded a song called "Fields of Haar-Megiddo" on their demo album ...From the Pagan Vastlands.
• The band Down recorded a song titled "Landing on the Mountains of Meggido" for their album Down II.
• The band British Sea Power refers to Megiddo in their song "No Lucifer."
• The Japanese band Rentrer En Soi have released a mini-album called "Megiddo" on October 22, 2008.

Other

• Megiddo is a bar in Vienna, Austria.

See also

• Megiddo (disambiguation)
• Battle of Megiddo (disambiguation)
• al-Lajjun

Notes

External links

• The Megiddo Expedition
• Megiddo At Bibleplaces.com
• Tel Megiddo National Park from the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority
• Megiddo: Tell el-Mutesellim from Images of Archaeological Sites in Israel
• - contains list of Biblical references

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