Megiddo is an archaeologically
unparalleled site where one
can literally see and touch and
be inspired by monuments
from biblical times.
Megiddo appears in both the
Old Testament and the New
Testament (as Armageddon).
Megiddo was chosen as the
scene of the historic meeting
between Pope Paul VI and the
President of the state of Israel
in 1964, in the first visit ever
of a Pope to the Holy Land.
Megiddo's stormy history
covers over six millennia, from
the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period
in the seventh millennium
B.C.E. to the Persian period in
the mid-first millennium B.C.E.
Megiddo exhibits an
unparalleled number of
monuments: fortifications,
temples, palaces, water
systems and other public
edifices.
Megiddo is the only site in the
Land of the Bible with remains
of thirty cities built one on top
of the other.
Megiddo is unique in providing
intensive information on city
planning in antiquity.
Megiddo was the scene of
many battles that decided the
fate of nations and empires.
Megiddo has been excavated
for over a century, starting
on April 1, 1903, and has
become the cradle of the
archaeology of Israel, the
source of and answer to
almost every problem related
to the Bronze and Iron Ages in
the Holy Land.
Megiddo is linked to
numerous great figures in
world history, among them
King Solomon of Israel and
King Josiah of late-monarchic
Judah, Pharaohs Thutmose III,
Shishak and Necho of Egypt
and Kings Tiglath-pileser
III and Esarhaddon Assyria.
Megiddo is the only site in
the Levant mentioned in all
great records of the Ancient
Near East: the Old and New
Testaments on the one hand,
and Egyptian, Assyrian and
Hittite sources on the other.
Megiddo guards the most
important highway of the
ancient world, the Via Maris
that connected Egypt with
Mesopotamia.
Megiddo has yielded an
exceptional number of rich
finds: inscriptions, statuettes,
ivories, etc.
Megiddo is the only
archae- ological site in Israel that
served as the backdrop for a
world famous bestseller —
James Michener's The Source.
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The Megiddo Expedition is undertaken under the auspices of
Tel Aviv University,
in conjunction with The George Washington University as Senior Consortium Member, and Chapman University, Loyola Marymount
University and Vanderbilt University as Consortium Members. The Expedition is directed by Israel Finkelstein and David Ussishkin
(Tel Aviv University),
with Eric Cline
(The George Washington University)
serving as Associate Director (USA).
