Tel Megiddo

One of the most important archaeological mounds in Israel, Tel Megiddo, contains the remains of historic Megiddo, a fortified city that sat strategically on the ancient trunk road from Egypt to Syria and Mesopotamia. Megiddo has served as an important junction and battlefield throughout history. It is mentioned in an Egyptian document over 3,500 years old, was one of the chariot cities of Kings Solomon and Ahab, and was the site where Josiah, King of Judah, fell in battle. In 1918 the British defeated the Turks here and in 1948, during the War of Independence, the Israelis overcame invading Arabs forces at nearby Mishmar Haemek.

In the New Testament book of Revelation, Megiddo is identified as the site of the last great battle of the world, Armeggadon, a corruption of the Hebrew Har Megiddo. Excavations have uncovered the ruins of 25 cities dating from 4,000 to 400 B.C.E. Ruined structures, now visible, belong to the fortified "chariot city," built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C.E. An ancient water system, dating from the 9th century B.C.E., is well preserved and a remarkable piece of engineering. It consists of a large shaft, sunk 120 feet through rock, meeting a tunnel cut more than 200 feet to a spring outside the city. The spring was hidden by a wall and camouflaged by a covering of earth.