Megiddo was important in the ancient world. It guarded the western branch of a narrow pass on the most important
trade route of the ancient
Fertile Crescent, linking Egypt with
Mesopotamia and
Anatolia and known today as
Via Maris. Because of its strategic location, Megiddo was the site of several battles. It was inhabited approximately from 5000 to 350 BCE,
Neolithic Yarmukian culture Archaeological Stratum XX at Tel Megiddo began around
5000 BCE during the
Neolithic. The first
Yarmukian culture remains were found at this level in 1930s excavations, but they were not recognized as such then. These remains, found in Area BB, were pottery, a figurine, and flint items.
Chalcolithic Wadi Rabah culture 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.
Early Bronze Age Early Bronze I Megiddo's Early Bronze Age I (3500–2950 BCE) was originally worked in 1933–1938 by the Oriental Institute, now the
Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures. Decades later, a temple from the end of this period was found and dated to Early Bronze Age IB (ca. 3000 BCE) and described by its excavators,
Adams, Finkelstein, and Ussishkin, as "the most monumental single edifice so far uncovered" in the early Bronze Age
Levant and among the largest structures of its time in the
Near East. Samples, obtained by Israel Finkelstein's Megiddo Expedition, at the temple-hall in the year 2000, provided calibrated dates from the 31st and 30th century BCE. The temple is the most monumental Early Bronze I structure known in the Levant, if not the entire Ancient Near East. Archaeologists' view is that "taking into account the manpower and administrative work required for its construction, it provides the best manifestation for the first wave of urban life and, probably, city-state formation in the Levant". To the South of this temple there is an unparalleled monumental compound. It was excavated by the Megiddo Expedition in 1996 and 1998, and belongs to the later phase of Early Bronze IB, It consists of several long, parallel stone walls, each of which is 4 meters wide. Between the walls were narrow corridors, filled hip-deep with the remains of animal sacrifice. These walls lie immediately below the huge 'megaron' temples of the Early Bronze III (2700–2300 BCE). The megaron temples remained in use through the Intermediate Bronze period. Magnetometer research, before the 2006 excavations, found that the entire Tel Megiddo settlement covered an area of ca. 50 hectares, being the largest known Early Bronze Age I site in the Levant.
Early Bronze II–III Tel Megiddo was still among the large fortified sites, between 5 and 12 hectares, during the Early Bronze II–III period, when its palace testifies that it was a real city-state "characterized by a strong social hierarchy, a hereditary centralized power, and the functioning of a palatial economy."
Stratum XVI (EB IIA-B; 3000-2750 BCE; decline).
Stratum XVb (EB IIIA; 2720-2500 BCE; peak economy). Contemporary to the 3rd and 4th dynasties of Egypt.
Stratum XVa (EB IIIB; 2500-2350 BCE; drier climate cause intensified centralization and urbanization). Contemporary to the 5th Dynasty of Egypt. The end of Stratum XV is marked by the abandonment of the temples as the economy declines.
Early Bronze IV The town declined in the Early Bronze Age IV period (2300–2000 BCE) as the Early Bronze Age political systems collapsed at the last quarter of the third millennium BCE.
Stratum XIVB (EB IVA; 2350-2150 BCE). At the end of this period, the Fall of the Akkadian Empire (c. 2334-2154 BCE) and Fall of the Old Egyptian Kingdom. 4.2 ka event.
Stratum XIVA (EB IVB; 2150-2020/2000 BCE). At the end of this period, the Fall of the Ur III Empire (c. 2112-2004 BCE). End of the Early Bronze Age. 4.0 ka event. The local water source at 'Ain el-Qubbi spring allowed the city to withstand shorter droughts.
Middle Bronze Age Middle Bronze I Early in the second millennium BCE, at the beginning of the
Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1950 BCE), urbanism once again took hold throughout of the southern Levant. Large urban centers served as political power in city-states.
Stratum XIII (MB I) can be subdivided into XIIIB (MB IA; 2020/2000-1900 BCE; semi-rural) and XIIIA (MB IB; 1900-1820 BCE; fortified settlement).
Middle Bronze II By the later Middle Bronze Age, the inland valleys were dominated by regional centers such as Megiddo, which reached a size of more than 20 hectares, including the upper and lower cities. 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.
Stratum XII (MB IIA peak economy). In MB IIA the "Nordburg" belongs to Level XII. Compare with the nearby city of
Shimron to the north.
Stratum XI (MB IIB-C/MB III/LB IA). In the Southern Levant, the Middle Bronze IIC (c. 1590-1550 BCE) corresponds with Late Bronze IA in the Northern Levant, where Mursili I of the Hittites around 1600 BCE destroyed the Great Kingdom of Yamhad (Aleppo) causing political turmoil. In mortuary contexts, in a dental calculus of individual MGD018 (c. 1630–1550 BCE), at Tel Megiddo,
turmeric and
soybean proteins were found, which are South Asian products, suggesting he may have been a merchant or trader who "consumed foods seasoned with turmeric or prepared with soy oil in the Levant, in South Asia, or elsewhere," indicating the possible existence of an Indo-Mediterranean trade. Sesamum protein (
sesame), another South Asian product, was found in individual MGD011 (c. 1688–1535 BCE).
Late Bronze Age Late Bronze IA In Egypt, the New Kingdom began with Ahmose I (r. 1570-1546 hCh) who along with his successors conducted military campaigns into the Southern Levant, destroying or subjugating many of the MB IIC settlements. At Tel Megiddo areas H and K, radiocarbon datings indicate the LBA began in the first half of the 16th century BCE (c. 1585–1545 BCE).
Stratum X (LB IA).
Late Bronze IB Stratum IX (LB IB). Megiddo Stratum IX "was better protected than it was in the Middle Bronze Age, as the old brick wall was still in use, and houses that created a continuous outer stone wall were constructed on top of it". It was a vassal of the early 18th Dynasty until the reign of Hatshepsut. At the end of Stratum IX (LB IB/IIA), during the
Battle of Megiddo, the city was subjugated by
Thutmose III (r. 1479–1425 BCE), and became part of the Egyptian Empire. The city still prospered, and a massive and elaborate government palace was constructed in the Late Bronze Age. Thutmose III's campaign is attested in Stratum IX at Tel Megiddo, a well fortified site in Late Bronze Age I.
Late Bronze II – Egyptian period Stratum VIII (LB IIA). Palace. In the
Amarna period (c. 1353–1336 BCE), Megiddo was a
vassal of the
Egyptian Empire. The Amarna Archive (c. 1350 BC), contains letters from the time of Amenhotep III, Akhenaten and Tutankhamen. Megiddo is mentioned in seven letters (EA 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 246 and 365). Biridya of Megiddo is mentioned in several letters from Megiddo (EA 242, 243, 244, 246, 247, 365) and from Taanach (EA 248). The
Amarna Letter E245 mentions local ruler
Biridiya of Megiddo. Other contemporary rulers mentioned were
Labaya of
Shechem and Surata of Akka, nearby cities. This ruler is mentioned in the corpus from the city of 'Kumidu', the Kamid al lawz. This indicates that there were relations between Megiddo and Kumidu.
Stratum VIIA (LB IIB). Palace. During the reign of Merneptah, Hazor and several other cities including the Jezreel Valley rebelled against the Egyptians.
Stratum VIIB (LB IIB/Iron IA). Megiddo's Stratum VIIB lasted until slightly before or in the reign of
Ramesses III (c. 1184–1153 BCE).
Iron Age Iron Age I Iron Age I (c. 1150–950 BCE) began in Tel Megiddo around 1150 BCE. Egypt's control of this Canaanite region ended around 1130 BCE, as Stratum VIIA was destroyed around this date or shortly thereafter, attested in the palace and adjacent Level H-11 building. A Canaanite dynasty still controlled the city after the Egyptians abandoned the region.
Stratum VIB (Iron IA; Early Iron I) can be aligned with the late
20th Dynasty of Egypt. The Transitional Iron IA/IB may reflect the end of the Egyptian Empire in the Southern Levant.
Stratum VIA (Iron IB; Late Iron I) correspond with the
21st Dynasty in Egypt. Radiocarbon dating indicate that
Philistine Bichrome appeared at Megiddo around 1111-1086 BC (68%) or 1128-1079 BC (95.4%). The Iron I/II transition saw a fierce conflagration that consumed Stratum VIA. The transition led to the end of the old culture which had lingered since the Late Bronze and the beginning of a new culture forming the Northern Kingdom. Scholars debate the exact timing of this transition. The city represented by Stratum VI is considered completely Canaanite by
Israel Finkelstein. It is thought to have a mixed Canaanite and
Philistine character by archaeologists
Yigael Yadin and
Amihai Mazar (2005). It fell victim to fire, marking the end of Iron I in the Jezreel Valley and of Canaanite culture there. This destruction was "caused by the growing proto-Israelite power in the central hill country, out of which [emerged] the
Northern Kingdom of Israel [that] should be dated to the first half of the 10th century BCE," related to "the biblical narrative of the war led by Deborah and Barak in Judges 4–5." Ben-Dor Evian and Finkelstein (2023), based on an updated Bayesian model and recent
radiocarbon datings, proposed that Stratum VIA ended sometime between 999 and 974 BCE, not due to the conquest of
Shoshenq I but by "the expansion of the highlanders into the valley, a development that soon brought about the emergence of the
Israelite Northern Kingdom." Applying Bayesian model inference (OxCal v.4.4 software), archaeologist Enrique Gil Orduña (2024) considers this destruction took place sometime around 986 to 983 BCE.
Iron Age II Stratum V. There have been several contradictory proposals for the political history of the Early Iron Age excavation layers. The destruction of Stratum V was attributed, by Yadin and Mazar, to
Shoshenq I, the first pharaoh of the
22nd Dynasty of Egypt, who would have taken Megiddo sometime around 926 BCE, which is attested in a
cartouche on a stele fragment, found in a spoil heap of the Shumacher excavation by the Oriental Institute team, and in a partial and damaged list of toponyms at the
Temple of Karnak. However, recalibration of radiocarbon datings, using calibration curve (IntCal20), supports Finkelstein's view that the destruction of Stratum V was due to
Hazael's campaign, c. 835 BCE (9th century BCE). (Late Iron Age IIA, c. 900–780 BCE). Rulers of the
Israelite Northern Kingdom improved the fortress from around 900 to 750 BCE. The palaces, water systems and fortifications of the site at this period were among the most elaborate Iron Age constructions found in the Levant. These two samples are RTT-5498 and RTK-6755, dated to 961 cal BC (median) and 928 cal BCE (median) respectively. Four other samples from Stratum VA-IVB, which are RTK-6408, 6760, 6429, and RTT-3948, belong to the period of the Omrides, dated to 865, 858, 858, and 857 cal BCE (median) respectively. Tel Megiddo became an important city, before being destroyed, possibly by
Aramaean raiders. The Aramean occupation was around 845–815 BCE.
Jeroboam II (c. 789–748 BCE) reigned over Megiddo.
Assyrian period period, when the site was called Magiddu, c. 732–609 BCE – plan and ruins
Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria conquered Megiddo in 732 BCE, turning it to the capital of the
Neo-Assyrian Empire's province of Magiddu. Since that time it would have remained uninhabited, preserving ruins pre-dating 586 BCE without settlements ever disturbing them. Archaeologist
Eric Cline considers that Tel Megiddo came to an end later, around 350 BCE, during
Achaemenid times. J. C. Howry, processing the results of a surface reconnaissance survey in 2019 which had used LiDAR (
Light Detection and Ranging) technology to obtain enhanced images of the ground, places Maximianopolis northwest of the tell, Legio south-southeast of it, and a village which grew next to the legion camp for which it provided services (the future Arab village of
Lejjun), southwest of the tell. Adams, David and Tepper (2014) write that the VIth Legion was deployed to the country sometime between 100 and 132, and was stationed there through most of the 3rd century;
Modern period and
Mount Tabor from Megiddo Megiddo is south of
Kibbutz Megiddo by . Today,
Megiddo Junction is on
the main road connecting the center of Palestine with lower
Galilee and the north. It lies at the northern entrance to
Wadi Ara, an important mountain pass connecting the Jezreel Valley within Israel's coastal plain. In 1964, during
Pope Paul VI's visit to the
Holy Land, Megiddo was the site where he met with dignitaries, including President
Zalman Shazar and the Prime Minister
Levi Eshkol.
Battles Famous battles include: •
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. •
Battle of Megiddo (609 BCE): fought between
Necho II,
pharaoh of the
Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt, and the
Kingdom of Judah, during 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. ==Archaeological features==