On our second day in Israel, we visited the site of Megiddo, which is mentioned in several passages in the Bible, including Judges 1:27. This ancient city was the first important ruin we visited which actually looked like an archaeological site. It is situated on a hilltop, for two reasons: Hilltops have always been the best positions, as far as military strategy is concerned and Megiddo guards an important path from the Mediterranean Sea to the interior, and, in addition, any city that is occupied for hundreds or thousands of years creates its own mound of debris, as succeeding generations build new structures atop the rains and the blown-in dirt from the time of their predecessors.
Archaeologists have excavated a considerable part of Megiddo, and visitors can see some fascinating sights. The traveler walks up a curving, stone-paved roadway, turning a corner to enter a paved courtyard. This is the area referred to in Biblical descriptions of other cities as "in the gates" (Deuteronomy 22:15). It was a place where the men of the city habitually gathered to sit and chat, and take notice of the travelers who were entering the city.
It was here, too, that a magistrate or judge held hearings and handed down judgements (11 Samuel 19: 8). In the courtyard at Megiddo, there is a stone bench built along two sides of the walls of the courtyard, which is such a natural place for sitting that modern travelers unthinkingly drop down for rest. In the same way, travelers in Bible times must have stopped there to ease their aching feet-if the local men would make room on the benches for the newcomers.
Before entering the city, the traveler stops to wonder at the throne-like seat provided for the magistrate. It stands alongside the outer gates, where the stone benches are located. The seat is placed on a small raised platform enclosed by four pillars and atop the pillars is the frame of canopy which would have provided shade for the magistrate. The wooden pillars have been replicated and are placed in the precisely-shaped stones which once held the original pillars, so the modern traveler has a feeling of visiting the area just minutes after the magistrate and the men of the city got up to go home for their evening meal.
As we follow the roadway's curves into the city, it is easy to see where the gates of the city once hung. It is apparent that there were three sets of gates into Megiddo, each set some 30 feet farther along the paved roadway than the previous pair. The traveler can easily make out where the hinges of the double gates would have been and the places where the double gates would have come together against a heavy, flat-sided stone embedded in the roadway to provide a brace against which the gates would have been closed.
The city of Megiddo was founded at least 4,000 years ago, and was occupied for at least 3,000 years. Archaeologists have found at least 20 levels of occupation there, although not all of them have been thoroughly investigated. But much of what has been uncovered would look like piles of rubble to the average modern visitor, so the archaeologists have rebuilt and/or reconstructed several items of special interest.
One of the most interesting items was a temple area where sacrifices and other worship practices would have taken place. This same place, and even the same furniture and equipment would probably have been used to worship God, or for the worship of pagan idols embraced by the Canaanites and to which the Israelites frequently regressed.
We could also see a large area which the guide identified as having been a stable area. For many years, archaeologists believed the stables were those built at Megiddo by Solomon (I Kings 9:15 and 1 Kings 10:26), but many later authorities think the stables may have been built much later by King Ahab while he was king of Israel.
Some of the construction here may be identifiable as having been ordered by Solomon, however, because the Bible tells us that he instituted a new building technique, in which a layer of cedar wood was placed after few layers of stone, to help stabilize the structure. And, sure enough, there are structures at Megiddo which exhibit this building technique. Of course, the cedar wood has vanished, but the remnants of the stones show clearly where the wooden layers would have been.
Megiddo pictures (full-size)As we stood there on the hilltop overlooking the temple area, our guide pointed out the town of Nazareth, clearly visible on a hillside some distance to the northeast. Cana was lost in the haze beyond, in the same direction. Just below us to the northeast was the valley of Jezreel (Judges 6:33), and to the southeast we could see Mount Gilboa, where King Saul and his sons died in battle (I Samuel 31:1-6).
Later the same day, we visited the ruins of the city of Beth Shan, where the bodies of Saul and his sons were put on display by the conquering Philistines (I Samuel 31:10). However, the ruins visible today appear to be from about the time of Christ, hundreds of years after King Saul.
What we can see of the city of Beth Shan is fascinating, however, as it portrays the splendor of typical city of the GrecoRoman era. The architecture of these cities follows a pattern popular with the Greeks, and adopted by the Romans when they became the world rulers. The style incorporates rows of carved white columns which adorn buildings and line the main streets of the city for blocks and blocks, along with massive stone buildings and -- most lasting and most visible -- the half-moon shaped outdoor theaters with their tiers of stone seating. At one such theater, we even spotted -- in Roman numerals -- the seat numbers carved into the fronts of the seats.
Beth Shan Photos
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