Tel Megiddo is the site of the ancient city of Megiddo, the remains of which form a tell, situated in northern Israel near Kibbutz Megiddo, about 30 km south-east of Haifa. Megiddo is known for its historical, geographical, and theological importance, especially under its Greek name Armageddon.
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 Asia Minor 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, or even, as Megiddo Expedition archaeologists suggest, since around 7000 BCE.
The Book of Revelation describes an apocalyptic battle at Armageddon, a Koine Greek transliteration of the Hebrew “Har Megiddo” (Mount Megiddo). From this surreal appearance in a well-known eschatological text, the term “Armaggeddon” has come to signify any world-ending catastrophe.
Narration: English
