My wife Michal and I, plus about eight others, recently had the pleasure of a personal tour of the Megiddo National Archaeological Park, which overlooks the Jezreel Valley. Our guide to the UNproclaimed site was our friend Dr. Norma Franklin, an archaeologist who is the coordinator of the Megiddo Expedition of Tel Aviv University. [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list]

Mt. Megiddo was significant for its command of the Via Maris (Way of the Sea), one of the two principal routes (the other is the King's Way through the mountains of Jordan) connecting Egypt with the great empires of the Tigris-Euphrates valley. Megiddo has three historical distinctions. First, it is the site of the world's first recorded battle. Second, it is the site of the famous WWI victory of General Allenby against the Turkish Army. Third, it is prophesied in the New Testament to be the site of the world's last battle: Armageddon.

Inscribed on the walls of Egypt's famous temple at Karnak after the first battle of Megiddo are hieroglyphs depicting the victory of Pharaoh Thutmose III over a combined force of Canaanite kings at Megiddo in 1457 BCE. The defeated armies from the powerful city-states were forced to flee to the stronghold of Mt. Megiddo, where they eventually succumbed to a lengthy siege. This was a momentous victory for Thutmose III: Egypt gained control of upper Canaan in addition to acquiring taxes and levies from the Assyrian, Babylonian and Hittite kings to the north.

A view of steps, probably dating to the Late Bronze Age, that lead up the side of the mound. In the first half of 1918, German victories stymied the British forces in Palestine. But in mid-September, in the last great cavalry battle, General Edmund Allenby's forces broke the Turkish line, opening a gap for Allenby's cavalry and ending any effective Turkish resistance as the Turks fled inland. Within five weeks, the Turks signed an armistice and Palestine was under British control. Allenby was later given the title of Lord Allenby of Megiddo.

The term Armageddon is a corruption of the Hebrew Har [mountain] and the Aramaic form of Megiddo - Megiddon. We know that the Book of Revelation (New Testament - Revelation 16:16) identifies Armageddon as the place where the armies of God and the Devil will fight their ultimate battle. Because of all this history, the national park is a busy tourist destination for bus loads of Christian and Jewish tourists, in addition to Israelis out on weekend expeditions.

View east from the Tel over the Jezreel Valley. (Photo courtesy of Stephen Kramer) The UNESCO Advisory Body evaluation gives this explanation for Megiddo's choice as a World Heritage site: "Megiddo is one of the most impressive tells [earthen mound containing archaeological remains] in the Levant [eastern Mediterranean coast]. Strategically sited near the Aruna Pass [today also called Wadi Ara], overlooking the fertile Jezreel Valley and with abundant water supplies, from the 7th millennium BCE through to the 4th century BCE. Megiddo was one of the most powerful cities in Canaan and Israel. It controlled the Via Maris, the main international highway connecting Egypt to Syria, Anatolia and Mesopotamia. Epic battles that decided the fate of western Asia were fought nearby."

"Megiddo also has a central place in the Biblical narrative, extending from the Conquest of the Land through to the periods of the United and then Divided Monarchy and finally Assyrian domination. Megiddo is said to be the most excavated Tel in the Levant. Its twenty major strata contain the remains of around 30 different cities. ..."

"Megiddo represents a cornerstone in the evolvement of the Judeo-Christian civilization through its central place in the biblical narrative, its formative role in messianic beliefs, and for its impressive building works by King Solomon."

Norma had us jumping from century to century while exploring the more than 20 layers of the various time periods. On one level we could have been standing next to a ruin from 3,500 BCE, while a few feet to the left and a few feet higher up, the period could have been a thousand years later. Norma explained how the shifting of the levels by natural phenomena such as earthquakes make the identification of the ruins uncertain. The Tel is complex and although it was continuously inhabited throughout the millennia, some areas were more densely occupied than others, which can confuse the visitor. Norma gave us explanations of how earlier archaeologists were at odds over some of the findings. For example, the Chicago Expedition to Megiddo in the 1930s used the Bible as their guide for identifying "Solomon's Stables" there. Later the great Israeli archaeologist Yigael Yadin, a former general, identified the stables as belonging to Ahab. Today, modern archaeological methods rather than the Biblical references are the main identifying criteria. Norma belongs to this latter school, and while she would have no problem identifying "stables," she dates them to a period a 100 years later than Ahab and two hundred later than King Solomon.

Tel Megiddo has been undergoing excavations since 1903, prompting Norma to say she could have given us a 3-day tour instead of one lasting only several hours. Perhaps the best part, especially on a hot day like that of our visit, was the enormous water system. Norma led us 30 meters down a steel stairway to a rocky platform. Then we walked through a tunnel large enough for several of us to traverse at a time. We marveled at the ancient technology that created this engineering feat with human-powered tools. While the Chicago archaeological excavators who discovered the system in 1925 dated it to the Late Bronze period, around 1,300 BCE, Yigael Yadin dated it five centuries later, during the biblical kingdom of Ahab. Norma thinks it might date back to the Middle Bronze period, around 1,600 BCE.

Many people regard Megiddo as the most important biblical period site in Israel. Its mighty fortifications, sophisticated water installations, impressive palaces and temples, and commanding height over the Via Maris highway assured its position as the "queen of cities" in Canaan and Israel. As we looked down from the heights of Tel Megiddo onto the modern highway which crossed the Jezreel Valley from Wadi Ara northwards - on the very route of the Via Maris - it wasn't hard to understand Megiddo's prominence in the ancient world. For more details about Megiddo, see the Tel Aviv University site. [_http://megiddo.tau.ac.il/_]

Afterwards, Norma took us to one of her favorite restaurants in the nearby Wadi Ara, where one of Israel's busiest roads - the same route used by Pharaoh Thutmose 3,500 years ago! - cuts through numerous Israeli-Arab towns. We feasted on fresh salads, roasted lamb with green wheat over rice, and black coffee or mint tea with honey-filled pastries. A very tasty finish to a wonderful tour.

Stephen Kramer resided and worked in the Atlantic City area until 1991, when he moved to Israel with his wife, Michal Langweiler, and two sons. His book "Meandering Through Israel" can be purchased by calling the Jewish Times at 407-0909. He can be reached at Sjk1@jhu.edu.