Students Dig Megiddo

Megiddo lies just southeast of Haifa and is situated at the head of a mountain pass located at the western end of the Jezreel Valley. The site commands a key view into northern Israel and lies strategically along the Via Maris, the ancient primary thoroughfare connecting Syria and Mesopotamia south to Egypt. In the New Testament, the site is identified as the location of the last great battle of the world, Armageddon. The incredible ruins on the site have lured archaeologists over the years, with of the most significant archaeological digs occurring between 1925 and 1939 when the remains of 20 distinct historical periods dating from 4000 to 400 BCE were found, further underscoring Megiddo's strategic importance. Because of the small amount of documentation associated with that dig, archaeologists suspect that some of the areas may have been dated incorrectly.

Fast forward to 2008 and my visit there during the third week of June where I surprisingly encountered students that had arrived on an archaeological dig that is to last for the next seven weeks. The Megiddo Expedition officially began on June 16, 2008. Approximately 115 student representatives from 40 universities around the world arrived at Megiddo on an archaeological dig to determine, among other things, whether earlier digs had perhaps incorrectly concluded on particular time periods. Five different areas were being excavated including early bronze, Iron Age II, Solomon I, late Bronze and mid Bronze. One area that I visited, known as upper J, had originally been excavated and it had been determined that the area was from early bronze (2000 - 2400 B.C.E.) However, archaeologists now suspect that the area may in fact be from middle bronze - or around 1600-2000 B.C.E. While I stood there interviewing a graduate student in hebrew bible and ancient Israel, one of the students digging nearby uncovered the handle of a ceramic dish. The wishbone handle was unusual and dated back to the mid-Bronze period, just as they suspected.

The students participating in the dig are in Israel at their own expense and are being housed at a nearby Kibbutz, Ramat HaShofet. The program has brought students from numerous international universities including University of Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Vanderbilt, University of Michigan, George Washington, Chapman and numerous others. many of the students are visiting Israel for the first time.