Aerial view of Tel Megiddo. AVRAM GRAICER, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Although remembered in the Bible as one of Judah’s most pious rulers, King Josiah met a rather untimely death, slain at Megiddo by Pharaoh Necho II. While Josiah’s death is recorded in both 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, no archaeological evidence has ever been found to corroborate the story, until now. Publishing in the Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament, archaeologists excavating at the site of Megiddo in northern Israel propose that new ceramic finds provide the first evidence for Egyptian forces stationed in the city at the time of Josiah’s end.

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When Egypt Reigned at Megiddo

The death of pious King Josiah at the hands of Pharaoh Necho II at Megiddo (c. 609 BCE) was the beginning of the end for the biblical kingdom of Judah, which just a few decades later would finally fall at the hands of the Babylonians. Now, the discovery of massive amounts of Egyptian and Greek pottery has confirmed at least one major element of the story: that Egyptian forces and their Greek mercenaries had a significant presence at Megiddo at the end of the seventh century BCE.

In searching for traces of the biblical event, the archaeologists had little to go on, with much of the upper layers of the archaeological mound at Megiddo having been removed by prior excavations. Finally identifying a promising spot, known as Area X, the team hit pay dirt: a small area containing the remains of a mudbrick wall and two successive buildings with well-preserved layers dating from the eighth to sixth centuries BCE.

The earliest layers excavated in the area contained evidence of the Israelite occupation of the site and the fiery destruction that brought that occupation to its end at the hands of the Assyrian army under Tiglath-Pileser III (c. 732 BCE). Later layers showed evidence for the site’s Assyrian occupation, a period when it was the capital of the province of Magiddu and home to a mixed population of Israelites and deportees from around the Assyrian Empire. None of that was unexpected based on previous excavations. However, it was the latest layers of Area X that provided striking new evidence of the biblical story.

Although no destruction layer was identified at the end of Assyrian control over the site (mid- to late seventh century), there was a sudden change in ceramic remains, with the inclusion of a large amount of imported Egyptian and eastern Greek pottery. Dating to the late seventh century BCE, these ceramic finds perfectly matched the period of Josiah’s death. According to the excavators, no other site in the region has such a large amount of Egyptian pottery, and no non-coastal site has as much Greek pottery.

Considering the data, the archaeologists suggest that the most logical explanation for such a large and sudden presence of Egyptian and Greek pottery is the presence of a large garrison of Egyptian and Greek troops, the latter well known as mercenaries who served under the employ of Necho II. Besides fitting the biblical story, the evidence also fits with Assyrian history. Conquering the southern Levant in the latter half of the eighth century, the Assyrian Empire would slowly start to decline, and upon losing control of the Levant about a century later, it was Assyria’s Egyptian allies that filled the power vacuum. In the last two decades of the seventh century, Assyria was on the ropes, under attack by the Babylonians, the Medes, and the Persians. It was then that Pharaoh Necho rode out from Egypt to aid the Assyrians.

As recorded in 2 Kings 23:29, “In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Necho killed him at Megiddo, as soon as he saw him.” Although 2 Chronicles 35:22–24 specifies that Josiah fought against Necho (an element of the story that is debated by scholars), it can no longer be doubted that the Egyptian army was stationed at Megiddo, exactly where and when the biblical narrative places them.

This article was first published in Bible History Daily on March 10, 2025.

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The Roman military camp at Legio (foreground) was founded in the second century CE in the shadow of the ancient mound of Megiddo (background). Photo courtesy Matthew J. Adams.

From the Bronze Age to the Ottoman period and beyond, the Jezreel Valley has served as a meeting point for armies, merchants, and pilgrims. Its strategic, economic, and administrative significance made this region in northern Israel a place of conflict but also prosperity and cultural exchange. It is then not surprising that in the early second century CE, Romans founded a legionary camp there known as Legio, within sight of the imposing mound of ancient Megiddo. Recent excavations at and around the camp have uncovered a fortified military base (see photo above), a civilian settlement, an amphitheater, and cemeteries. 

Writing for the Winter 2025 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, the archaeological team at Legio, headed by Matthew J. Adams and Yotam Tepper, presents the results of their ongoing research into the daily life and the cultural and religious transformations that took place there nearly two millennia ago.  

A cultic standing stone (betyl) found toppled next to its decorated base at Legio. Photo courtesy Matthew J. Adams.

The military base was founded under Emperor Hadrian (r. 117–138 CE) to house the Second Roman Legion (Legio II Traiana, in Latin), which was soon replaced by the Sixth Ironclad Legion (Legio VI Ferrata). “With the Tenth Legion stationed in Jerusalem following the First Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE), the presence of a second legion in the north further consolidated Roman control over Judea, which by the second century was one of Rome’s most important eastern provinces. The base at Legio enabled the empire to suppress unrest, monitor roads, and ensure the loyalty of this politically volatile frontier,” write the authors. “The presence of the Sixth Legion reinforced the site’s identity as a locus of imperial power and local resistance, as evidenced by Megiddo’s prominent role in the New Testament Book of Revelation.”

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Building on previous explorations under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Jezreel Valley Regional Project has now spent six excavation seasons focusing on various areas of the site, including the base’s fortifications, headquarters, amphitheater, and cemeteries, as well as an adjacent civilian settlement. The image that emerges from this research is an intimate portrait of both military and civilian life at this critical outpost on Rome’s eastern frontier.

A covered pot in one of the caves near Megiddo contains the ashes of a Roman soldier. Photo courtesy of Adam Prins/Jezreel Valley Regional Project.

Among the finds that attest to the intermingling of cultural and religious traditions at Legio is a stone pillar excavated from the camp’s monumental headquarters complex (principia, in Latin). Although found toppled, it originally stood nearly 3 feet tall on a decorated base. Intriguingly, such standing stones (betyls or massebot) were part of the Near Eastern (rather than Roman) cultic tradition, where they were believed to house or represent deities. This cultic object is then an example of cultural assimilation and might reflect the fact that Roman legions were diverse by design.

While some deceased soldiers were interred intact at the site’s cemetery, most were clearly cremated in keeping with common Roman funerary practice. The ashes from their bodily remains were then collected into covered pots and deposited for eternal rest in a nearby cave (see photo above). The two different types of burial likely reflect the preferences of soldiers from different ethnic and religious backgrounds.

Archaeologists also uncovered an early Christian prayer hall in the adjacent civilian settlement. Astonishingly, this place of Christian worship predates the official recognition of Christianity by almost a century and even attests to the presence of Christian military officers mingling with local Christians.

Subscribers: Read the full article “In the Shadow of Armageddon” by Matthew J. Adams, Yotam Tepper, Mark Letteney, and Wiesław Więckowski in the Winter 2025 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

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Assyrian cylinder seal from Horvat Tevet. Courtesy Omer Peleg et al.

What can a burial tell us about Assyrian administrative control over ancient Israel? Maybe a lot more than we think. Publishing in the journal Tel Aviv, archaeologists excavating at the site of Horvat Tevet in the Jezreel Valley suggest that a single grave may hold a major clue to understanding Assyrian administrative policy in the region they conquered from the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the seventh century BCE.

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Cremating a Clue

Horvat Tevet is about 10 miles northeast of the important city of Megiddo, which, during the period of Assyrian rule, was the capital of the imperial province of Megiddu. Across numerous periods, including under the Egyptians and the northern Israelite kingdom, Horvat Tevet served as an administrative hub and royal estate. However, like many sites in the strategically important Jezreel Valley, Horvat Tevet shrank in size and importance under the Assyrians, leading many archaeologists to suggest that the Assyrians neglected the region. That conclusion might now be challenged by an intriguing grave discovered at the site.

Plan and section drawing prepared by Elena Ilana Delerzon, IAA. Courtesy of Karen Covello-Paran and Omer Sergi, the Ḥorvat Tevet Expedition.

For those unfamiliar with the burial customs of the time, the grave at Horvat Tevet seems rather mundane. But when compared to other ancient Levantine burials, it is obvious that something is amiss. The burial consists of two separate burial pits, one of which is a cremation burial, a rarity in the Iron Age Levant (c. 1200–586 BCE). But even the more typical inhumation burial found alongside it was unusual, as the body was found in the fetal rather than supine position. The uniqueness does not stop there, however.

The Horvat Tevet cremains were spread across three separate urns, with a large quantity of grave goods found both inside and outside of the vessels. These included faience amulets, an alabastron, a stone weight, a cylinder seal, a glazed Assyrian bottle, various metal objects, ceramics, and nearly 100 beads. Although some of these objects were made locally, many were imported, largely from Philistia and Phoenicia but also Egypt and even Assyria.

While several features of the Horvat Tevet burial are unusual, the burial site itself is equally puzzling, at least until compared with burials known from Assyria. Indeed, many Assyrian cities and strongholds feature strikingly similar graves. Clearly, then, the grave at Horvat Tevet is connected to Assyrian burial practices, while the wealth of objects indicates the deceased came from among the higher echelons of local society.

How, then, does this relate to Assyria’s administration of the former Northern Kingdom? Although Megiddo was an Assyrian provincial capital, Horvat Tevet seems to have been less important, yet the grave is both rich and distinctly Assyrian. According to archaeologists, such a burial would have served to connect the deceased to the land around them. They suggest the individual may have lived at Megiddo, with their body transported to Horvat Tevet for burial. This connection, they argue, may help explain the apparent lack of development in the Jezreel Valley. Across other areas of Assyrian control, the Assyrians dedicated certain areas as royal agricultural territory, to be managed by local elites on behalf of the imperial administration. Under this assumption, the lack of development in the Jezreel did not reflect a lack of administrative oversight, but rather was an expression of Assyrian agricultural policy.

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The assemblage of ritual objects discovered in the excavation. Courtesy Katerina Katzan, IAA

Conducting salvage excavations at the ancient site of Megiddo—famously known as Armageddon in the New Testament’s Book of Revelation—archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) uncovered fascinating new evidence of Canaanite folk worship, as well as some of the earliest evidence of wine making in the region.

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Canaanite Worship at Armageddon

While excavating along a nearly mile-long stretch of highway next to the site, archaeologists were surprised to discover a favissa (ritual burial pit) dating to the end of the Late Bronze Age (c. 3,300 years ago). Included in the favissa were many standard pottery vessels as well as a number of special cultic items. According to an IAA press release, the favissa was located outside the walls of the ancient city, but in clear sight of the large Bronze Age temple. Nearby was a large rock outcrop, which may have served as a sort of open-air altar. This may indicate that those making the offerings were not allowed to enter the temple precinct itself and thus had to find a different way (and place) to worship their gods.

Temple model discovered in the excavation. Courtesy Katerina Katzan, IAA.

The pottery uncovered in the favissa included a model shrine, storage jars, jugs, and juglets imported from Cyprus, and a unique set of libation vessels that included a ram-shaped zoomorphic vessel. “A small bowl, which was attached to the ram’s body, was designed to function as a funnel; and a similar bowl—with a handle—was probably held to pour the liquid into the funnel during a ceremony,” the researchers explained. “Once the vessel was filled, tilting the ram forward spilled the liquid out from its mouth to collect it into a small bowl placed before it.” The vessel, they believe, was likely used to pour a valuable liquid, such as milk, oil, or wine, which was then either drunk directly from the spout or poured into a smaller vessel. Such libation vessels are seldom found intact, offering researchers a rare glimpse into how they functioned in antiquity.

One of the oldest winemaking presses in the world, discovered in an excavation. Courtesy Yakov Shmidov, IAA.

In addition to the favissa, the team also uncovered a small, rock-cut winepress dating to the Early Bronze Age, approximately 5,000 years ago. The winepress featured a sloped treading floor and a collection vat. According to excavation directors Amir Golani and Barak Tzin, “This winepress is unique, one of very few known from such an ancient period when urbanization first took place in our region. Until now, indirect evidence indicated that wine could have been produced 5,000 years ago, but we did not have conclusive proof of this—a ‘smoking gun’ that would clearly show when this happened in our area.” Many residential buildings were also uncovered near the winepress—evidence of both the expansion of Bronze Age Megiddo and the importance of the winepress to the community.

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Ivory plaque with a female sphinx holding a cup, discovered at Megiddo. Courtesy ISAC Museum.

Through March 15, 2026
Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (ISAC) Museum
Chicago, IL
isac.uchicago.edu

Since the shovel hit earth, excavations at the site of ancient Megiddo in northern Israel have, in many ways, defined biblical archaeology. With 2025 marking the centennial of the first major archaeological expedition to Megiddo, the ISAC Museum at the University of Chicago is marking the occasion with a special exhibit, Megiddo: A City Unearthed, A Past Imagined.

A major Canaanite and later Israelite city, Megiddo frequently played an important role in the stories and events of the Hebrew Bible. However, it is perhaps best remembered for its appearance in the New Testament’s Book of Revelation, as the infamous site of Armageddon. While this biblical history played a significant role in original dig director Clarence Fisher’s decision to excavate the site, those excavations went on to make their own history in establishing archaeological methods and approaches, as well as revealing a site far more fascinating than maybe even its original excavators could have anticipated.

Gold twin heads discovered at Megiddo, likely representations of the Egyptian goddess Hathor, with spoons. Courtesy ISAC Museum.

As Kiersten Neumann, curator of the exhibit, told Bible History Daily:

[This exhibit] marks the centennial of ISAC’s first major expedition, a project that laid the foundations of archaeology in the southern Levant. Over 14 seasons, the Megiddo Expedition uncovered 20 successive cities and created one of the most influential archaeological records of its time. But the story did not end on site. Through artifacts, archival records, and original newspapers and magazine features, this exhibition reveals how discoveries at Megiddo were transformed into headlines that captured global attention and shaped public understanding of the ancient Near East.

In addition to examining the artifacts uncovered in those early excavations, the exhibit explores the imagined world they created by presenting magazine covers and newspaper articles that tell the story of the excavation as it unfolded. Visitors also go behind the scenes to explore how finds were documented and circulated. Directors’ correspondence, archival photographs, and remarkable artifacts trace a century-long journey from excavation to exhibition.

A view of part of the Megiddo exhibit at the ISAC Museum. Courtesy ISAC Museum.

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Relief of chariot horses from the palace of Ashurbanipal. Photo Companion to the Bible, 2 Kings.

Early eighth-century BCE Megiddo is famous for two massive stable complexes, thought by early excavators to be the stables of Solomon. Covering a large portion of the city, these stables were central to daily life at Megiddo and reflect the city’s intensive interest in breeding and keeping horses. In Near Eastern Archaeology, archaeologist Israel Finkelstein sets out to explain the role these stables played in both the city and the powerful Northern Kingdom of Israel.

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Horses for Sale

Located within the strategic Jezreel Valley, Megiddo played an important role in the northern Israelite kingdom. However, the city was largely destroyed during the campaign of Hazael, king of Aram-Damascus, in the mid-ninth century BCE. When it was rebuilt a few decades later, the city was entirely different in size and character. The eighth-century city featured a massive inset-offset wall, a new city layout, and two massive complexes that, together, occupied a significant portion of the city. The rebuilt city also sprang up at a time when the northern kingdom was once again asserting its authority. As an ally and vassal of the mighty Assyrian Empire, Israel was beginning to expand and develop economically, becoming a powerhouse in the southern Levant.

The purpose of the two massive complexes has long been a subject of debate; however, recent work has connected these complexes with similar contemporary buildings known to have been horse stables. One such stable, discovered at Nabi Yunus in Iraq, even included inscriptions from the Assyrian king Sennacherib II that explicitly identified the complex as a construction for horses. So, why was one of the most strategically important cities in ancient Israel seemingly dedicated to the singular purpose of stabling horses? According to Israel Finkelstein, director of the current Megiddo excavations, the answer is trade.

Reconstruction of the Southern Stables at Megiddo. Courtesy Photo Companion to the Bible, 2 Kings.

Although expansion brought prosperity to the Assyrian Empire, it also required gaining access to strategic resources. One such resource was cavalry and chariot horses. While the best horses came from Egypt and Nubia, the distance between Assyria and Egypt presented a golden opportunity for Israel to serve as an intermediary in this trade network. Thus, as suggested by Finkelstein, “Israel could have imported Nubian horses from Egypt via the services of the cities of Philistia and established a horse breeding and training center at Megiddo. The horses were then sold to Assyria and other clients in the region.”

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Although this period of history at Megiddo ended when the city was captured by Tiglath-Pileser III in 732 BCE, the stables of Megiddo provide a window into the northern kingdom’s commercial and military strategy. Indeed, it was likely a strategy that relied on trade with the very empire that would eventually destroy it. Nevertheless, the chariots of Israel were a formidable, if short-lived, force in the biblical world.

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The lower city and tell of Beit Shean in the Jezreel Valley. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

A natural route connecting the Coastal Plain to the Jordan Valley and beyond, the Jezreel Valley is the site of numerous biblical events, including the apocalyptic battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16). Home to an impressive list of archaeological sites, the Jezreel Valley is one of the areas that no tourist to the Holy Land should miss.

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From Jezreel to Armageddon

Lush and fertile, the Jezreel Valley stretches west to east from the area of Haifa along the coast to the site of Beth Shean at the edge of the Jordan Valley. North to south, the valley is squeezed between the Galilee and the central hill country. Several miles wide in places, the valley is a relatively flat stretch of land that formed a natural corridor along which people have traveled since prehistory.

Map of the Holy Land with the Jezreel Valley highlighted. BAS

Today, the area is mainly an agricultural zone with a few small cities. In antiquity, however, the valley was an important commercial and strategic corridor, including a stretch of the Via Maris trade route that connected Egypt to Mesopotamia. Due to this, several large cities thrived in the Jezreel Valley during the Bronze and Iron Ages, including the city of Jezreel, from which the valley derives its name. Other important cities included Shimron, Beth Shean, and Megiddo. During the Roman period, the valley was home to the Sixth Roman “Ironclad” Legion, which may have influenced the description of an apocalyptic battle taking place at Armageddon, a name derived from the Hebrew Har Megiddo (Mount Megiddo).

Tell Megiddo seen from the Roman Legionary fort of Legio in the Jezreel Valley. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

According to the Hebrew Bible, the Jezreel Valley was the setting for many important biblical events. Among them were Deborah and Barak’s battle against the Canaanites, the battle of Gideon against the Amalekites, and even King Josiah’s untimely death at the hands of the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II. However, many more biblical events are documented as having taken place in and around the Jezreel Valley, providing further evidence of its great importance.

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Aerial view of Tel Megiddo in northern Israel, where the earliest evidence of the use of vanilla in the world was discovered. Courtesy Photo Companion to the Bible, Joshua.

What do you and a 3,600-year-old Canaanite have in common? You both have used vanilla. The discovery of vanilla-laced wine in Iron Age Jerusalem caused no small commotion. After all, vanilla was only domesticated in the 12th century CE, in Mesoamerica. So, how could the spice appear nearly two thousand years earlier and half a world away from where it was domesticated? This is where that 3,600-year-old Canaanite comes in. Located only fifty-five miles north of Jerusalem, and a thousand years earlier than the flavored wine found there, is the oldest known use of vanilla ever discovered, predating the plant’s Mesoamerican domestication by two and a half millennia.

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As Canaanite as Vanilla

While analyzing the chemical residue left on a series of small pots from an elite burial tomb, dating to 1650–1550 BCE, the archaeological team made a startling discovery: significant amounts of vanillin, a primary flavor and aroma compound in vanilla. They also noticed several other chemical compounds known to come from true vanilla. Although vanilla might be no more than a cliché term for “common” or “unremarkable” today, this discovery was anything but. Found at the biblical site of Megiddo in northern Israel, the discovery goes against everything we thought we knew about vanilla and its origins. To get to the bottom of this conundrum, the team set out to figure out just what they had found.

In nature, trace amounts of vanillin can come from a wide range of sources, including some yeasts, fungi, and bacteria. It can even come from different aromatic resins, a few of which are native to the eastern Mediterranean. Yet, in each case, when compared to the results of their analysis, these other sources did not match the Megiddo samples. Even if the other sources contained vanillin, none of them had the full range of compounds found in the sample, and what they did have was not in the same ratios. Double-checking that their tests had not produced a faulty chemical signal due to contamination, the team came back to the seemingly impossible option: it was real vanilla. However, proving that what they found must be real vanilla was only part of the conundrum. How did it get to Megiddo?

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Today, nearly all vanilla on the market can trace its origins back to a single species of vanilla orchid, vanilla planifolia. This plant was first cultivated in Mesoamerica around the 12th century, although wild vanilla was probably used in the area long before that. However, vanilla planifolia is not the only species of vanilla orchid. Indeed, various species of vanilla orchid are endemic to tropical regions across the globe, although only a handful are considered aromatic, and thus capable of producing what we know as vanilla. At least four of these are found outside of the Americas, with three species native to Southeast Asia and India, and one native to East Africa. Today, some local communities in these areas still grow or collect these vanilla orchids for use in food, medicines, and fragrances.

The orchid of vanilla planifolia, the primary species of vanilla in use today. Vanillinmacher, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons

While these regions are still far away from the land of Canaan, by the second millennium BCE, many long-distance trade networks were already established, connecting the major urban centers of the day, including Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and the Indus River Valley. Evidence of this far-reaching trade system can even be seen in the use of peppercorns from India in the mummification of Pharaoh Ramesses the Great. While the Levant was certainly not one of the great urban centers during this period, it had the fortune of being located along the trade routes running from Africa and Egypt to the rest of the Near East and beyond.

According to Vanessa Linares of the University of Haifa, lead author of the study, “Israel’s location at the crossroads of ancient trade routes likely facilitated the importation of exotic goods, including vanilla, from regions such as Southeast Asia or East Africa. The coastal and inland trade routes in Israel, such as those passing through Megiddo, would have made it an ideal location for the introduction and exchange of rare commodities like vanilla.”

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One question remains. With vanilla discovered in several archaeological contexts in Israel, why has it not been found elsewhere? “It’s important to consider the nature of the archaeological record and the specific trade routes that existed at the time,” said Linares. “Vanilla might have been imported and used in Israel due to its proximity to Egypt and other trading centers. Furthermore, organic residue analysis is still an under-researched field and is not automatically incorporated into every archaeological discovery. As the application of organic residue analysis becomes more routine in excavations around the world, we are likely to see an increasing number of exotic commodities like vanilla being identified in other regions.”

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Excavation of the Roman legionary camp of Legio. Courtesy Emil Aladjem. IAA.

During excavations at the site of Legio, at the foot of Tel Megiddo in northern Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) uncovered the main road and monumental buildings of the Roman legionary camp of the VIth Ferrata Ironclad Legion. Uncovering roads, architecture, weapons, and more, the excavation sheds further light on the largest legionary camp ever discovered in Israel.

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Excavating the Roman Legion

Occupied from around 120 to 300 CE, Legio is one of only two permanent legionary camps located in Israel, the other being the Xth Fretensis Legion in Jerusalem, little evidence of which survives. Carrying out salvage excavations at Legio in anticipation of new roadwork, the IAA uncovered remains of the Via Pretoria, the main road of the camp, as well as the architectural remains of a monumental public building.

The Via Pretoria of Legio. Courtesy Emil Aladjem, IAA.

According to Yotam Tepper, director of the IAA excavations, “Two main roads intersected at the center of the 600-yard-long and 380-yard-wide camp, and its headquarters were erected here.” Unfortunately, most of the buildings were not preserved to any height, as building projects in later periods frequently mined the legionary base for constructional materials.

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In addition to roads and buildings, the excavation uncovered coins, weapons, pottery, glass, and lots of roof tiles. “The roof tiles,” said Tepper, “some of which were stamped with VIth Legion stamps, were used for various purposes, for roofing buildings, paving floors, and coating walls. The technology and know-how, the building techniques, and the weapons that the Legion brought with it from the home country are unique to the Roman army, reflecting specific Roman Imperial military footprints.”

Aerial photo of the excavations at Legio. Courtesy Emil Aladjem, IAA.

While the salvage excavations were required before upcoming construction, the Roman Legionary Camp of Legio has undergone nearly a decade of excavations by the Jezreel Valley Regional Project (JVRP). These excavations have revealed much of the fascinating history of Legio, including a small amphitheater used for combat and military training. Surveys using ground penetrating radar have revealed much of the camp buried beneath the wheat fields of nearby Kibbutz Megiddo. “In the course of the excavation seasons, the upper part of the commanders’ courtyard (Principia) was exposed southwest of Road 66, and in the present excavation, carried out on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, we are uncovering the northeastern part of the camp that extends alongside Road 66.”

This article first appeared in Bible History Daily February 16, 2024.

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Uncovering a Roman Army Base at Legio 

Legio

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Hadrian’s Legion

The post More of Megiddo’s Roman Legionary Camp Revealed appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Burial Customs: Grave goods in Megiddo’s monumental tomb 50. Courtesy Megiddo Expedition.

Editor’s Note: This blog article contains images of human skeletal remains.

Burial customs often bind a culture together, showing how people perceive death and the dead. Yet, while texts from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt provide considerable information about burial practices in those regions, very few texts document the burial customs of the Canaanites. But archaeology can help. A study published in the journal Archaeometry has provided insight into how wine was used in Canaanite burials at Megiddo, thereby providing a rare window into how the Bronze Age peoples of the southern Levant perceived the afterlife.

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Libations for the Dead

Excavations at the important site of Megiddo in northern Israel have been uncovering tombs and burial goods for decades. Yet, these excavations often provide only a partial picture of burial practices, as the organic contents of many vessels long ago disappeared. Thanks to new chemical analysis, however, researchers have been able to analyze the contents of grave goods dating to the Middle Bronze Age (c. 2000–1550 BCE). Their analysis revealed the extensive use of wine, while opium has been discovered in graves at a Late Bronze Age site in the southern Levant.

Map of Tel Megiddo and the excavation areas. Courtesy Megiddo Expedition.

For their study, the team analyzed 30 ceramic vessels uncovered in two separate sections of Megiddo: a normal residential area and an elite monumental tomb. Around a third of the analyzed vessels revealed signs of having been filled with wine. Other vessels showed evidence of beeswax, animal fat, olive oil, resin, and even vanilla. It is still uncertain what role the vessels played in funerary rituals, but the team suggests they could have been used in funerary feasts, as offerings to the dead, or both.

Various burials at Tel Megiddo, including jars that contained wine. Courtesy Megiddo Expedition.

If the wine was meant for the deceased, the custom would be very similar to the Egyptian practice of burying the dead with supplies for the afterlife and thus possibly demonstrating a belief in the need to nourish the soul after death. Given the Egyptian influence on Canaan during the Middle Bronze Age, the practice may have been borrowed directly from Egypt, though this remains uncertain.

Either way, wine was not only for adults or the wealthy, as a wine vessel was found inside an infant jar burial (a common Canaanite practice). According to the team, this may indicate a belief that the infant would continue to grow and receive nourishment in the afterlife, or possibly that age did not matter in the afterlife. Wine also appears to have crossed socio-economic barriers, as evidence of wine was discovered in both the monumental grave as well as the city’s common residential area. As technology continues to progress, it is hoped that even more aspects of Canaanite burial customs will come to light.

Read more in Bible History Daily:

The Cult of the Dead in the Bible 

Brain Surgery at Canaanite Megiddo

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

Patriarchal Burial Site Explored for First Time in 700 Years

Ancient Burial Customs Preserved in Jericho Hills

Does the Holy Sepulchre Church Mark the Burial of Jesus?

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The post Canaanite Burial Customs—Pour One Out for the Departed appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.