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Megiddo

Aerial View of Tel Megiddo Aerial View of Tel Megiddo Left

Tel Megiddo from the NorthWest

Click on Image for high resolution magnifiable image

Used with permission from BibleWalks.com



Right

Tel Megiddo from the Southeast

Click on Image for high resolution magnifiable image

Drone photos taken by Jefferson Williams on 27 April 2023


Names
Names

Megiddo

Megiddo
Transliterated Name Source Name
Megiddo Hebrew מגידו
Tel Megiddo Hebrew תל מגידו
Har Məgīddō Hebrew הַר מְגִדּוֹ‎
Magiddu, Magaddu Akkadian
Maketi, Makitu, Makedo Egyptian
Magidda, Makida Canaanite-influenced Akkadian used in the Amarna tablets
Megiddo Greek Μεγιδδώ
Mageddou Greek Μαγεδδών
Megiddó, Mageddón Greek in the Septuagint
Mageddo Latin in the Vulgate
Armagedōn Late Latin
Armageddon New Testament Book of Revelation
Harmagedōn Greek Ἁρμαγεδών
Tell el-Qedah Arabic تل القدح
Tell el-Mutesellim Arabic مجیدو

Legio

Legio
Transliterated Name Source Name
Kefar ʿUthnai Hebrew כפר עותנאי
Legio Latin
Caporcotani Latin in the Tabula Peutingeriana Map
Legionum ? Latin
al-Lajjun Arabic اللجّون

Qina Brook

Qina Brook
Transliterated Name Source Name
Qina, Kina, Qinnah Egyptian
"Waters of Megiddo" in Song of Deborah
Qyni ? Hebrew קיני
Nahal Qeni ? Hebrew נַחַל קֵינִי

Introduction
Introduction

Due to its strategic location, Megiddo was the site of several influential battles and as a result has gained global fame for the metaphor it spawned - Armageddon. In Revelation, the final book of the New Testament Armageddon (which is linguistically derived from Megiddo) is prophesied as the place where the final battle of human history will be fought. The site has been excavated by multiple expeditions.

Identification

The identification of biblical Megiddo with el-Lejjun, about 1 km (0.6 mi.) south of Tel Megiddo (Tell el-Mutesellim, map reference 1675.2212) was suggested as early as the fourteenth century by Estori ha-Pari and in the nineteenth century by E. Robinson. Tel Megiddo is one of the most important city mounds in Israel. It rises 40 to 60 m above the surrounding plain and covers an area of about 15 a. This area was enlarged in various periods by a lower city. The position of the mound at the point where Nahal 'Iron (Wadi 'Ara) enters the Jezreel Valley gave it strategic control in ancient times over the international Via Maris, which crossed from the Sharon Plain into the Valley of Jezreel by way of the 'Iron Valley. This position, astride the most important of the country's roads, made Megiddo the scene of major battles from earliest times through our own.

History

The excavations conducted on the mound have shown that, in the Early and Middle Bronze ages, Megiddo was already a fortified city of major importance, despite the fact that it is not mentioned in historical sources until the fifteenth century BCE. At that time it appeared in inscriptions of Thutmose III. The annals of this pharaoh record that Megiddo led a confederation of rebel Canaanite cities that, together with Kadesh on the Orontes, attempted to overthrow Egyptian rule in Canaan and Syria. The Egyptian army and Canaanite chariotry fought the decisive battle of this rebellion at the Qinnah Brook (Wadi Lejjun), near Megiddo. This is the earliest military engagement whose details are preserved. After thoroughly routing the Canaanite force in the field, Pharaoh captured a rich booty, including 924 chariots. According to the Jebel Barkal stela, the siege of the city lasted seven months. During this time, the Egyptian army harvested the city's fields and took 207,300 kor of wheat (apart from what the soldiers kept for themselves).

After his great victory, Thutmose turned Megiddo into the major Egyptian base in the Jezreel Valley. Evidence of its importance and military strength is found in three documents: In one of the Taanach letters, in which the king of Taanach was ordered to send men and tribute to Megiddo; in a description of Amenotep II's second campaign (c. 1430 BCE), which ended "in the vicinity of Megiddo"; and in one of the el-Amarna letters (EA 244), in which the king of Megiddo asks Pharaoh to return to that city the Egyptian garrison that had been stationed there.

Megiddo is mentioned in the city lists of Thutmose III and Seti I - in Thutmose's list of Canaanite emissaries (Leningrad Papyrus 1116-A). Among the el-Amarna letters are six sent by King Biridiya (an Indo-Aryan name) of Megiddo to the Egyptian pharaoh. These letters show that Megiddo was one of the mightiest cities in the Jezreel Valley, and that its major rivals were Shechem and Acco. In one of his letters, Biridiya mentions that he brought corvee workers from Yapu (Japhia ?) to plow the fields of Shunem (a city that, according to another letter, had been previously destroyed). In the Papyrus Anastasi I, dated to the reign of Ramses II, Megiddo is mentioned in a detailed description of the road from the city down to the Coastal Plain, following the course of the 'Iron Brook'.

During the period of the Judges, Megiddo was one of the major Canaanite cities in the Jezreel Valley. It is mentioned in the Song of Deborah: "The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo" (Jg. 5:19; and cf. Jos. 12:21). It is also listed among the Canaanite cities not conquered by the tribe of Manasseh (Jos. 17: 11-13; Jg. 1:27-28;and cf. l Chr. 7:29). How or when Megiddo fell into lsraelite hands is not known, but it appears during the period of the United Monarchy, together with Hazor and Gezer, among the Israelite cities fortified by Solomon (I Kg. 9:15). It is also mentioned as one of the cities in Solomon's fifth administrative district (I Kg. 4: 12).

Thereafter, there are few written references to Megiddo, but it is clear that it continued to be one of the major northern cities. Pharaoh Shishak conquered it during his campaign against Israel in the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign (about 925 BCE), and it is mentioned in the story of the death of Ahaziah king of Judah, during Jehu's revolt (2 Kg. 9:27). In 733-732 BCE, Tiglath-pileser III, king of Assyria, conquered the northern part of lsrael and made Megiddo the capital of the Assyrian province of Magiddu. This province included the Jezreel Valley and the Galilee (the district "of the nations" in Isaiah 9:1). The fact that Josiah's battle against Pharaoh Necho [II] in 609 BCE was fought at Megiddo (2 Kg. 23:29; 2 Chr. 35:22) indicates that, at least for a short time, the city was under Judean rule. This was in all likelihood the last period of prosperity in Megiddo's long history because, after Josiah's defeat, nothing more is heard of Megiddo. The strategic role of guarding the 'Iron Pass' was assumed by Kefar 'Othnai, a small village that became the base of the Sixth Roman Legion after the Bar-Kokhba Revolt. The village became known as Legio (in Arabic: el-Lejjun). Megiddo's military importance and long history as an international battleground were aptly reflected in the Apocalypse of John [aka Revelations] (Rev. 16:12 ff.), in which Armageddon ('Ἁρμαγεδών, the Mount of Megiddo) is designated as the site where, at the end of days, all the kings of the world will fight the ultimate battle.

Excavations

History of Excavations

The excavations conducted at Megiddo were very large and extensive. From 1903 to 1905, the mound was excavated by G. Schumacher on behalf of the German Society for Oriental Research. Schumacher dug a trench 20 to 25m wide running north-south along the entire length of the mound.In part of the trench he dug down to the Middle Bronze Age II occupation levels, reaching bedrock in a small section. In his reports, Schumacher described six building levels from the Middle Bronze Age II to the Iron Age. Two large buildings discovered in the trench, the Mittelburg and the Nordburg (Schumacher's terms), were both built during the Middle Bronze Age II and continued in use, with some repairs and additions, until the Late Bronze Age. Beneath these buildings were two unique tombs with false-arch roofs that some scholars considered were tombs of the Megiddo royal dynasty in the Late Bronze Age. At the south end of the trench, Schumacher uncovered part of a large building dating to the Israelite period (Iron Age), which he called the Palast, or palace-building 1723 of the Chicago expedition (see below). Schumacher also made several soundings in different parts of the mound and on the slopes along the city walls. The sections of walls that he excavated belonged mostly to the Israelite city, but some were earlier. Near the east end of the mound, Schumacher excavated a large Israelite building he thought was a sanctuary because of its stone pillars (identified by him as the stelae of a sanctuary). He called the building the Tempelburg. Similar stone pillars, however, have been found in ordinary houses from the Israelite period. A proto-Aeolic capital, reused as a building stone, was discovered in the wall of this building. It was the first such capital found in the country. The finds of the excavation were published by C. Watzinger in a separate volume. Especially noteworthy are two seals inscribed "(belonging) to Shema' servant of Jeroboam" and "(belonging) to Asaph," which were found in the ruins of the "palace," and a stone incense burner with painted decoration found in the upper (sixth) stratum at the south end of the trench.

In 1925, excavations at Megiddo were renewed by the Oriental Institute of Chicago, on the initiative of J. H. Breasted, and continued until l939, under the successive direction of C. S. Fisher, P. L. 0. Guy, and G. Loud. The original goal of the expedition was to excavate the entire mound, removing stratum after stratum, from top to bottom. This ambitious project was carried out for the first four strata (Persian period to ninth century BCE). The finds from the four strata and from part of the excavation of the fifth stratum were published by R. Lamon and G. M. Shipton.

During the final four years of the expedition, it became evident that the work could not be continued on such a grand scale, and the excavations were thereafter concentrated in two main areas: area AA in the north, in the vicinity of the city gate, where the excavators reached stratum XIII (Middle Bronze Age IIA), and area BB, in the east, the area of the temples, where bedrock was reached (stratum XX). The expedition reached stratum VI in two additional areas, area CC in the south (the area of Schumacher's Palast) and area DD in the northeast, situated between areas AA and BB.

The outbreak of World War II put an unexpected end to the excavations. The results have appeared only in a "Catalogue Publication of floor plans and finds" - to quote Loud's definition.

Because the east slope of the mound was to be used as a dump for the excavated earth, the expedition first undertook to clear and examine this area. Its investigation revealed many burial caves from different periods. They contained rich and varied finds that provided valuable additions to the discoveries made on the mound. The finds from the burial caves were published separately by Guy and R. M. Engberg.

The east slope also yielded remains from seven levels from Early Bronze Age settlements (the excavators previously assumed that the earliest settlement level dated to the Chalcolithic period). These levels, called stages I-VII, were published separately by Engberg.

One of the most significant discoveries was the city's monumental water tunnel. It was fully excavated and made the subject of a separate study by R. Lamon. The excavators suggested that the tunnel had been dug in the twelfth century BCE. Later excavations by Y. Yadin showed that it was probably built in the Iron Age (see below). In another, separate study, H. G. May assembled the cult finds from the various levels. The magnificent hoard of ivories (see below) from the Late Bronze Age was published by Loud.

In 1960, 1961, 1966, 1967, and 1971, an expedition headed by Y. Yadin excavated Megiddo on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In the course of reexamining Iron Age strata VIA-III, this expedition was able to distinguish the buildings already uncovered in the previous excavations, such as the northern stable compound, the gate area, and the subterranean water system. Extensive excavations were also carried out in area B of the Yadin expedition, east of area DD and north of area BB of the Chicago expedition. A more limited probe was done near gallery 629, gate 2153, and a trench in the lower terrace of the mound.

Renewed Excavations

The renewed excavations at Megiddo have been undertaken under the auspices of Tel Aviv University, with Pennsylvania State University as the senior American partner. Consortium institutions are George Washington University, Loyola Marymount University, the University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University, the University of Bern, and Rostock University. The directors of the expedition are I. Finkelstein and D. Ussishkin, who lead the excavation; and B. Halpern, who heads the academic program and acts as the coordinator of the consortium. The expedition is endorsed by the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority, which maintains the site as a national park, and the Israel Exploration Society.

The renewed excavations, aiming at a long-term, systematic study of Tel Megiddo and its history, commenced in two short seasons in 1992 and 1993. The first full season took place in 1994, and the expedition has operated in the field every other year since. Eight areas have thus far been chosen for excavation. They include two trenches in the upper periphery of the site—one to the northwest and the other to the southeast; one trench in the lower mound; two areas aimed at further investigating remains uncovered in the previous excavations; and three areas in conjunction with development plans of the Nature and National Parks Protection Authority. These excavation areas consist of the following:
  • Area F: Located in the lower terrace of the mound, with remains of the Middle Bronze Age earthen embankment, Late Bronze Age I and Iron Age I domestic houses, and a Late Bronze Age II monumental building.
  • Area G: The Late Bronze Age city gate excavated by the University of Chicago team in their area AA.
  • Area H: A sectional trench on the northwestern edge of the mound; investigation concentrated on the relationship between the Assyrian palaces excavated in the 1920s, the destruction debris of stratum IVA, and Iron Age II stratigraphy.
  • Area J: A renewed study of the Early Bronze Age temples, uncovered by the University of Chicago excavations in area BB.
  • Area K: A sectional trench in the southeastern edge of the mound, with remains of Iron Age I–II domestic buildings.
  • Area L: A renewed study of palace 6000 partly excavated by Y. Yadin, and the “northern stables” partially unearthed by the University of Chicago team.
  • Area M: Located in the center of the mound, in and around the great north–south trench dug by G. Schumacher in the early twentieth century. Excavation was devoted to the clarification of the date and nature of the Nordburg and the monumental chamber tomb f uncovered by Schumacher, and to the exposure of an elaborate building of stratum VI to the east of Schumacher’s trench.
  • Area N: Located at the northwestern foot of the mound and containing Middle Bronze Age III/Late Bronze Age I remains.
The renewed excavations dealt with almost the entire sequence of occupation at Megiddo, from stratum XX of the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age IA to stratum III of the late Iron Age II. A dual system for labeling the strata has been adopted. In each excavation area the local strata have been labeled as “levels,” the letter designating the area used as a prefix for the number of the level, e.g., “level K-3” in area K or “level H-2” in area H. In each excavation area the levels are counted from top to bottom, except for area J, where local conditions dictated a count from bottom up. As to the general stratigraphy of the site, the Chicago Expedition’s strata numbering system, e.g., “stratum XII,” has been followed.

Maps, Aerial Views, Plans, Sections, and Photos
Maps, Aerial Views, Plans, Sections, Drawings, and Photos

Maps

  • Fig. 31.1 - Faults and Epicenters near Meggiddo from Marco et. al. (2006)

Aerial Views

  • Annotated Aerial of Tel Megiddo from biblewalks.com
  • Annotated Aerial View of Tel Megiddo from the north from BibleWalks.com
  • Unannotated Aerial View of Tel Megiddo from the north from BibleWalks.com
  • Aerial View of Tel Megiddo from wikipedia
  • Aerial View of Tel Megiddo in 1948 from Loud (1948)
  • Megiddo in Google Earth
  • Megiddo on govmap.gov.il

Plans, Sections, and Drawings

Site Plans and Sections

Modern Excavations

General Plans

Normal Size

  • Fig. 5.1 - Map of the mound and excavation areas of the Tel Aviv University expedition from Ussishkin (2018))
  • Map of the site and renewed excavation areas from Stern et al (2008 v. 5)

Magnified

  • Fig. 5.1 - Map of the mound and excavation areas of the Tel Aviv University expedition from Ussishkin (2018))
  • Map of the site and renewed excavation areas from Stern et al (2008 v. 5)

Stratum specific plans

Normal Size

  • Plan of Strata VA-IVB and IVA from Stern et al (1993 v. 3)
  • Fig. 15.2 - Plan of Strata VA-IVB from Ussishkin (2018)
  • Fig. 18.1 - Plan of Stratum IVA from Ussishkin (2018)
  • Fig. 19.3 - Plan of Stratum III from Ussishkin (2018)

Magnified

  • Plan of Strata VA-IVB and IVA from Stern et al (1993 v. 3)
  • Fig. 15.2 - Plan of Strata VA-IVB from Ussishkin (2018)
  • Fig. 18.1 - Plan of Stratum IVA from Ussishkin (2018)
  • Fig. 19.3 - Plan of Stratum III from Ussishkin (2018)

Deformed Structures Map

 Fig. 31.2

Location map of deformed structures at Megiddo. Arrows indicate direction of shaking. Stars mark deformation that cannot be associated with a particular sense of movement.

Marco et. al. (2006)


Early Excavations

Normal Size

  • Fig. 2.5a - Excavation areas of Schumacher from Ussishkin (2018)
  • Fig. 2.5b - North-South section of Schumacher from Ussishkin (2018)
  • Fig. 3.5 - Excavation areas of Oriental Institute expedition (Univ. of Chicago) from Ussishkin (2018)

Magnified

  • Fig. 2.5a - Excavation areas of Schumacher from Ussishkin (2018)
  • Fig. 2.5b -          North-South section of Schumacher from Ussishkin (2018)
  • Fig. 3.5 - Excavation areas of Oriental Institute expedition (Univ. of Chicago) from Ussishkin (2018)

Magnified X 2

  • Fig. 2.5b -          North-South section of Schumacher from Ussishkin (2018)

Area Plans, Sections, and Photos

Area H

Normal Size

Magnified

Area M

Normal Size

Magnified

Cultic Area

Normal Size

  • Fig. 2.6 - Superposition of temples in the cultic area from Ussishkin (2011)

Magnified

  • Fig. 2.6 - Superposition of temples in the cultic area from Ussishkin (2011)

Great Temple of Stratum XVIII

Normal Size

  • Fig. 2.7 - Reconstruction of the Great Temple of Stratum XVIII from Ussishkin (2011)

Magnified

  • Fig. 2.7 - Reconstruction of the Great Temple of Stratum XVIII from Ussishkin (2011)

Photos

Stratum XVIII Earthquake (End of Level J-4) - Early Bronze IB ca. 3000 BCE

  • Fig. 31.3D - Fractured Temple Walls from Marco et. al. (2006)
  • Fig. 31.3E - Fractured Temple Walls from Marco et. al. (2006)
  • Fig. 31.3F - Fractured Temple Walls from Marco et. al. (2006)
  • Fig. 40.1 - Extension Fractures in Stone Wall of Level J-4 Temple from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 3)
  • Fig. 2.47 - Fractures in Temple 4040 from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)

Stratum VIIA Earthquake (?) - Late Bronze Age - after ~1200 BCE

  • Fig. 31.3H - Extension cracks and shifted Ashlars in the Late Bronze gate from Marco et. al. (2006)

Stratum VIA Earthquake (?) - Late Iron Age I ~950 BCE

  • Fig. 5.3 - Destruction Layers H-5 and H-9 from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.8 - Photo of Level H-9 from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.9 - Smashed storage jar and charred beam in Level H-9 from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.10 - Complete storage jar in Level H-9 from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.11 - Smashed pottery vessels in Level H-9 from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)

Stratum IVA Earthquake - after ca. 800 BCE

  • Fig. 5.26 - View of Level H-5 looking north from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.27 - Level H-5 Destruction Layer from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.28 - Level H-5 Destruction Debris from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)

Canaanite Gate (Strata VIII-VII)

  • Fig. 2.12 - Strata VIII-VII Canaanite Gate before restoration from Ussishkin (2011)
  • Old photo of the Canaanite Gate from Stern et al (1993 v. 3)

Chronology
Stratigraphy

System for labeling strata in the renewed excavations

The renewed excavations dealt with almost the entire sequence of occupation at Megiddo, from stratum XX of the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age IA to stratum III of the late Iron Age II. A dual system for labeling the strata has been adopted. In each excavation area the local strata have been labeled as “levels,” the letter designating the area used as a prefix for the number of the level, e.g., “level K-3” in area K or “level H-2” in area H. In each excavation area the levels are counted from top to bottom, except for area J, where local conditions dictated a count from bottom up. As to the general stratigraphy of the site, the Chicago Expedition’s strata numbering system, e.g., “stratum XII,” has been followed.

Entire Site

Summary of Megiddo stratigraphy updated to 2008 Table 1.1

Summary of Megiddo stratigraphy updated to 2008

Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)


Area H

Stratigraphy of Area H Table 5.1

Updated Stratigraphy of Area H

Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)


Area J

Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)

Area J Stratigraphy Table 2.2

Revised and Augmented Stratigraphy of Area J

Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)


Ussishkin (2015)

Area J Stratigraphy Table 1

The Cultic Compound in the Early Periods

Ussishkin (2015)


Area J Stratigraphy Table 2

The Six Stages of the Sacred Area during Strata XX-XIV Levels J-1 - J-8

Ussishkin (2015)


Area M

Stratigraphy of Area M Table 4.1

The Stratigraphy of Area M

Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)


Stratigraphy of Area M Table 4.3

UPDATED STRATIGRAPHY OF AREA M (REPLACING FINKELSTEIN, USSISHKIN AND DEUTSCH 2006: 80, TABLE 5.1)

Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)


The Iron Age in the Southern Levant

Stratum XVIII Earthquake (End of Level J-4) - Early Bronze IB ca. 3000 BCE

Photos

Photos

  • Fig. 31.3D - Fractured Temple Walls from Marco et. al. (2006)
  • Fig. 31.3E - Fractured Temple Walls from Marco et. al. (2006)
  • Fig. 31.3F - Fractured Temple Walls from Marco et. al. (2006)
  • Fig. 40.1 - Extension Fractures in Stone Wall of Level J-4 Temple from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 3)
  • Fig. 2.47 - Fractures in Temple 4040 from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)

Discussion

Marco et. al. (2006) reported that in Area J, the monumental walls of the Level J-4 temple are fractured in several places along their strike (Fig. 31.3d) as well as perpendicular to the strike (Figs. 31.3e-f) while the overlying walls of the EB III temple 4050 are not fractured. They attributed this to probable catastrophic horizontal shaking and categorized this as an earthquake event that was beyond doubt. This archaeoseismic evidence is indeed compelling. Israel Finkelstein in Adams et al. (2013 Vol. 3:1331) reports that Adams in Adams et al. (2013 Vol. 3 Ch.3 Part III) argues against this interpretation attributing abandonment of the temple in particular and Megiddo in general to socio-political change. Israel Finkelstein in Adams et al. (2013 Vol. 3:1331) summarized Pro and Con arguments in the Table below while asserting that an earthquake was likely responsible for the wall fractures.

Megiddo EBIB pro and con quake arguments Table 39.1

EB IB Earthquake Theory Arguments, Pro and Con

Israel Finkelstein in Adams et al. (2013 Vol. 3:1331)

Stratum VIIA Earthquake (?) - Late Bronze Age - after ~1200 BCE

Photos

Photos

  • Fig. 31.3H - Extension cracks and shifted Ashlars in the Late Bronze gate from Marco et. al. (2006)

Discussion

Marco et. al. (2006) observed extension cracks and shifted Ashlar stones in the Late Bronze Age Gate. The ashlars shifted sub-parallel to N-S trend of the wall (Fig. 31.3h). They noted that the gate lacked a foundation making it vulnerable to seismic destruction. Unfortunately, this compelling archaeoseismic evidence lacks a reliable terminus ante quem so all that could be said was that this presumed seismic destruction post dates c. 1200 BCE and could have been caused by the ~950 BCE Stratum IVA seismic event. Marco et. al. (2006) also noted that stone plates in the roof of Schumacher's Chamber f (see Chapter 5) are fractured at 90°. This presumed roof collapse also lacks a reliable terminus ante quem and could be associated with a Late Bronze Age Earthquake or a later event such as the ~950 BCE Stratum IVA seismic event. Israel Finkelstein in Adams et al. (2013 Vol. 3:1335-1336) seems to suggest, however, that the destruction of Stratum VIIA was due to human agency.

References
Stratum VIIA destruction layer in the Megiddo V Reports



THE DESTRUCTION OF THE LATE BRONZE CITY

Stratum VIIA — the last layer of Late Bronze Megiddo — was exposed in all four areas dug by the University of Chicago (AA, BB, CC and DD) and in four areas of the current Tel Aviv University-led excavations (F, G [which is part of the University of Chicago's Area AA], K and M).

Interesting data pertaining to the end of Stratum VIIA was collected in the 2004-2008 seasons in Areas M and K. In Area M, the Nordburg was destroyed, though not in a conflagration. In one room of the edifice (04/M/75), LB III (Level M-6), pottery was found smashed on the floor. No evidence of fire was observed. The excavation of this room revealed an accumulation of almost a metre of unburned brick collapse. Whether the collapse took place in the end days of Stratum VIIA or the walls were pulled down in the early days of Stratum VIB in preparation for new construction is not clear. Carbonized olive pits were found in the olive press in nearby Room 00/M/2, which had already been excavated by Schumacher (1908: Taf. XII).

In Area K, traces of destruction were observed in Level K-6, which also dates to the LB III, in the sense that some vessels were found broken on the floors. There was no collapse and evidence of fire could be seen only in limited spots (the northern baulk of Square P/11 plus carbonized olive pits in Olive Press 02/K/60 in nearby Square P/10).

Our past excavation of the Late Bronze gate (Area G) revealed evidence of the last days of the Late Bronze city, including evidence of its destruction (Ussishkin 1995). No such evidence could be traced in Area F on the lower terrace of the mound.

Loud (1948: 29) described a violent destruction of the palace in Area AA, which he affiliated with the end of Stratum VIIB. Ussishkin (1995: 241-246) argued that this was the destruction of Stratum VIIA. The palace was annihilated in a heavy conflagration that left an accumulation of fallen stones a metre-and-a-half-thick, with another accumulation of fallen bricks over it. Baked' mudbricks were found still standing in the upper parts of the walls (Loud 1948: Figs. 71-72 and a schematic section in Ussishkin 1995: Fig. 6: 2-3).

The situation in Area BB was more complicated. Loud (1948: 105) mentions a destruction of Temple 2048, with a "partially burned lime floor" adjacent to the platform at the back of the temple-hall, both in relation to Stratum VIIB. Yet, the pottery from the only floor in the temple-hall (Kenyon 1969: 54) is typical of Stratum VIA (Mazar 1985: 97; see also Kempinski 1989: 77-83; Ussishkin 1995: 256), which means that the destruction is post-Late Bronze. In other words, no clear destruction of Stratum VIIA was observed in Area BB.

Loud's short description of the results in Areas CC and DD does not mention destruction. This, of course, may be due to the brevity of his description, but it is still significant because the published pictures also do not show evidence of destruction.

The destruction of Stratum VIIA can be summarized as follows: evidence for violent conflagration and thick collapse was traced solely in the area of the palace. Lesser pieces of evidence for destruction were found in the gate (which, in fact, is part of the palace complex), in the Nordburg — another large building of palatial nature — and to a certain extent in Level K-6. There is no clear data for Areas CC and DD and no destruction was observed in Area BB of the University of Chicago and in Area F of the current excavations. It seems, then, that the main target for the assault on the city of Stratum VIIA was the palace.

Stratum VIIA was destroyed in the 1130s BCE, as indicated by the base of a statue of Ramesses VI found by the University of Chicago team in Area CC (Breasted 1948). This find, though retrieved from a problematic stratigraphic context, must have originated in Stratum VIIA (Singer 1988-1989; Ussishkin 1995). The 14C results discussed in this volume (Chapter 25) are in line with this date (see also Finkelstein and Piasetzky 2009). Ussishkin (1995) suggested that Stratum VIIA was destroyed by a group of Sea Peoples; an assault by a local unruly group in the chaotic days of the late 12th century BCE is also possible.

Stratum VIA Earthquake (?) - Late Iron Age I ~950 BCE

The destruction of Stratum VIA is described by Israel Finkelstein in Adams et al. (2013 Vol. 3:1336-1337) as total with evidence in every area excavated by our team and by our predecessors including from Levels H-9 and M-4. While Marco et al. 2006 suggested that it was probable but not conclusive that the destruction of Stratum VIA was caused by an earthquake, Israel Finkelstein in Adams et al. (2013 Vol. 3:1336-1337), using the results of radiocarbon dating of 7 nearby sites along the same approximate time horizon, concluded that that the destruction stemmed from early steps in the rise of a north Israelite territorial entity — the expansion of the highlanders into the northern valleys. It should be noted that the dates for Late Iron Age I throughout northern Israel is actively debated.

References

Iron Age I destruction layer in the Megiddo V Reports



THE IRON I

In contrast to the destruction at the end of the LB III, as well as the destructions in the late Iron IIA and Iron IIB, which were partial and encompassed only certain sectors of the settlement, the destruction of the late Iron I city was total. Evidence for this annihilation is now evident in every area excavated by our team and by our predecessors. The 2004-2008 seasons added the evidence from Levels H-9 and M-4.

For the moment, large numbers of radiocarbon results are available only for the late Iron I (Levels K-4, H-9 and M-4), while the number of determinations for Levels K-5, H-7 and H-5 does not allow the reaching of clear conclusions (many more samples for these and other Iron Age layers are now being processed and will be published in the future). Boaretto (Chapter 25) puts the destruction of late Iron I Megiddo in the first half of the 10th century or ca. 950 BCE (see also Finkelstein and Piasetzky 2007; 2009).

Many other late Iron I settlements in the northern valleys and the northern coastal plain came to an end in a violent conflagration. As is well known, scholars have suggested a single event for the end of this phase in the north: a major earthquake (Lamon and Shipton 1939:7; Marco et al. 2006; Cline 2011), King David's conquests (Yadin 1970: 95; Harrison 2004: 108), or Pharaoh Sheshonq I's campaign (Watzinger 1929: 58, 91; Finkelstein 2002).

Seven sites, five of which were destroyed by fire, supply 88 14C determinations (for the data, see Finkelstein and Piasetzky 2007; 2009). When an uncalibrated date is established for each of these layers separately (by averaging its determinations — a legitimate procedure in the case of destruction layers, because one can assume that all samples came from the last years before the destruction), it becomes clear that the results do not provide similar dates. Rather, the uncalibrated dates fall into two groups that show geographical logic: the western Jezreel Valley-Acco Plain sites and the eastern Jezreel Valley-Sea of Galilee sites. The two groups are separated by 58 uncalibrated years (2852±13 and 2794±10 respectively), that is, 3.5 σ; the probability that they represent a single date is therefore low.

Most likely, then, the late Iron I horizon in northern Israel came to an end in two main events, or two clusters of events, in 1047-996 BCE and 974-915 BCE according to the `uncalibrated weighted average' method (Finkelstein and Piasetzky, 2007); 1017-984 and 969—898 BC according to a Bayesian model constructed for this purpose (idem. 2009).7

This conclusion renders the earthquake and single military campaign theories invalid. The most reasonable historical reconstruction would explain this gradual destruction in the north as representing early steps in the rise of a north Israelite territorial entity — the expansion of the highlanders into the northern valleys.
Footnotes

7 Accordingly, the transition from the late Iron Ito the early Iron BA falls in the second half of the 10th century ( Finkelstein and Piasetzky 2010, contra Mazar and Bronk Ramsey, 2008).

Level H-9 in the Megiddo V Reports

Plans, Sections, and Photos

Plans, Sections, and Photos

  • Fig. 5.2 - Plan of Level H-9 from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.3 - Destruction Layers H-5 and H-9 from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.4 - South section of Area H from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.5 - East section of Area H from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.6 - West section of Area H from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.7 - Eastern section of Area H from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.8 - Photo of Level H-9 from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.9 - Smashed storage jar and charred beam in Level H-9 from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.10 - Complete storage jar in Level H-9 from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.11 - Smashed pottery vessels in Level H-9 from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)

Discussion

Israel Finkelstein in Adams et al. (2013 Vol. 3:1336) reports the following regarding Iron Age stratigraphy in Area H
Area H provides the best stratigraphic sequence for Iron Age Megiddo, with two pre-732 BCE Iron IIB layers (levels H-3 and H-4), four Iron IIA layers (levels H-5 to H-8), one late Iron I layer (level H-9) and at least two early Iron I layers (levels H-10 and H-11, which will be reported on in the next Megiddo report). This system of nine layers (only five were detected by the University of Chicago) covers a time span of ca. 370 years (ca. 1100–732 BCE) with an accumulation of ca. 5.5 m. three of the settlements – levels H-9, H-5 and H-3 – ended in destruction.
Eran Arie in Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1:253-256) reported the following about Level H-9:
Level H-9

Level H-9 (Fig. 5.2) was violently destroyed by a fierce fire leaving a thick accumulation of red burnt mudbrick debris. In some places the collapse debris reached over 1 min height (Figs. 5.3-5.5). This red brick debris and the typical pottery retrieved from this phase leave no doubt regarding the correlation between Level H-9 and Stratum VIA of the University of Chicago expedition, dated to the late Iron I. The excellent state of preservation of Level H-9 is manifested by a large number of pottery vessels and small finds.

Due to the narrow dimensions of Area H, the architecture assigned to Level H-9 does not provide a clear layout of a building. It comprises architectural elements that were reconstructed in this report as one unit called Building 08/H/38 (Fig. 5.8).

CENTRAL COURTYARD 08/H/38

Due to its large expanse it is logical to assume that this architectural unit served as a courtyard. Still, two flat stones that probably served as pillar bases, which were found in the western side of this unit, may suggest that it was partly roofed. Several carbonized beams that were found here could have originated from this roof or from the pillars themselves (Fig. 5.9).

While the floor of most of the courtyard was made of beaten earth, two parts of it were paved with fieldstones. The first (06/H/55) located in the southeastern corner of the courtyard, was probably constructed in order to support the weight of Basin 08/H/30 (see below). Above this pavement, a thick phytolith layer was found, identified by Ruth Shahack-Gross (personal communication) as some kind of a mat. The second paved area (06/H/51), which was found in the northwestern part of the courtyard, slopes down toward the south probably due to sinking (Fig. 5.10). It originally abutted Wall 06/H/13 and probably represents a larger floor that was not preserved.

Courtyard 08/H/38 yielded the largest accumulation of finds retrieved from Level H-9. The thick debris of red-fired mudbricks spread all over the courtyard contained dozens of pottery vessels (Fig. 5.11). It is worth mentioning that the southwestern part of the courtyard can be distinguished from its western sector by the character of its finds: a significant number of small vessels in the former versus mostly big storage vessels in the latter (see Chapter 12).

...

It is worth mentioning that below the floors dated to the last destruction of Level H-9 an accumulation of beaten earth floors (ca. 0.20 m thick) was excavated all over the courtyard. These represent the life span of Level H-9. This phenomenon was recognized only in this unit, seemingly also testifying to its function as a courtyard.

Level M-4 in the Megiddo V Reports

Plans and Tables

Plans and Tables

Discussion

Norma Franklin in Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1) interpreted Area M while noting that her interpretation also took into account the results of past excavations in this area, mainly Schumacher's. She reported the following on pages 202-203 about the demise of Level M-4:
THE DEMISE OF LEVEL M-4

Level M-4 came to an end in a dramatic destruction, with heavy conflagration. This destruction is the contemporary of Level K-4 (Gadot et al. 2006: 94-101) and Level H-9 (Chapter 5).

There was a marked difference between the burnt mudbrick material deposited over Rooms 04/M/44 and 04/M/55 in Squares AV—AW/27 and the material deposited over the open area in Squares AV/28-29 and AW/28-29. The former featured a thick concentration of (unburnt) mudbrick debris. In Square AW/27 (Locus 04/M/24) there was disturbed mudbrick debris, rock tumble, pottery sherds, and broken fragments of worked basalt, and the Level M-4 walls had been partially robbed of their stones. Square AV/27 featured a similar picture: a north-south robber trench traversed the east side of the square (Locus 04/M/14); it was located over Level M-4 Wall 04/M/5, and possibly represents the robbing of part of the wall's superstructure.

The other squares were covered with a thick layer of burnt mudbrick. For example Loci 00/M/31 and 00/M/33 north and south of Wall 00/M/27, respectively, contained burnt mudbrick debris that appeared to have been deposited, after burning, on the ashy surfaces of Level M-4. Only a few of the burnt mudbricks were in situ, e.g., part of the mudbrick superstructure of Wall 00/M/27.

The most dramatic picture of the conflagration that marked the end of Level M-4 was seen in Square AW/28. The best preserved and most colourful selection of burnt mudbrick debris was revealed here, including whole mudbricks measuring 46 x 30 x 12 cm. Some were black due to carbonized organic material, others ranged from yellow ochre, through burnt sienna to burnt umber. The pile was at its highest in the southeast corner of the square and sloped down to the west and north; on excavation it resembled a veritable cascade of mudbrick (Fig. 4.26). However the `cascade' was in fact a post-occupation level deposit that contained Level M-4 material (see below). The lowest point of the `cascade' cut through the original Level M-4 surface (02/M/71), but the bulk of the burnt material rested on the floor and covered Wall 00/M/27.

Stratum VA-IVB Earthquake - Early Iron Age II - between 835 and 830 BCE or a bit later

Marco et. al. (2006) reported on tilted columns and a tilted floor which they attributed to probable catastrophic horizontal shaking and categorized as an earthquake event that was beyond doubt. They suggested a terminus post quem of the Early Iron II (Stratum VA-IVB) and a terminus ante quem of Level L-2 (Stratum IVA) because the northern stables were undamaged. This led to a narrow time window between 835 and 800 BCE or perhaps a bit later (?). They also assigned an ash horizon overlain by collapsed mud-bricks in Area H to this event.

Stratum IVA Earthquake - after ca. 800 BCE

Eran Arie in Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1:270-272) reported on a collapse and destruction layer in Level H-5 which correlates with Stratum VA-IVB. The most significant evidence for collapse and destruction is located in the southern parts of the area may testify that a building stood right to the south of Area H. Eran Arie in Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1:270-272) noted that the destruction of this city was not complete and certain parts of the mound did not show evidence of destruction by fire (Finkelstein 2009: 117).

Knauf (2002:2) reports that the occupation of Phase H5a [which correlates to Stratum IVA] was terminated by an earthquake, which cracked the city wall and strewed parts of walls of these southern buildings all over Area H.

Marco et. al. (2006) observed that a staircase between the Iron II gate complex and a reservoir was tilted and faulted, a wall in the courtyard of the Southern Stables tilted to the west, there were fractures in the walls of a Silo (1404), and there were fractures in the limestone bedrock of Tunnel 1000 of the water system. Although they suggested the most likely candidate for this archaeoseismic evidence was the ~760 BCE Amos Quake, they noted that an inability to establish a terminus ante quem created chronological uncertainty and opened up the possibility that the causitive earthquake struck later. The terminus post quem was c. 800 BCE.

References

Level H-5 in the Megiddo V Reports

Plans, Photos, and Tables

Plans, Photos, and Tables

  • Fig. 5.25 - Plan of Level H-5 from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.26 - View of Level H-5 looking north from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.27 - Level H-5 Destruction Layer from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Fig. 5.28 - Level H-5 Destruction Debris from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)
  • Table 5.1 - Updated Stratigraphy of Area H from Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1)

Discussion

Israel Finkelstein in Adams et al. (2013 Vol. 3:1336) reports the following regarding Iron Age stratigraphy in Area H
Area H provides the best stratigraphic sequence for Iron Age Megiddo, with two pre-732 BCE Iron IIB layers (levels H-3 and H-4), four Iron IIA layers (levels H-5 to H-8), one late Iron I layer (level H-9) and at least two early Iron I layers (levels H-10 and H-11, which will be reported on in the next Megiddo report). This system of nine layers (only five were detected by the University of Chicago) covers a time span of ca. 370 years (ca. 1100–732 BCE) with an accumulation of ca. 5.5 m. three of the settlements – levels H-9, H-5 and H-3 – ended in destruction.

... It is now clear that level H-5 is indeed part of Stratum VA-IVB (Arie, Chapter 13).
Eran Arie in Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1:270-272) reported the following about Level H-5:
Level H-5

Level H-5 (Figs. 5.25-5.26), which is reported here, is equivalent to Knauf's Level H-5a (Knauf 2006: 142). As far as I can judge, there is no evidence for his earlier phases (his Levels H-5b and H-5c). The reconstruction of Finkelstein and Ussishkin (2006: 145) is also inaccurate, as it combined remains of both Levels H-6 and H-5.

During Level H-5, Area H served as an open space devoid of any architectural remains. A plaster floor set with pebbles covered most of the area. Some of the highest stones of Level H-6 walls could be seen on top of this. The level of the floor was 161.00±15 all over the area. The floor was damaged by three large pits. While two pits (98/H/22 and 98/H/63) are related to an intermediate phase between Levels H-4 and H-3 (Petit 2006: 136), the third (00/H/14) was probably dug during the time of Level H-4.

Installation 00/H/4 was probably used for cooking. It was made of three stones; the central one was crumbling since it was exposed to fire. A semicircular installation (00/H/9) was located in the southwestern part of this open space. It is stone-lined and could have been used as a posthole. Another installation (06/H/14) is located in the southwestern part of the area. It was dug to a depth of ca. 70 cm below the floor of Level H-5 and it therefore cuts a Level H-6 floor (this is seen in the southern and western sections of the area). The floor of this installation was paved; it was laid at almost the same elevation as that of the highest floor of the Level H-7 courtyard (Fig. 5.27). Because only a limited part of this installation was uncovered, its function is unknown. It is important to emphasize that in the past this installation was wrongly interpreted as related to either Level H-7 (Knauf 2006: 137) or to Level H-6 (Finkelstein and Ussishkin 2006: 145); this led to a misunderstanding of the relationship between the University of Chicago strata and the Megiddo Expedition levels.

Level H-5 came to its end in a violent destruction. This is best seen in the southern part of the area, where a collapse of big stones, burnt mudbricks, large chunks of charcoal and restorable pottery vessels were found (Fig. 5.28). Evidence for this destruction was also found on the floor of Installation 06/H/14.

CONCLUSION

Level H-5 represents a complete change in the architectural planning of Area H. After many years in which the area comprised domestic buildings surrounded by open courtyards, Area H became an open space that probably functioned as a public area. The gap in elevation between the floors of Level H-6 (ca. 160.40 m) and Level H-5 (ca. 161.00 m) can be explained as a result of the clearing and flattening of the debris originating from the architecture of Level H-6 and the preparation of the area for plastering.

It is logical to assume that this plaster floor and the plaster floor reported by Loud (1948: Fig. 380) in the adjacent Square L6, which are at the same elevation (161.00±15 m), were connected to each other. Loud affiliated this floor with Stratum IVA and according to his plan it abuts City Wall 325. Yet, it seems that Loud's floor could not have abutted the city wall, because today it is clear that Addition 1055, which was reported in Megiddo I (and was affiliated with Stratum III [Lamon and Shipton 1939: Fig. 89]), must have cut this floor from the city wall. Consequently, Loud's floor has to be understood as the continuation of the Level H-5 floor; both are earlier than the construction of City Wall 325. This assumption is strengthened by the fact that Loud (1948: Fig. 388) did not associate any architectural elements with Stratum VA (the equivalent to Level H-5) in Square L6. The large size of this plaster floor (all of Area H and the floor reported by Loud) placed in a public area, may hint that a central government was involved in its construction.

The fact that the most significant evidence for collapse and destruction is located in the southern parts of the area may testify that a building stood right to the south of Area H. A wood sample from this area was recognized as Cedar of Lebanon, hinting at the probable wealth of this building's inhabitants (Liphschitz 2006: 515). The nature of destruction of Level H-5, together with its stratigraphic position and its characteristic pottery, enable its correlation with Stratum VA-IVB. The destruction of this city was not complete and certain parts of the mound did not show evidence of destruction by fire (Finkelstein 2009: 117).

Observations and Analysis by Knauf (2002)

What did we excavate in the season of 2000 in Area H ?

At the lowest level, we reached an elaborate semi-monumental building added to a pre-existing, small-scale domestic occupation (Phase H6b). The monumental building was never finished; it may have housed some squatters in the period of its abandonment (Phase H6a). Squatter occupation continued in the ruins (Phase H5d), followed by the construction of city Wall 325 (Phase H5Sc). It is obvious from the inclination of the Area H surfaces that Wall 325 represents the first city wall of Iron Age Megiddo. Throughout — the different phases of occupation of Level H5, Area H is devoid of architecture; it contains a sequence of more than 20 floor levels with abundant traces of open-air domestic activity. There was domestic architecture immediately to the south of Area H (unexcavated), for the occupation of Phase H5a was terminated by an earthquake, which cracked the city wall and strewed parts of walls of these southern buildings all over Area H. Our Phases H6b-a should be assigned to the University of Chicago’s Stratum V, while our Phases HSd-a (plus Levels H4 and H3 excavated in past seasons) cover the time-span of the University of Chicago’s Stratum IVA.

How to decipher all this historically? The commencement of elaborate construction in Level H6b testifies to the prosperity at the end of the Omride dynasty as its abandonment may reflect the consequences of Jehu’s revolt. The destruction of Phase H6a and the subsequent squatter- occupation (H5d) illustrate the fate of Israel under Aramaean domination (II Kgs 10:32- 33; 13:3, 22). The construction of the city wall in Level HSc indicates the beginning of Israel’s recovery under Joash and Jeroboam II (II Kgs 13:24f; 14:25-28). City Wall 325 was the wall of the city conquered by Tiglat-pileser III in 733 BCE. The destruction of Phase H5a should probably be attributed to the earthquake in the time of Jeroboam II, mentioned in Amos 1:1 and archaeologically also attested at Hazor and Tell Deir ‘Alla in the Jordan Valley, where it toppled and buried the stele with the famous Balaam-text.

Synchronizing the stratigraphy of Area H with the biblical record is perfectly possible within the framework of the “Low Chronology”. According to the traditional chronology, Phase H6b (= University of Chicago’s VA) should reflect the time of Solomon. The subsequent decline would then be due to the demise of the “United Monarchy” and the civil wars in Israel between Jeroboam I and Omri. It would have been Omri or Ahab who built city Wall 325. But then, the earthquake of Jeroboam II’s time would not have left any trace in the occupational deposits, whereas the earthquake in our Phase H5a escaped the attention of the ancient texts.

Stratum III Earthquake - after ca. 700 BCE

Marco et. al. (2006) reported on a tilted pillar, a tilted and partially collapsed wall, and a folded wall in Stratum III. They noted that it was probable but not sure that these distortions were caused by seismic activity. The Stratum III structures provided a terminus post quem of ~700 BCE, but unfortunately, it was not possible to establish a terminus ante quem. In addition, no photos were provided which would allow one to assess the evidence. They also suggested that fractured walls in Silo 4004 could have been caused by the Stratum IVA or Stratum III earthquake.

Seismic Effects
Stratum XVIII Earthquake (End of Level J-4) - Early Bronze IB ca. 3000 BCE

Seismic Effects
Seismic Effects Location Dating Info Image(s) Description
Fractured Walls Site 1
  • Event - ca. 3000 BCE (see Chapter 29)
  • Lower limit - Late EB IB building (Level J-4, Stratum XVIII).
  • Upper limit - Overlying walls of EB III temple are not fractured.
  • end of 4th millennium BCE
  • Early Bronze I
  • Level J-4 (Stratum XVIII)


  • In Area J, the monumental walls of the Level J-4 temple are fractured in several places along their strike (Fig. 31.3d) as well as perpendicular to the strike (Figs. 31.3e-f). The overlying walls of the EB III temple 4050 are not fractured. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic horizontal shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock which should probably be related to the abandonment of the Level J-4 temple. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • At Megiddo, the only cases of structural damage that can be related to earthquakes with high certainty are the extension fractures in the walls of the Level J-4 temple and in the Late Bronze gate complex (Fig. 31.3h). - Marco et. al. (2006:569)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Fractured Walls Site 1





Level J-4 (Stratum XVIII)
  • Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 3) echoes and concurs with Marco et. al. (2006) in viewing these as seismically induced fractures parallel to the edge of these monumental stone walls of the Level J-4 temple.

  • JW: This rather severe crack looks like it was caused by the kind of shaking one finds in the epicentral zone. If this building had a foundation, there might have been fractures to the foundation. If this wall fracture did form in the epicentral zone, the causitive fault break would have been on a nearby segment(s) with the magnitude limited by the nature of the fault segments in this area.

Stratum VIIA Earthquake (?) - Late Bronze Age - after ~1200 BCE

Seismic Effects
Seismic Effects Location Dating Info Image(s) Description
Fractured and Shifted Ashlar Stones Site 3
  • Event - Post ca. 1200 BCE (possible construction of Chamber f). Could be mid-to-late 10th century event.
  • Lower limit - Late Bronze gate and Chamber f
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 14th- 12th centuries BCE
  • Late Bronze
  • probably built in Stratum VIII and continued to function in Stratum VII



Link to 3D scan of Canaanite Gate (east side)
Link to 3D scan of Canaanite Gate (west side)
  • Extension cracks in the Late Bronze [aka Canaanite] gate. Ashlar stones in courses in the middle of the walls (sandwiched between other courses) are fractured in opening mode. Horizontal sliding of the fragments occurred everywhere in the same direction, sub-parallel to N-S trend of the wall (Fig. 31.3h). The gate has no foundations, a fact that could have made it particularly vulnerable to seismic vibrations. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • JW: Through-going joints can be observed in several parts of the gate (below the restoration line - see 3D scans) however the cracks could have formed for a long time after the gate was first built and if some of them have a seismic origin, they could be a product of multiple events.

  • Probably catastrophic horizontal shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock postdating the two monuments. No upper limit — date unknown - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • At Megiddo, the only cases of structural damage that can be related to earthquakes with high certainty are the extension fractures in the walls of the Level J-4 temple and in the Late Bronze gate complex (Fig. 31.3h). - Marco et. al. (2006:569)

  • damage to the Late Bronze Age [...] buildings could have been caused in later periods. - Marco et. al. (2006:572)

Fractured Roof Plate Site 2
  • Event - Post ca. 1200 BCE (possible construction of Chamber f). Could be mid-to-late 10th century event.
  • Lower limit - Late Bronze gate and Chamber f
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 13th-12th or late 1lth-10th centuries BCE
  • Late Bronze II or late Iron I
  • Level M-6 (Stratum VIIA) or Level M-4 (Stratum VIA)

Stratum VIA Earthquake (?) - Late Iron Age I ~950 BCE

Seismic Effects
Seismic Effects Location Dating Info Image(s) Description
Folding and Liquefaction Site 4
  • Event - Mid-to-late 10th century
  • Lower limit - Late-Iron I buildings (Level K-4 and M-4, Stratum VIA)
  • Upper limit - Collapse of brick walls throughout the mound.
  • 12th or 10th centuries BCE - probably 10th
  • Strata VIIA or VIA - probably VIA
  • Distorted and liquefied sand horizon in the western section of the Schumacher trench, excavated in the early 20th century. (Fig. 31.3g). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Catastrophic shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock, which possibly brought about the destruction of Stratum VIA. This is the opinion shared by Marco, Agnon and Finkelstein. Ussishkin believes that Stratum VIA must have been destroyed in an enemy attack - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Another event, which brought about the end of Stratum VIA, is probable but not conclusive (see Chapter 7). - Marco et. al. (2006:572)

  • The observed liquefaction (Fig. 31.3g), which is a typical earthquake-induced feature, may be regarded supportive evidence, but unfortunately its age is not absolutely clear. - Marco et. al. (2006:569)
Fractures Site 5b
  • Event - Mid-to-late 10th century
  • Lower limit - Late-Iron I buildings (Level K-4 and M-4, Stratum VIA)
  • Upper limit - Collapse of brick walls throughout the mound.
Below the destruction layer of Level K-4 (Stratum VIA).

Date of Level K-4
  • late 11th-10th centuries BCE
  • Late-Iron I
  • Level K-4 (Stratum VIA)
  • Area K, north section of Square M/11. A few joints appear 90 cm above the bottom of the excavation. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock, which possibly brought about the destruction of Stratum VIA. This is the opinion shared by Marco, Agnon and Finkelstein. Ussishkin believes that Stratum VIA must have been destroyed in an enemy attack - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Another event, which brought about the end of Stratum VIA, is probable but not conclusive (see Chapter 7). - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Folded Wall Site 5a
  • Event - Mid-to-late 10th century
  • Lower limit - Late-Iron I buildings (Level K-4 and M-4, Stratum VIA)
  • Upper limit - Collapse of brick walls throughout the mound.
  • late 11th-10th centuries BCE
  • Late-Iron I
  • Level K-4 (Stratum VIA)

  • A warped wall trending 220° in Area K is tilted to both sides 12°-15°. (Fig. 31.3i.) - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Pressure of accumulating earth is unlikely where the wall tilts inward. Probably catastrophic. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • A deformed, wall in Megiddo, part of a Late Iron Age, 8th century BC building - Marco (2008)

  • Interpretation - Shock, which possibly brought about the destruction of Stratum VIA. This is the opinion shared by Marco, Agnon and Finkelstein. Ussishkin believes that Stratum VIA must have been destroyed in an enemy attack - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Another event, which brought about the end of Stratum VIA, is probable but not conclusive (see Chapter 7). - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Collapsed Walls Site 6
  • Event - Mid-to-late 10th century
  • Lower limit - Late-Iron I buildings (Level K-4 and M-4, Stratum VIA)
  • Upper limit - Collapse of brick walls throughout the mound.
  • late 11th-10th centuries BCE
  • Late-Iron I
  • Level M-4 (Stratum VIA)
  • In Upper Area M, Square AV/28 a pile of collapsed mudbrick is covered by a thick layer of ashes. Similar piles of brick collapse can be seen in many other places across the mound. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Possibly catastrophic. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock, which possibly brought about the destruction of Stratum VIA. This is the opinion shared by Marco, Agnon and Finkelstein. Ussishkin believes that Stratum VIA must have been destroyed in an enemy attack - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Another event, which brought about the end of Stratum VIA, is probable but not conclusive (see Chapter 7). - Marco et. al. (2006:572)

Stratum VA-IVB Earthquake - Early Iron Age II - between 835 and 830 BCE or a bit later

Seismic Effects
Seismic Effects Location Dating Info Image(s) Description
Tilted Walls Site 8


  • Event - Between 835 and 800 BCE (possibly a bit later?)
  • Lower limit - Early Iron II buildings (Stratum VA-IVB)
  • Upper limit - Level L-2 (Stratum IVA) northern stables undamaged
  • 9th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum VA-IVB
  • The corner of Building 338 is tilted. The eastern wall, which strikes 008° is tilted 3° to the east. The southern wall, which strikes 278° is tilted 5° to the south. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock between the end of Stratum VA-IVB and the construction of the northern stables of Stratum IVA. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Tilted Floor Site 10


  • Event - Between 835 and 800 BCE (possibly a bit later?)
  • Lower limit - Early Iron II buildings (Stratum VA-IVB)
  • Upper limit - Level L-2 (Stratum IVA) northern stables undamaged
  • 9th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Levels L-3 (Stratum VA-IVB)

  • The south-western corner of Palace 6000 (Area L, Squares D/5, E/4-5) is tilted 3°-5° (top dipping to 250°-260° — Fig. 31.3a). In the northern baulk of Squares D-E/4, a white layer which belongs to the palace's floor make-up is also tilted. Immediately to the east, in the northern section of Square E/4, there are two fissures, each about 10-15 cm wide in the same floor make-up. The fissures are filled with grey unconsolidated soil that contains a few ceramic fragments. The white make-up for Floor 98/L/59 and plaster Floor 98/L/120 — both of the Level L-2 stables — are horizontal - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Large scale deformation. Could be either a slow process (because of pressure on the westward slope) or a catastrophic one. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • An episode of tilting is exhibited by an angle between tilted stone floor and an overlying horizontal plaster floor in Megiddo. The stratigraphy shows that the tilting postdates the lower and predates the upper floor, but the precise time of construction is archaeologically indistinguishable. Both were built in the Iron Age II (9th century BC). Since the upper floor remained perfectly horizontal in the last 3 millennia we assume that the tilting of its precedent was rapid and exceptional, probably associated with an earthquake (Marco et al., 2006). Site 10 in Fig. 1. - Marco (2008)

  • Interpretation - Shock between the end of Stratum VA-IVB and the construction of the northern stables of Stratum IVA. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Tilted Columns Site 7


  • Event - Between 835 and 800 BCE (possibly a bit later?)
  • Lower limit - Early Iron II buildings (Stratum VA-IVB)
  • Upper limit - Level L-2 (Stratum IVA) northern stables undamaged
  • 9th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum VA-IVB






Link to 3D scan of 3 tilted pillars (Site 7)
  • A group of six pillars in Building 1A (Lamon and Shipton 1939: Fig. 6) are all tilted 8°-11° to the west (265°-295°). (Fig. 31.3b). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Measurements taken by Jefferson Williams on 27 April 2023 found the center column tilting 8.2° to the west (288°) in good agreement with Marco et. al. (2006).

  • Probably catastrophic horizontal shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Leaning Iron Age II (9th century BC) columns in Megiddo (Marco et al., 2006). The supports at the bottom are modern - Marco (2008)

  • Interpretation - Shock between the end of Stratum VA-IVB and the construction of the northern stables of Stratum IVA. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Collapsed Walls Site 9
  • Event - Between 835 and 800 BCE (possibly a bit later?)
  • Lower limit - Early Iron II buildings (Stratum VA-IVB)
  • Upper limit - Level L-2 (Stratum IVA) northern stables undamaged
  • 9th century BCE or early 8th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Level H-5 (Stratum VA-IVB) or an early phase of Stratum IVA
  • An ash horizon overlain by collapsed mud-bricks in Area H. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock between the end of Stratum VA-IVB and the construction of the northern stables of Stratum IVA. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)

Stratum IVA Earthquake - after ca. 800 BCE

Seismic Effects
Seismic Effects Location Dating Info Image(s) Description
Tilted and Faulted Staircase Site 12



  • Event - Postdating ca. 800 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 700 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Remains belonging to Stratum IVA.
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 8th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum IVA

Link to 3D scan of faulted staircase
Link to 3D scan of faulted staircase (closeup)
  • Staircase leading from the Iron II gate complex to a water system/reservoir (Loud 1948: Fig. 389, Square H/10) is tilted 9°/000°. The staircase is built on a steep slope. (Fig. 31.3c). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Could be either a slow down-slope slide or a catastrophic process. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating the relevant remains. No upper limit. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • biblical evidence for a major earthquake in ca. 760 BCE (Amos 1:1) seems to indicate that the damage in the buildings of Stratum IVA should indeed be assigned to the 8th century BCE. - Marco et. al. (2006:573)

  • damage to [...] 8th century (Stratum IVA) buildings could have been caused in later periods. - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Tilted Wall Site 11

  • Event - Postdating ca. 800 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 700 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Remains belonging to Stratum IVA.
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 8th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum IVA
  • In the courtyard of the Southern Stables, the westernmost (trend 010°-190°) wall is tilted 18° westward. This wall supported a fill several metres deep (see Lamon and Shipton 1939: Fig. 43), which had been laid under the surface of the courtyard and which was cleared in the course of the University of Chicago excavations. The present height of the wall is 80 cm. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Outward pressure of the fill. Could be either a slow or a catastrophic process. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating the relevant remains. No upper limit. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • biblical evidence for a major earthquake in ca. 760 BCE (Amos 1:1) seems to indicate that the damage in the buildings of Stratum IVA should indeed be assigned to the 8th century BCE. - Marco et. al. (2006:573)

  • damage to [...] 8th century (Stratum IVA) buildings could have been caused in later periods. - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Fractured bedrock Site 13

  • Event - Postdating ca. 800 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 700 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Remains belonging to Stratum IVA.
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 8th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum IVA
  • Faults and joints in the bedrock in rock-cut Tunnel 1000 of the water system. The bedrock is composed of limestone and chalk with scattered chert nodules; Eocene Maresha Formation. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Could be a slow and/or a catastrophic process. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating the relevant remains. No upper limit. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • biblical evidence for a major earthquake in ca. 760 BCE (Amos 1:1) seems to indicate that the damage in the buildings of Stratum IVA should indeed be assigned to the 8th century BCE. - Marco et. al. (2006:573)

  • damage to [...] 8th century (Stratum IVA) buildings could have been caused in later periods. - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Fractured Walls Site 14

  • Event - Postdating ca. 700 BCE or Postdating ca. 800 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Remains belonging to Stratum IVA or Structures of Stratum III
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 8th or 7th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum IVA or III
  • The walls of Silo 1414 (Lamon and Shipton 1939:77) are lined with stones (mostly limestone and some basalt) that are up to 0.5 m in diameter. Many of the limestone stones are fractured and some are even shattered in various orientations. There is no dominant orientation and there is no relation between the original bedding planes and the fractures. Most of the basalt stones are not fractured. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating the relevant remains - no upper limit OR Possible shock postdating Stratum III. - Marco et. al. (2006)
Destruction and Collapse Layer Area H


  • 8th century BCE (?)
  • Iron IIA
  • Level H-5 (Stratum VA-IVB)

  • Eran Arie in Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1) reported on a destruction layer in Level H-5 which correlates with Stratum VA-IVB. The most significant evidence for collapse and destruction is located in the southern parts of the area may testify that a building stood right to the south of Area H. Eran Arie in Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1) noted that the destruction of this city was not complete and certain parts of the mound did not show evidence of destruction by fire (Finkelstein 2009: 117).

  • Knauf (2002:2) reports that the occupation of Phase H5a [which correlates to Stratum IVA] was terminated by an earthquake, which cracked the city wall and strewed parts of walls of these southern buildings all over Area H.

Stratum III Earthquake - after ca. 700 BCE

Seismic Effects
Seismic Effects Location Dating Info Image(s) Description
Fractured Walls Site 14

  • Event - Postdating ca. 700 BCE or Postdating ca. 800 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Remains belonging to Stratum IVA or Structures of Stratum III
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 8th or 7th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum IVA or III
  • The walls of Silo 1414 (Lamon and Shipton 1939:77) are lined with stones (mostly limestone and some basalt) that are up to 0.5 m in diameter. Many of the limestone stones are fractured and some are even shattered in various orientations. There is no dominant orientation and there is no relation between the original bedding planes and the fractures. Most of the basalt stones are not fractured. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating the relevant remains - no upper limit OR Possible shock postdating Stratum III. - Marco et. al. (2006)

Tilted Pillar Site 15



  • Event - Postdating ca. 700 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 800 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Structures of Stratum III
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 7th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum III
  • A stone pillar (1 x 0.3 x 0.3 m) located north of the northern wall of the southern stables courtyard (Lamon and Shipton 1939: Fig. 72, Building 1513), is tilted 12° (top dipping to 275°). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably slow sinking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating Stratum III. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • the classification of the damage in the Stratum III structures as evidence for a quake is probable but not sure. - Marco et. al. (2006:572-573)
Tilted and partially collapsed wall Site 16



  • Event - Postdating ca. 700 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 800 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Structures of Stratum III
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 7th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum III
  • Three ashlars in a row, located to the north of the northern wall of the Southern Stables courtyard (Lamon and Shipton 1939: Fig. 72, Building 1513, wall between Rooms 1512 and 1513), are tilted eastward. The easternmost one dips 22° (top dipping to 280°), the middle one fell eastward on a heap of small stones, and the western one is tilted 5° ( top dipping to 90°). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic horizontal shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating Stratum III. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • the classification of the damage in the Stratum III structures as evidence for a quake is probable but not sure. - Marco et. al. (2006:572-573)
Folded Wall Site 17

  • Event - Postdating ca. 700 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 800 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Structures of Stratum III
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 7th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum III

All Earthquakes

Seismic Effects
Seismic Effects Location Dating Info Image(s) Description
Fractured Walls Site 1
  • Event - ca. 3000 BCE (see Chapter 29)
  • Lower limit - Late EB IB building (Level J-4, Stratum XVIII).
  • Upper limit - Overlying walls of EB III temple are not fractured.
  • end of 4th millennium BCE
  • Early Bronze I
  • Level J-4 (Stratum XVIII)


  • In Area J, the monumental walls of the Level J-4 temple are fractured in several places along their strike (Fig. 31.3d) as well as perpendicular to the strike (Figs. 31.3e-f). The overlying walls of the EB III temple 4050 are not fractured. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic horizontal shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock which should probably be related to the abandonment of the Level J-4 temple. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • At Megiddo, the only cases of structural damage that can be related to earthquakes with high certainty are the extension fractures in the walls of the Level J-4 temple and in the Late Bronze gate complex (Fig. 31.3h). - Marco et. al. (2006:569)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Fractured Walls Site 1





Level J-4 (Stratum XVIII)
  • Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 3) echoes and concurs with Marco et. al. (2006) in viewing these as seismically induced fractures parallel to the edge of these monumental stone walls of the Level J-4 temple.

  • JW: This rather severe crack looks like it was caused by the kind of shaking one finds in the epicentral zone. If this building had a foundation, there might have been fractures to the foundation. If this wall fracture did form in the epicentral zone, the causitive fault break would have been on a nearby segment(s) with the magnitude limited by the nature of the fault segments in this area.
Fractured and Shifted Ashlar Stones Site 3
  • Event - Post ca. 1200 BCE (possible construction of Chamber f). Could be mid-to-late 10th century event.
  • Lower limit - Late Bronze gate and Chamber f
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 14th- 12th centuries BCE
  • Late Bronze
  • probably built in Stratum VIII and continued to function in Stratum VII


Link to 3D scan of Canaanite Gate (east side)
Link to 3D scan of Canaanite Gate (west side)
  • Extension cracks in the Late Bronze [aka Canaanite] gate. Ashlar stones in courses in the middle of the walls (sandwiched between other courses) are fractured in opening mode. Horizontal sliding of the fragments occurred everywhere in the same direction, sub-parallel to N-S trend of the wall (Fig. 31.3h). The gate has no foundations, a fact that could have made it particularly vulnerable to seismic vibrations. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • JW: Through-going joints can be observed in several parts of the gate (below the restoration line - see 3D scans) however the cracks could have formed for a long time after the gate was first built and if some of them have a seismic origin, they could be a product of multiple events.
  • Probably catastrophic horizontal shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock postdating the two monuments. No upper limit — date unknown - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • At Megiddo, the only cases of structural damage that can be related to earthquakes with high certainty are the extension fractures in the walls of the Level J-4 temple and in the Late Bronze gate complex (Fig. 31.3h). - Marco et. al. (2006:569)

  • damage to the Late Bronze Age [...] buildings could have been caused in later periods. - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Fractured Roof Plate Site 2
  • Event - Post ca. 1200 BCE (possible construction of Chamber f). Could be mid-to-late 10th century event.
  • Lower limit - Late Bronze gate and Chamber f
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 13th-12th or late 1lth-10th centuries BCE
  • Late Bronze II or late Iron I
  • Level M-6 (Stratum VIIA) or Level M-4 (Stratum VIA)
Folding and Liquefaction Site 4
  • Event - Mid-to-late 10th century
  • Lower limit - Late-Iron I buildings (Level K-4 and M-4, Stratum VIA)
  • Upper limit - Collapse of brick walls throughout the mound.
  • 12th or 10th centuries BCE - probably 10th
  • Strata VIIA or VIA - probably VIA
  • Distorted and liquefied sand horizon in the western section of the Schumacher trench, excavated in the early 20th century. (Fig. 31.3g). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Catastrophic shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock, which possibly brought about the destruction of Stratum VIA. This is the opinion shared by Marco, Agnon and Finkelstein. Ussishkin believes that Stratum VIA must have been destroyed in an enemy attack - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Another event, which brought about the end of Stratum VIA, is probable but not conclusive (see Chapter 7). - Marco et. al. (2006:572)

  • The observed liquefaction (Fig. 31.3g), which is a typical earthquake-induced feature, may be regarded supportive evidence, but unfortunately its age is not absolutely clear. - Marco et. al. (2006:569)
Fractures Site 5b
  • Event - Mid-to-late 10th century
  • Lower limit - Late-Iron I buildings (Level K-4 and M-4, Stratum VIA)
  • Upper limit - Collapse of brick walls throughout the mound.
Below the destruction layer of Level K-4 (Stratum VIA).

Date of Level K-4
  • late 11th-10th centuries BCE
  • Late-Iron I
  • Level K-4 (Stratum VIA)
  • Area K, north section of Square M/11. A few joints appear 90 cm above the bottom of the excavation. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock, which possibly brought about the destruction of Stratum VIA. This is the opinion shared by Marco, Agnon and Finkelstein. Ussishkin believes that Stratum VIA must have been destroyed in an enemy attack - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Another event, which brought about the end of Stratum VIA, is probable but not conclusive (see Chapter 7). - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Folded Wall Site 5a
  • Event - Mid-to-late 10th century
  • Lower limit - Late-Iron I buildings (Level K-4 and M-4, Stratum VIA)
  • Upper limit - Collapse of brick walls throughout the mound.
  • late 11th-10th centuries BCE
  • Late-Iron I
  • Level K-4 (Stratum VIA)

  • A warped wall trending 220° in Area K is tilted to both sides 12°-15°. (Fig. 31.3i.) - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Pressure of accumulating earth is unlikely where the wall tilts inward. Probably catastrophic. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • A deformed, wall in Megiddo, part of a Late Iron Age, 8th century BC building - Marco (2008)

  • Interpretation - Shock, which possibly brought about the destruction of Stratum VIA. This is the opinion shared by Marco, Agnon and Finkelstein. Ussishkin believes that Stratum VIA must have been destroyed in an enemy attack - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Another event, which brought about the end of Stratum VIA, is probable but not conclusive (see Chapter 7). - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Collapsed Walls Site 6
  • Event - Mid-to-late 10th century
  • Lower limit - Late-Iron I buildings (Level K-4 and M-4, Stratum VIA)
  • Upper limit - Collapse of brick walls throughout the mound.
  • late 11th-10th centuries BCE
  • Late-Iron I
  • Level M-4 (Stratum VIA)
  • In Upper Area M, Square AV/28 a pile of collapsed mudbrick is covered by a thick layer of ashes. Similar piles of brick collapse can be seen in many other places across the mound. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Possibly catastrophic. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock, which possibly brought about the destruction of Stratum VIA. This is the opinion shared by Marco, Agnon and Finkelstein. Ussishkin believes that Stratum VIA must have been destroyed in an enemy attack - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Another event, which brought about the end of Stratum VIA, is probable but not conclusive (see Chapter 7). - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Tilted Walls Site 8
  • Event - Between 835 and 800 BCE (possibly a bit later?)
  • Lower limit - Early Iron II buildings (Stratum VA-IVB)
  • Upper limit - Level L-2 (Stratum IVA) northern stables undamaged
  • 9th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum VA-IVB
  • The corner of Building 338 is tilted. The eastern wall, which strikes 008° is tilted 3° to the east. The southern wall, which strikes 278° is tilted 5° to the south. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock between the end of Stratum VA-IVB and the construction of the northern stables of Stratum IVA. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Tilted Floor Site 10
  • Event - Between 835 and 800 BCE (possibly a bit later?)
  • Lower limit - Early Iron II buildings (Stratum VA-IVB)
  • Upper limit - Level L-2 (Stratum IVA) northern stables undamaged
  • 9th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Levels L-3 (Stratum VA-IVB)

  • The south-western corner of Palace 6000 (Area L, Squares D/5, E/4-5) is tilted 3°-5° (top dipping to 250°-260° — Fig. 31.3a). In the northern baulk of Squares D-E/4, a white layer which belongs to the palace's floor make-up is also tilted. Immediately to the east, in the northern section of Square E/4, there are two fissures, each about 10-15 cm wide in the same floor make-up. The fissures are filled with grey unconsolidated soil that contains a few ceramic fragments. The white make-up for Floor 98/L/59 and plaster Floor 98/L/120 — both of the Level L-2 stables — are horizontal - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Large scale deformation. Could be either a slow process (because of pressure on the westward slope) or a catastrophic one. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • An episode of tilting is exhibited by an angle between tilted stone floor and an overlying horizontal plaster floor in Megiddo. The stratigraphy shows that the tilting postdates the lower and predates the upper floor, but the precise time of construction is archaeologically indistinguishable. Both were built in the Iron Age II (9th century BC). Since the upper floor remained perfectly horizontal in the last 3 millennia we assume that the tilting of its precedent was rapid and exceptional, probably associated with an earthquake (Marco et al., 2006). Site 10 in Fig. 1. - Marco (2008)

  • Interpretation - Shock between the end of Stratum VA-IVB and the construction of the northern stables of Stratum IVA. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Tilted Columns Site 7
  • Event - Between 835 and 800 BCE (possibly a bit later?)
  • Lower limit - Early Iron II buildings (Stratum VA-IVB)
  • Upper limit - Level L-2 (Stratum IVA) northern stables undamaged
  • 9th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum VA-IVB






Link to 3D scan of 3 tilted pillars (Site 7)
  • A group of six pillars in Building 1A (Lamon and Shipton 1939: Fig. 6) are all tilted 8°-11° to the west (265°-295°). (Fig. 31.3b). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Measurements taken by Jefferson Williams on 27 April 2023 found the center column tilting 8.2° to the west (288°) in good agreement with Marco et. al. (2006).

  • Probably catastrophic horizontal shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Leaning Iron Age II (9th century BC) columns in Megiddo (Marco et al., 2006). The supports at the bottom are modern - Marco (2008)

  • Interpretation - Shock between the end of Stratum VA-IVB and the construction of the northern stables of Stratum IVA. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Collapsed Walls Site 9
  • Event - Between 835 and 800 BCE (possibly a bit later?)
  • Lower limit - Early Iron II buildings (Stratum VA-IVB)
  • Upper limit - Level L-2 (Stratum IVA) northern stables undamaged
  • 9th century BCE or early 8th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Level H-5 (Stratum VA-IVB) or an early phase of Stratum IVA
  • An ash horizon overlain by collapsed mud-bricks in Area H. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock between the end of Stratum VA-IVB and the construction of the northern stables of Stratum IVA. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Tilted and Faulted Staircase Site 12


  • Event - Postdating ca. 800 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 700 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Remains belonging to Stratum IVA.
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 8th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum IVA

Link to 3D scan of faulted staircase
Link to 3D scan of faulted staircase (closeup)
  • Staircase leading from the Iron II gate complex to a water system/reservoir (Loud 1948: Fig. 389, Square H/10) is tilted 9°/000°. The staircase is built on a steep slope. (Fig. 31.3c). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Could be either a slow down-slope slide or a catastrophic process. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating the relevant remains. No upper limit. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • biblical evidence for a major earthquake in ca. 760 BCE (Amos 1:1) seems to indicate that the damage in the buildings of Stratum IVA should indeed be assigned to the 8th century BCE. - Marco et. al. (2006:573)

  • damage to [...] 8th century (Stratum IVA) buildings could have been caused in later periods. - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Tilted Wall Site 11
  • Event - Postdating ca. 800 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 700 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Remains belonging to Stratum IVA.
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 8th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum IVA
  • In the courtyard of the Southern Stables, the westernmost (trend 010°-190°) wall is tilted 18° westward. This wall supported a fill several metres deep (see Lamon and Shipton 1939: Fig. 43), which had been laid under the surface of the courtyard and which was cleared in the course of the University of Chicago excavations. The present height of the wall is 80 cm. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Outward pressure of the fill. Could be either a slow or a catastrophic process. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating the relevant remains. No upper limit. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • biblical evidence for a major earthquake in ca. 760 BCE (Amos 1:1) seems to indicate that the damage in the buildings of Stratum IVA should indeed be assigned to the 8th century BCE. - Marco et. al. (2006:573)

  • damage to [...] 8th century (Stratum IVA) buildings could have been caused in later periods. - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Fractured bedrock Site 13
  • Event - Postdating ca. 800 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 700 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Remains belonging to Stratum IVA.
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 8th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum IVA
  • Faults and joints in the bedrock in rock-cut Tunnel 1000 of the water system. The bedrock is composed of limestone and chalk with scattered chert nodules; Eocene Maresha Formation. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Could be a slow and/or a catastrophic process. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating the relevant remains. No upper limit. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • biblical evidence for a major earthquake in ca. 760 BCE (Amos 1:1) seems to indicate that the damage in the buildings of Stratum IVA should indeed be assigned to the 8th century BCE. - Marco et. al. (2006:573)

  • damage to [...] 8th century (Stratum IVA) buildings could have been caused in later periods. - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
Destruction and Collapse Layer Area H
  • 8th century BCE (?)
  • Iron IIA
  • Level H-5 (Stratum VA-IVB)

  • Eran Arie in Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1:270-272) reported on a destruction layer in Level H-5 which correlates with Stratum VA-IVB. The most significant evidence for collapse and destruction is located in the southern parts of the area may testify that a building stood right to the south of Area H. Eran Arie in Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1:270-272) noted that the destruction of this city was not complete and certain parts of the mound did not show evidence of destruction by fire (Finkelstein 2009: 117).

  • Knauf (2002:2) reports that the occupation of Phase H5a [which correlates to Stratum IVA] was terminated by an earthquake, which cracked the city wall and strewed parts of walls of these southern buildings all over Area H.
Fractured Walls Site 14
  • Event - Postdating ca. 700 BCE or Postdating ca. 800 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Remains belonging to Stratum IVA or Structures of Stratum III
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 8th or 7th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum IVA or III
  • The walls of Silo 1414 (Lamon and Shipton 1939:77) are lined with stones (mostly limestone and some basalt) that are up to 0.5 m in diameter. Many of the limestone stones are fractured and some are even shattered in various orientations. There is no dominant orientation and there is no relation between the original bedding planes and the fractures. Most of the basalt stones are not fractured. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating the relevant remains - no upper limit OR Possible shock postdating Stratum III. - Marco et. al. (2006)

Tilted Pillar Site 15


  • Event - Postdating ca. 700 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 800 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Structures of Stratum III
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 7th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum III
  • A stone pillar (1 x 0.3 x 0.3 m) located north of the northern wall of the southern stables courtyard (Lamon and Shipton 1939: Fig. 72, Building 1513), is tilted 12° (top dipping to 275°). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably slow sinking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating Stratum III. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • the classification of the damage in the Stratum III structures as evidence for a quake is probable but not sure. - Marco et. al. (2006:572-573)
Tilted and partially collapsed wall Site 16


  • Event - Postdating ca. 700 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 800 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Structures of Stratum III
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 7th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum III
  • Three ashlars in a row, located to the north of the northern wall of the Southern Stables courtyard (Lamon and Shipton 1939: Fig. 72, Building 1513, wall between Rooms 1512 and 1513), are tilted eastward. The easternmost one dips 22° (top dipping to 280°), the middle one fell eastward on a heap of small stones, and the western one is tilted 5° ( top dipping to 90°). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic horizontal shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating Stratum III. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • the classification of the damage in the Stratum III structures as evidence for a quake is probable but not sure. - Marco et. al. (2006:572-573)
Folded Wall Site 17
  • Event - Postdating ca. 700 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 800 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Structures of Stratum III
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 7th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum III

Deformation Maps
Stratum XVIII Earthquake (End of Level J-4) - Early Bronze IB ca. 3000 BCE

Deformation Map

Modified by JW from Fig. 31.2 of Marco et. al. (2006)

Stratum VIIA Earthquake (?) - Late Bronze Age - after ~1200 BCE

Deformation Map

Modified by JW from Fig. 31.2 of Marco et. al. (2006)

Stratum VIA Earthquake (?) - Late Iron Age I ~950 BCE

Deformation Map

Modified by JW from Fig. 31.2 of Marco et. al. (2006)

Stratum VA-IVB Earthquake - Early Iron Age II - between 835 and 830 BCE or a bit later

Deformation Map

Modified by JW from Fig. 31.2 of Marco et. al. (2006)

Stratum IVA Earthquake - after ca. 800 BCE

Deformation Map

Modified by JW from Fig. 31.2 of Marco et. al. (2006)

Stratum III Earthquake - after ca. 700 BCE

Deformation Map

Modified by JW from Fig. 31.2 of Marco et. al. (2006)

Intensity Estimates
Stratum XVIII Earthquake (End of Level J-4) - Early Bronze IB ca. 3000 BCE

Seismic Effects Location Dating Info Image(s) Description Intensity
Fractured Walls (Displaced Walls) Site 1
  • Event - ca. 3000 BCE (see Chapter 29)
  • Lower limit - Late EB IB building (Level J-4, Stratum XVIII).
  • Upper limit - Overlying walls of EB III temple are not fractured.
  • end of 4th millennium BCE
  • Early Bronze I
  • Level J-4 (Stratum XVIII)


  • In Area J, the monumental walls of the Level J-4 temple are fractured in several places along their strike (Fig. 31.3d) as well as perpendicular to the strike (Figs. 31.3e-f). The overlying walls of the EB III temple 4050 are not fractured. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic horizontal shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock which should probably be related to the abandonment of the Level J-4 temple. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • At Megiddo, the only cases of structural damage that can be related to earthquakes with high certainty are the extension fractures in the walls of the Level J-4 temple and in the Late Bronze gate complex (Fig. 31.3h). - Marco et. al. (2006:569)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
VII+
Fractured Walls (Displaced Walls) Site 1





Level J-4 (Stratum XVIII)
  • Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 3) echoes and concurs with Marco et. al. (2006) in viewing these as seismically induced fractures parallel to the edge of these monumental stone walls of the Level J-4 temple.

  • JW: This rather severe crack looks like it was caused by the kind of shaking one finds in the epicentral zone. If this building had a foundation, there might have been fractures to the foundation. If this wall fracture did form in the epicentral zone, the causitive fault break would have been on a nearby segment(s) with the magnitude limited by the nature of the fault segments in this area.
VII+
This archaeoseismic evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VII (7) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224) however if there were foundation cracks, intensity would have been higher - IX (9) or above.

Stratum VIIA Earthquake (?) - Late Bronze Age - after ~1200 BCE

Seismic Effects Location Dating Info Image(s) Description Intensity
Fractured and Shifted Ashlar Stones (displaced masonry blocks) Site 3
  • Event - Post ca. 1200 BCE (possible construction of Chamber f). Could be mid-to-late 10th century event.
  • Lower limit - Late Bronze gate and Chamber f
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 14th- 12th centuries BCE
  • Late Bronze
  • probably built in Stratum VIII and continued to function in Stratum VII



Link to 3D scan of Canaanite Gate (east side)
Link to 3D scan of Canaanite Gate (west side)
  • Extension cracks in the Late Bronze [aka Canaanite] gate. Ashlar stones in courses in the middle of the walls (sandwiched between other courses) are fractured in opening mode. Horizontal sliding of the fragments occurred everywhere in the same direction, sub-parallel to N-S trend of the wall (Fig. 31.3h). The gate has no foundations, a fact that could have made it particularly vulnerable to seismic vibrations. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • JW: Through-going joints can be observed in several parts of the gate (below the restoration line - see 3D scans) however the cracks could have formed for a long time after the gate was first built and if some of them have a seismic origin, they could be a product of multiple events.

  • Probably catastrophic horizontal shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock postdating the two monuments. No upper limit — date unknown - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • At Megiddo, the only cases of structural damage that can be related to earthquakes with high certainty are the extension fractures in the walls of the Level J-4 temple and in the Late Bronze gate complex (Fig. 31.3h). - Marco et. al. (2006:569)

  • damage to the Late Bronze Age [...] buildings could have been caused in later periods. - Marco et. al. (2006:572)

VIII+
Fractured Roof Plate (displaced walls) Site 2
  • Event - Post ca. 1200 BCE (possible construction of Chamber f). Could be mid-to-late 10th century event.
  • Lower limit - Late Bronze gate and Chamber f
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 13th-12th or late 1lth-10th centuries BCE
  • Late Bronze II or late Iron I
  • Level M-6 (Stratum VIIA) or Level M-4 (Stratum VIA)
VII+
Although this archaeoseismic evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224), Marco et. al. (2006) noted that the Late Bronze Age Gate where the shifted ashlars were observed lacked a foundation making it vulnerable to seismic destruction. Hence, the Intensity Estimate is downgraded to VII (7) due to a site effect stemming from weak construction.

Stratum VIA Earthquake (?) - Late Iron Age I ~950 BCE

Seismic Effects Location Dating Info Image(s) Description Intensity
Folding and Liquefaction Site 4
  • Event - Mid-to-late 10th century
  • Lower limit - Late-Iron I buildings (Level K-4 and M-4, Stratum VIA)
  • Upper limit - Collapse of brick walls throughout the mound.
  • 12th or 10th centuries BCE - probably 10th
  • Strata VIIA or VIA - probably VIA
  • Distorted and liquefied sand horizon in the western section of the Schumacher trench, excavated in the early 20th century. (Fig. 31.3g). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Catastrophic shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock, which possibly brought about the destruction of Stratum VIA. This is the opinion shared by Marco, Agnon and Finkelstein. Ussishkin believes that Stratum VIA must have been destroyed in an enemy attack - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Another event, which brought about the end of Stratum VIA, is probable but not conclusive (see Chapter 7). - Marco et. al. (2006:572)

  • The observed liquefaction (Fig. 31.3g), which is a typical earthquake-induced feature, may be regarded supportive evidence, but unfortunately its age is not absolutely clear. - Marco et. al. (2006:569)
VII+
Fractures (penetrative fractures) Site 5b
  • Event - Mid-to-late 10th century
  • Lower limit - Late-Iron I buildings (Level K-4 and M-4, Stratum VIA)
  • Upper limit - Collapse of brick walls throughout the mound.
Below the destruction layer of Level K-4 (Stratum VIA).

Date of Level K-4
  • late 11th-10th centuries BCE
  • Late-Iron I
  • Level K-4 (Stratum VIA)
  • Area K, north section of Square M/11. A few joints appear 90 cm above the bottom of the excavation. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock, which possibly brought about the destruction of Stratum VIA. This is the opinion shared by Marco, Agnon and Finkelstein. Ussishkin believes that Stratum VIA must have been destroyed in an enemy attack - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Another event, which brought about the end of Stratum VIA, is probable but not conclusive (see Chapter 7). - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
VI+
Folded Wall Site 5a
  • Event - Mid-to-late 10th century
  • Lower limit - Late-Iron I buildings (Level K-4 and M-4, Stratum VIA)
  • Upper limit - Collapse of brick walls throughout the mound.
  • late 11th-10th centuries BCE
  • Late-Iron I
  • Level K-4 (Stratum VIA)

  • A warped wall trending 220° in Area K is tilted to both sides 12°-15°. (Fig. 31.3i.) - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Pressure of accumulating earth is unlikely where the wall tilts inward. Probably catastrophic. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • A deformed, wall in Megiddo, part of a Late Iron Age, 8th century BC building - Marco (2008)

  • Interpretation - Shock, which possibly brought about the destruction of Stratum VIA. This is the opinion shared by Marco, Agnon and Finkelstein. Ussishkin believes that Stratum VIA must have been destroyed in an enemy attack - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Another event, which brought about the end of Stratum VIA, is probable but not conclusive (see Chapter 7). - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
VII+
Collapsed Walls Site 6
  • Event - Mid-to-late 10th century
  • Lower limit - Late-Iron I buildings (Level K-4 and M-4, Stratum VIA)
  • Upper limit - Collapse of brick walls throughout the mound.
  • late 11th-10th centuries BCE
  • Late-Iron I
  • Level M-4 (Stratum VIA)
  • In Upper Area M, Square AV/28 a pile of collapsed mudbrick is covered by a thick layer of ashes. Similar piles of brick collapse can be seen in many other places across the mound. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Possibly catastrophic. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock, which possibly brought about the destruction of Stratum VIA. This is the opinion shared by Marco, Agnon and Finkelstein. Ussishkin believes that Stratum VIA must have been destroyed in an enemy attack - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Another event, which brought about the end of Stratum VIA, is probable but not conclusive (see Chapter 7). - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
VIII+
This archaeoseismic evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224). However, as noted in the Chronology section, there are doubts whether the destruction of Stratum VIA was due to an earthquake rather than human agency.

Stratum VA-IVB Earthquake - Early Iron Age II - between 835 and 830 BCE or a bit later

Seismic Effects Location Dating Info Image(s) Description Intensity
Tilted Walls Site 8


  • Event - Between 835 and 800 BCE (possibly a bit later?)
  • Lower limit - Early Iron II buildings (Stratum VA-IVB)
  • Upper limit - Level L-2 (Stratum IVA) northern stables undamaged
  • 9th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum VA-IVB
  • The corner of Building 338 is tilted. The eastern wall, which strikes 008° is tilted 3° to the east. The southern wall, which strikes 278° is tilted 5° to the south. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock between the end of Stratum VA-IVB and the construction of the northern stables of Stratum IVA. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
VI+
Tilted Floor Site 10


  • Event - Between 835 and 800 BCE (possibly a bit later?)
  • Lower limit - Early Iron II buildings (Stratum VA-IVB)
  • Upper limit - Level L-2 (Stratum IVA) northern stables undamaged
  • 9th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Levels L-3 (Stratum VA-IVB)

  • The south-western corner of Palace 6000 (Area L, Squares D/5, E/4-5) is tilted 3°-5° (top dipping to 250°-260° — Fig. 31.3a). In the northern baulk of Squares D-E/4, a white layer which belongs to the palace's floor make-up is also tilted. Immediately to the east, in the northern section of Square E/4, there are two fissures, each about 10-15 cm wide in the same floor make-up. The fissures are filled with grey unconsolidated soil that contains a few ceramic fragments. The white make-up for Floor 98/L/59 and plaster Floor 98/L/120 — both of the Level L-2 stables — are horizontal - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Large scale deformation. Could be either a slow process (because of pressure on the westward slope) or a catastrophic one. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • An episode of tilting is exhibited by an angle between tilted stone floor and an overlying horizontal plaster floor in Megiddo. The stratigraphy shows that the tilting postdates the lower and predates the upper floor, but the precise time of construction is archaeologically indistinguishable. Both were built in the Iron Age II (9th century BC). Since the upper floor remained perfectly horizontal in the last 3 millennia we assume that the tilting of its precedent was rapid and exceptional, probably associated with an earthquake (Marco et al., 2006). Site 10 in Fig. 1. - Marco (2008)

  • Interpretation - Shock between the end of Stratum VA-IVB and the construction of the northern stables of Stratum IVA. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
VIII+
Tilted Columns (treated like tilted walls) Site 7


  • Event - Between 835 and 800 BCE (possibly a bit later?)
  • Lower limit - Early Iron II buildings (Stratum VA-IVB)
  • Upper limit - Level L-2 (Stratum IVA) northern stables undamaged
  • 9th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum VA-IVB






Link to 3D scan of 3 tilted pillars (Site 7)
  • A group of six pillars in Building 1A (Lamon and Shipton 1939: Fig. 6) are all tilted 8°-11° to the west (265°-295°). (Fig. 31.3b). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Measurements taken by Jefferson Williams on 27 April 2023 found the center column tilting 8.2° to the west (288°) in good agreement with Marco et. al. (2006).

  • Probably catastrophic horizontal shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Leaning Iron Age II (9th century BC) columns in Megiddo (Marco et al., 2006). The supports at the bottom are modern - Marco (2008)

  • Interpretation - Shock between the end of Stratum VA-IVB and the construction of the northern stables of Stratum IVA. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
VI+
Collapsed Walls Site 9
  • Event - Between 835 and 800 BCE (possibly a bit later?)
  • Lower limit - Early Iron II buildings (Stratum VA-IVB)
  • Upper limit - Level L-2 (Stratum IVA) northern stables undamaged
  • 9th century BCE or early 8th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Level H-5 (Stratum VA-IVB) or an early phase of Stratum IVA
  • An ash horizon overlain by collapsed mud-bricks in Area H. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Shock between the end of Stratum VA-IVB and the construction of the northern stables of Stratum IVA. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Two earthquake events at Megiddo are beyond doubt: one at the end of the fourth millennium BCE (for relevance to the history of the site in the Early Bronze Age see Chapter 3) and another in the 9th century BCE (which caused the damage in Stratum VA-IVB) - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
VIII+
This archaeoseismic evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224).

Stratum IVA Earthquake - after ca. 800 BCE

Seismic Effects Location Dating Info Image(s) Description Intensity
Tilted and Faulted Staircase (Fractures folds and popups on pavements) Site 12


  • Event - Postdating ca. 800 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 700 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Remains belonging to Stratum IVA.
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 8th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum IVA

Link to 3D scan of faulted staircase
Link to 3D scan of faulted staircase (closeup)
  • Staircase leading from the Iron II gate complex to a water system/reservoir (Loud 1948: Fig. 389, Square H/10) is tilted 9°/000°. The staircase is built on a steep slope. (Fig. 31.3c). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Could be either a slow down-slope slide or a catastrophic process. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating the relevant remains. No upper limit. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • biblical evidence for a major earthquake in ca. 760 BCE (Amos 1:1) seems to indicate that the damage in the buildings of Stratum IVA should indeed be assigned to the 8th century BCE. - Marco et. al. (2006:573)

  • damage to [...] 8th century (Stratum IVA) buildings could have been caused in later periods. - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
VI+
Tilted Wall Site 11

  • Event - Postdating ca. 800 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 700 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Remains belonging to Stratum IVA.
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 8th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum IVA
  • In the courtyard of the Southern Stables, the westernmost (trend 010°-190°) wall is tilted 18° westward. This wall supported a fill several metres deep (see Lamon and Shipton 1939: Fig. 43), which had been laid under the surface of the courtyard and which was cleared in the course of the University of Chicago excavations. The present height of the wall is 80 cm. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Outward pressure of the fill. Could be either a slow or a catastrophic process. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating the relevant remains. No upper limit. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • biblical evidence for a major earthquake in ca. 760 BCE (Amos 1:1) seems to indicate that the damage in the buildings of Stratum IVA should indeed be assigned to the 8th century BCE. - Marco et. al. (2006:573)

  • damage to [...] 8th century (Stratum IVA) buildings could have been caused in later periods. - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
VI+
Fractured bedrock (fractures, folds, and popups on irregular pavements) Site 13

  • Event - Postdating ca. 800 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 700 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Remains belonging to Stratum IVA.
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 8th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum IVA
  • Faults and joints in the bedrock in rock-cut Tunnel 1000 of the water system. The bedrock is composed of limestone and chalk with scattered chert nodules; Eocene Maresha Formation. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Could be a slow and/or a catastrophic process. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating the relevant remains. No upper limit. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • biblical evidence for a major earthquake in ca. 760 BCE (Amos 1:1) seems to indicate that the damage in the buildings of Stratum IVA should indeed be assigned to the 8th century BCE. - Marco et. al. (2006:573)

  • damage to [...] 8th century (Stratum IVA) buildings could have been caused in later periods. - Marco et. al. (2006:572)
VI+
Fractured Walls (displaced wallls ?) Site 14

  • Event - Postdating ca. 700 BCE or Postdating ca. 800 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Remains belonging to Stratum IVA or Structures of Stratum III
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 8th or 7th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum IVA or III
  • The walls of Silo 1414 (Lamon and Shipton 1939:77) are lined with stones (mostly limestone and some basalt) that are up to 0.5 m in diameter. Many of the limestone stones are fractured and some are even shattered in various orientations. There is no dominant orientation and there is no relation between the original bedding planes and the fractures. Most of the basalt stones are not fractured. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating the relevant remains - no upper limit OR Possible shock postdating Stratum III. - Marco et. al. (2006)
VII+
Destruction and Collapse Layer (collapsed walls) Area H


  • 8th century BCE (?)
  • Iron IIA
  • Level H-5 (Stratum VA-IVB)

  • Eran Arie in Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1) reported on a destruction layer in Level H-5 which correlates with Stratum VA-IVB. The most significant evidence for collapse and destruction is located in the southern parts of the area may testify that a building stood right to the south of Area H. Eran Arie in Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1) noted that the destruction of this city was not complete and certain parts of the mound did not show evidence of destruction by fire (Finkelstein 2009: 117).

  • Knauf (2002:2) reports that the occupation of Phase H5a [which correlates to Stratum IVA] was terminated by an earthquake, which cracked the city wall and strewed parts of walls of these southern buildings all over Area H.
VIII+
The best evidence appears to be the Collapse and Destruction layer in Area H provided its destruction was due to an earthquake. Eran Arie in Finkelstein et al. (2013 Vol. 1:270-272) noted that the destruction of this city was not complete and certain parts of the mound did not show evidence of destruction by fire (Finkelstein 2009: 117). The fractured bedrock lacks a reliable terminus ante quem and may not have been fractured by seismic activity. If it was fractured by seismic activity, one would expect city-wide collapse as it suggests an Intensity of IX or higher. If Level H-5 destruction was due to an earthquake, this evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224).

Stratum III Earthquake - after ca. 700 BCE

Seismic Effects
Seismic Effects Location Dating Info Image(s) Description Intensity
Fractured Walls (displaced walls ?) Site 14

  • Event - Postdating ca. 700 BCE or Postdating ca. 800 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Remains belonging to Stratum IVA or Structures of Stratum III
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 8th or 7th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum IVA or III
  • The walls of Silo 1414 (Lamon and Shipton 1939:77) are lined with stones (mostly limestone and some basalt) that are up to 0.5 m in diameter. Many of the limestone stones are fractured and some are even shattered in various orientations. There is no dominant orientation and there is no relation between the original bedding planes and the fractures. Most of the basalt stones are not fractured. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating the relevant remains - no upper limit OR Possible shock postdating Stratum III. - Marco et. al. (2006)

VII+
Tilted Pillar (treated as a tilted wall) Site 15



  • Event - Postdating ca. 700 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 800 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Structures of Stratum III
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 7th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum III
  • A stone pillar (1 x 0.3 x 0.3 m) located north of the northern wall of the southern stables courtyard (Lamon and Shipton 1939: Fig. 72, Building 1513), is tilted 12° (top dipping to 275°). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably slow sinking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating Stratum III. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • the classification of the damage in the Stratum III structures as evidence for a quake is probable but not sure. - Marco et. al. (2006:572-573)
VI+
Tilted and partially collapsed wall Site 16



  • Event - Postdating ca. 700 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 800 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Structures of Stratum III
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 7th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum III
  • Three ashlars in a row, located to the north of the northern wall of the Southern Stables courtyard (Lamon and Shipton 1939: Fig. 72, Building 1513, wall between Rooms 1512 and 1513), are tilted eastward. The easternmost one dips 22° (top dipping to 280°), the middle one fell eastward on a heap of small stones, and the western one is tilted 5° ( top dipping to 90°). - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Probably catastrophic horizontal shaking. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • Interpretation - Possible shock postdating Stratum III. - Marco et. al. (2006)

  • the classification of the damage in the Stratum III structures as evidence for a quake is probable but not sure. - Marco et. al. (2006:572-573)
VIII+
Folded Wall Site 17

  • Event - Postdating ca. 700 BCE. Could be assigned to Postdating ca. 800 BCE event
  • Lower limit - Structures of Stratum III
  • Upper limit - Unknown
  • 7th century BCE
  • Iron II
  • Stratum III
VII+
This archaeoseismic evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224).

Notes and Further Reading
References

Articles and Books

Austin, S. A., et al. (2000). "Amos's Earthquake: An Extraordinary Middle East Seismic Event of 750 B.C." International Geology Review 42(7): 657-671.

Ben-Menahem, A. (1991). "Four Thousand Years of Seismicity along the Dead Sea rift." Journal of Geophysical Research 96((no. B12), 20): 195-120, 216.

Danzig, D. (2011). A Contextual Investigation of Archaeological and Textual Evidence for a Purported mid-8thCentury BCE Levantine Earthquake Book of Amos, Dr. Shalom Holtz.

Dever (1992). A Case-Study in Biblical Archaeology: The Earthquake of ca. 760 B.C.E: PERA.

Finkelstein, I. and Piasetzky, E. 2007. Radiocarbon Dating and the Late-Iron I in Northern Canaan: A New Proposal. Ugarit-Forschungen 39: 247-260..

Finkelstein, I. and Piasetzky, E. 2010. The Iron I/IIA Transition in the Levant: A Reply to Mazar and Bronk Ramsey and a New Perspective. Radiocarbon 52: 1667-1680.

Gorner, Aaron BY, (2023) Mazar's Modified Modified Chronology: The Preservation of Solomonic Possibilities, BYU Scholars Archive

Karcz, I., et al. (1977). "Archaeological evidence for Subrecent seismic activity along the Dead Sea-Jordan Rift." Nature 269(5625): 234-235.

Knauf, E. A. (2002), ‘Excavating Biblical history, revelations from Megiddo’, The Newsletter of the Megiddo Expedition 6, Tel Aviv: Technical University of Tel Aviv

Levy, Thomas., Higham, Thomas. The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating: Archaeology, Text and Science. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis, 2014. - can be borrowed with a free account from archive.org

Mazar, A. (2000) Megiddo in the Thirteenth-Eleventh Centuries BCE: A Review of Some Recent Studies in Oren and S. Ahituv (eds), Aharon Kempinki Memorial Volume Studies in Archaeology and Related Disciplines

Marco, S., A. Agnon, I. Finkelstein, and D. Ussishkin (2006). Megiddo earthquakes, Chapter 31 in Megiddo IV: The 1998–2002 Seasons. I. Finkelstein et. al. Tel Aviv, Israel, The Emery and Claire Yass Publ. in Archaeol.: 568–575.

Marco, S. (2008). "Recognition of earthquake-related damage in archaeological sites: Examples from the Dead Sea fault zone." Tectonophysics 453(1-4): 148-156.

Mazar, A. and Bronk Ramsey, C. 2008. 14C Dates and the Iron Age Chronology of Israel: A Response. Radiocarbon 50: 159-180.

Ussishkin, D. (2015). "The Sacred Area of Early Bronze Megiddo: History and Interpretation." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research: 69-104.

Ussishkin, D. (2018) "Megiddo-Armageddon; The Story of the Canaanite and Israelite City" Israel Exploration Society, Jerusalem - open access at academia.edu

Ussishkin, D. (2011) "On Biblical Jerusalem, Megiddo, Jezreel and Lachish - open access at academia.edu

Excavation Reports

Shumacher. G.B. 1908. Tell el-Mutesellim, Volume I: Report of Finds. Leipzig - open access and translated from German to English from The Megiddo Expedition Website

Lamon, R.S. and Shipton, G.M. 1939. Megiddo I: Seasons of 1925-34 Strata I-V. (Oriental Institute Publications 42) Chicago. Text and Plates

Loud, G. 1948. Megiddo II: Seasons of 1935-39. (Oriental Institute Publications 62) Chicago. Text and Plates - open access at archive.org - must be downloaded to your pdf viewer so can be slow to load

Yadin's Report on Excavations at Megiddo in Qedem

Zarzecki-Peleg, Anabel (2016) Qedem, Vol. 56, YADIN'S EXPEDITION TO MEGIDDO: FINAL REPORT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS (1960, 1966, 1967 AND 1971/2 SEASONS) TEXT (2016), pp. I-XXXI, 1-333 (346 pages)

Finkelstein, I., et al. (2000). Megiddo III: The 1992-1996 Seasons Volume I, Emery and Claire Yass Publications in Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University.

Finkelstein, I. (2000). Megiddo III : the 1992 - 1996 seasons. Volume II (2000), Emery and Claire Yass Publ. in Archaeology.

Finkelstein, I., et al. (2022). Megiddo VI: The 2010-2014 Seasons Volume I, Pennsylvania State University Press.

I. Finkelstein et. al. Megiddo IV: The 1998–2002 Seasons. Volume II Tel Aviv, Israel, The Emery and Claire Yass Publ. in Archaeol.

Finkelstein, I., et al. (2013). Megiddo V: The 2004-2008 Seasons Volume I, Pennsylvania State University Press.

Adams, M. J., et al. (2013). Megiddo V: The 2004-2008 Seasons Volume II, Tel-Aviv Univ. [u.a].

Adams, M. J., et al. (2013). Megiddo V: The 2004-2008 Seasons Volume III, Tel-Aviv Univ. [u.a].

Finkelstein, I., et al. (2022). Megiddo VI: The 2010-2014 Seasons Volume I, Pennsylvania State University Press.

Finkelstein, I., et al. (2022). Megiddo VI: The 2010-2014 Seasons Volume 2, Pennsylvania State University Press.

Bibliography from Stern et. al. (1993 v.3)

Identification

Robinson, Biblical Researches 23, 329-330.

Main Publications

G. Schumacher, Tell ei-Mutesellim 1, Leipzig 1908

C. Watzinger, Tell el-Mutesel/im, 2, Leipzig 1929

P. L. 0. Guy, New Light from Armageddon, Chicago, 1931

P. L. 0. Guy and R. M. Engberg, Megiddo Tombs, Chicago 1938

C. S. Fisher, The Excavation of Armageddon, Chicago 1929

R. M. Engberg, Notes on the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Pottery of Megiddo, Chicago 1934

H. May, Material Remains of the Megiddo Cult, Chicago 1935

R. Lamon, The Megiddo Water System, Chicago 1935

R. Lamon and G. M. Shipton, Megiddo 1, Chicago 1939

G. M. Shipton, Notes on the Megiddo Pottery of Strata VI-XX, Chicago 1939

G. Loud, The Megiddo Ivories, Chicago 1939

id., Megiddo 2, Chicago 1948

A. Kempinski, Megiddo: A City-State and Royal Centre in North Israel (Materialien zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Archiiologie 40}, Munich 1989.

Studies and Yadin's excavations

W. F. Albright, BASO R62 (1936),29

63 (1937}, 25

78 (1940), 7~9

94(1944}, 12~27;id., AJA 44(1940}, 546~550

53 (1949),213~215

J. A. Wilson, ibid. 42 (1938), 333~336

id., AJSLL 58 (1941), 225~231

R. M. Engberg, BASOR 78 (1940}, 4--7

id., BA 3 (1940}, 41~51

4 (1941), 11~16

A. Alt, ZAWNF 19(1944),67~85(KSch 1,256~273);C.G.Howie,BASOR 117(1950), 13~19;G. E. Wright,BA 13 (1950), 28~46;id.,J AOS70 (1950), 56~60

B. Mazar(Maisler), BASO R 124(1951 ), 21~25

id., IEJI8( 1968), 65~97;id.,MagnaliaDei(G. E. Wright Fest.}, Garden City, N.Y.l976, 187~192

K. M. Kenyon,EI5(1958}, 51*~60*

id., BIAL4 (1964), 143~156

id., Levant I (1969), 25~60

id., Royal Cities of the Old Testament, London 1971, 58~68, 93~105, passim

Y. Yadin, BA 23(1960}, 62~68

33 (1970), 66~69

id., IEJ!5(!965), 278~280

16 (1966), 142

17 (1967), 119~121

22 (1972}, 161~164

id., Hazor (Schweich Lectures 1970), London 1972, 147~164

id.,JNES32 (1973}, 330

id., BAR 2/3 (1976), 18~22

id., MagnaliaDei(op. cit.}, 249~252

id., BASOR 239 (1980), 19~23

id., Jerusalem Cathedra I (1981}, 120~151

id., Recherches Archeologiques en Israel, 155~162

C. Epstein, IEJ 15 (1965), 204--221

I. Dunayevsky and A. Kempinski, ibid.l6(1966), 142;id.,ZDPV89(1973}, 161~187;D. Ussishkin,IEJI6(1966}, 174~186;20(1970),213~215; 39 (1989), 149~172

id., BA 36 (1973), 78~105

id., BASOR 239 (1980}, 1~18

277~278 (1990), 71~91; V. Muller, ZDPV 86 (1970}, 50~86

L. T. Thompson, ibid., 38~48

J. B. Pritchard, NEAT, 268~275; Y. Aharoni, ibid., 254~267

id., JNES 31 (1972), 302~311

id., IEJ24(1974), 13~16

H. E. Kassis, Berytus 22 (1973), 5~22

A. Malamat, The Gaster Festshrift (Journal of the Ancient Near East Society of Columbia University 5), New York 1973, 267~279

0. Tufnell, Levant 5 (1973), 69~82

A. Eitan, ibid., 275~276; P. Beck, Opuscula Atheniensia 11 (1975), 1~16

Y. Shiloh and A. Horowitz, BASOR 217 (1975}, 37~48; Y. Shiloh, ibid. 222 (1976), 67~69

id., The Proto-Aeolic Capital and Israelite Ashlar Masonry (Qedem II}, Jerusalem 1979, 2~7, 52~56

id., Levant 12 (1980), 69~76

id .. Archaeology and Biblical Interpretation (D. Glenn Rose Fest.), Atlanta 1987, 204~207

BAR 2/3 (1976), I

A. Siegelmann, TA 3 (1976), 141

F. R. Brandfon, TA 4 (1977), 79~84

M. Artzyet a!., Levant !0 (1978}, 99~111

A. Harif, ZDPV94 (1978), 24~ 31

id., Levant II (1979), 162~167

G. Lello, JNES37 (1978}, 327~330

V. Fritz, MDOG Ill (1979}, 63~74; id., ZDPV99 (1983), 1~29

W. H. Shea, IEJ29 (1979), 1~5

A. Spalinger, G6ttinger Miszellen 33 (1979), 47~54

D. Cole, BAR 6/2 (1980), 8~29

M. Ottosson, Temples and Cult Places in Palestine (Uppsala Studies in Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Civilizations 12}, Uppsala 1980

A. F. Rainey, EI 15 (1981), 61 *~66*

D.P. Barag, Journal of Glass Studies 24 (1982), 11~19

B. Wood, Levant 14 (1982), 73~ 79

V. M. Fargo, BAR9/5 (1983), 8~13

0. Misch-Brandland M. Tadmor, The Israel MuseumJournal3 (1984), 47~ 51

E. Reiflerand H. J. Griffin, Ancient Hebrew and Solomonic Building Construction, London 1984

G. J. Wightman, TA 11 (1984), 132~145

id., Levant 17 (1985), 117~129

id., BASOR 277~278 (1990), 5~22; G. R. H. Wright, Zeitschriftfiir Assyriologie 74 (1984), 267~289

G. I. Davies, Megiddo (Cities of the Biblical World), Cambridge 1986

ibid. (Reviews), RB94 (1987), 631~633. -PEQ 120 (1988), 150~151. - BA 52 (1989), 55

id., Oudtestamentische Studien 24 (1986}, 34~53

id., PEQ 120 (1988}, 130~141

J. S. Holladay, Jr., The Archaeology of Jordan and Other Studies (S. H. Horn Fest.), Berrien Springs, Mich. 1986, 103~165

D. Milson, ZDPV!02 (1986}, 87~92;id., BASOR272(1988), 75~78

id., PEQ 121 (1989), 64~68

R. Gonen, Levant 19 (1987}, 83~100

id., Burial Patterns and Cultural Diversity in Late Bronze Age Canaan (ASOR Dissertation Series 7), Winona Lake, Ind. (in prep.)

H. Liebowitz, BASOR 265 (1987), 3~24

L. G. Herr, ibid. 272 (1988), 47~67

N. Na'aman, Society and Economy,.177~!85

Weippert 1988 (Ortsregister)

I. Singer, TA 15~16 (1988~1989), 101~112

T. Tsuk, ibid., 92~97

P. Bienkowski, Levant 21 (1989), 169~179

E. Braun, PEQ 121 (1989), 1~43

A. Kempinski, Megiddo (Reviews), BAIAS9 (1989~ 1990), 53~54.- ZDPV 106 (1990), 188~191. -Levant 23 (1991), 193~194

MdB 59 (1989), 4~40

W. E. Rast, EI 20 (1989), 166*~173*

B. Williams and T. J. Logan, JNES 48 (1989), 125~129

W. G. Dever, BASOR 277~278 (1990), 121~130

G. D. Pratico, Tell el-Kheleifeh, 1937~1940 (Ph.D. diss., Harvard Univ. 1983

Ann Arbor 1990), 99~120

E. Stern, IEJ 40 (1990), 12~30, 102~107

The Architecture of Ancient Israel (eds. A. Kempinski and R. Reich), Jerusalem (in prep.).

Bibliography from Stern et. al. (2008)

Main Publications

A. Kempinski, Megiddo: A City-State and Royal Centre in North Israel, Jerusalem 1993 (Heb.)

Megiddo: Battlefield of Armageddon (National Parks of Israel), Ramat Gan 1997

Revelations from Megiddo: The Newsletter of the Megiddo Expedition (ed. I. Finkelstein), 1–7ff, Tel Aviv 1997–2003–to date

E. H. Cline, The Battles of Armageddon: Megiddo and the Jezreel Valley from the Bronze Age to the Nuclear Age, Ann Arbor, MI 2000

ibid. (Reviews) Adumatu 4 (2001), 53–56. — BAR 27/6 (2001), 58–59. — BASOR 327 (2002), 89–90. — JNES 63 (2004), 60–61

Megiddo III: The 1992–1996 Seasons (The Emery & Claire Yass Publications in Archaeology

Tel Aviv University Sonia & Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology Monograph Series 18

eds. I. Finkelstein et al.), 1–2, Tel Aviv 2000

ibid. (Reviews) BAR 26/6 (2000), 64, 66. — Bibliotheca Orientalis 58 (2001), 449–453. — BASOR 327 (2002), 80–83

Megiddo IV: The 1998–2002 Seasons (eds. I. Finkelstein et al.), Tel Aviv (in press)

Megiddo-Tell el-Mutesellim-Armageddon: Biblische Stadt zwischen Krieg und Frieden (Veröffentlichungen des Helms-Museums 88/Hamburger Museum für Archäologie und die Geschichte Harburgs 88

ed. R. Busch), Neumünster 2002

E. Arie, “Then I Went Down to the Potter’s House”: Intrasite Spatial Analysis in the Pottery of Megiddo VIA (M.A. thesis), Tel Aviv 2004 (Heb.)

T. Harrison, Megiddo, 3: Final Report on the Stratum VI Excavations (The University of Chicago, Oriental Institute Publications 127), Chicago, IL 2004

ibid. (Review) BAR 31/6 (2005), 64–66; A. Zarzecki-Peleg, Tel Megiddo during the Iron Age I and IIA–IIB: The Excavations of the Yadin Expedition at Megiddo and Their Contribution for Comprehending the History of the Site and Other Contemporary Sites in Northern Israel, 1–2 (Ph.D. diss.), Jerusalem 2005 (Eng. abstract)

Studies

B. Brandl, The Nile Delta in Transition, Tel Aviv 1992, 441–476

J. D. Currid, ZDPV 107 (1992), 28–38

D. L. Esse, JNES 51 (1992), 81–103

Z. Herzog, ABD, New York 1992, 1/1031–1044, 2/844–852, 1031–1044

A. M. Maeir, Levant 24 (1992), 218–223

É. Puech, RB 99 (1992), 753–755 (Review)

id., Ki Baruch hu: Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical and Judaic Studies (B. A. Levine Fest.

eds. R. Chazan et al.), Winona Lake, IN 1999, 51–61

D. Ussishkin, ABD, 4, New York 1992, 666–679

id., BAT II, Jerusalem 1993, 67–85

id., Scripture and Other Artifacts, Louisville, KY 1994, 410–428

id., TA 22 (1995), 240–267; id., Congress Volume, Cambridge 1995 (VT Suppl. 66), Leiden 1997, 351–364

id., OEANE, 3, New York 1997, 460–469

id., Mediterranean Peoples in Transition, Jerusalem 1998, 197–219

H. Weippert, ZDPV 108 (1992), 8–41

G. Ahlström Werner, Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 7 (1993), 208–215

P. Daviau, Houses, Sheffield 1993, 88–132, 259–299, 463–465

R. Hachmann, Biblische Welten (M. Metzger Fest.

Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 123

ed. W. Zwickel), Freiburg 1993, 1–40

A. H. Joffe, Settlement and Society in the Early Bronze Age I and II, Southern Levant: Complementarity and Contradiction in a SmallScale Complex Society (Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology), Sheffield 1993

id., Studies in the Archaeology of Israel and Neighboring Lands, Chicago, IL 2001, 355–375

id., JMA 17 (2004), 247–267; N. A. Silberman, BAR 19/2 (1993), 8 (Review)

id. (et al.), Archaeology 52/6 (1999), 32–39

id., Eretz 87 (2003), 50–54

id., Jerusalem in Bible and Archaeology: The First Temple Period (Society of Biblical Literature Symposium Series 18

eds. A. G. Vaughn & A. E. Killebrew), Leiden 2003, 395–405

H. -G. Buchholz, Beiträge zur Altorientalischen Archäologie und Altertumskunde (Fest. B. Hrouda

eds. P. Calmeyer et al.), Wiesbaden 1994, 43–59

G. I. Davies, BAR 20/1 (1994), 44–49

I. Finkelstein & D. Ussishkin, ASOR Newsletter 44/2 (1994), n.p.

45/2 (1995), 20

id., BAR 20/1 (1994), 26–33, 36–43

id., ESI 14 (1994), 60–61

id., TA 30 (2003), 27–41

I. Finkelstein, Levant 28 (1996), 177–187

30 (1998), 167–174

36 (2004), 181–188

id., TA 23 (1996), 170–184

25 (1998), 208–218

30 (2003), 283–295 (with E. Piasetzky)

id., UF 28 (1996), 220–255

id., BASOR 314 (1999), 55–70

id., EI 26 (1999), 233*

27 (2003), 289*–290*

id., NEA 62 (1999), 35–52

id., ZDPV 116 (2000), 114–138

118 (2002), 109–135

id. (& S. Laurant), MdB 142 (2002), 50–55

id. (& E. Piasetzky), Antiquity 77/298 (2003), 771–779

id., BAIAS 21 (2003), 96–100

id., Symbiosis, Symbolism, and the Power of the Past, Winona Lake, IN 2003, 75–83, 543

id., Jahrbuch des Deutschen Evangelischen Instituts für Altertumswissenschaft des Heiligen Landes 10 (2004), 178–181

J. - D. Macchi, Transeuphratène 7 (1994), 9–33

L. Nigro, BASOR 293 (1994), 15–29

id., Synchronisation, Wien 2003, 345–363

id., Archeologie dans l’Empire Ottoman autour de 1900: entre politique, economie et science (eds. V. Krings & I. Tassignon), Brussel 2004, 215–229

J. G. Van der Land, Bijbel, Geschiedenis en Archeologie 1 (1994), 1–12

M. D. Coogan, BAR 21/3 (1995), 36–47

B. Routledge, PEQ 127 (1995), 41– 49

I. Singer, BA 58 (1995), 91–93

id., Across the Anatolian Plateau: Readings in the Archaeology of Ancient Turkey (AASOR 57

ed. D. C. Hopkins), Boston, MA 2002, 145–147

S. Bourke, PEQ 128 (1996), 57–62 (Review)

R. L. Daly, Kings of the Hyksos: Tell el ‘Ajjul in the Bichrome Ware Period: A Comparative Stratigraphic Analysis (Ph.D. diss., University of Utah 1994), Ann Arbor, MI 1996

V. Fritz, The Origins of the Ancient Israelite States (JSOT Suppl. Series 228

ed. V. Fritz), Sheffield 1996, 187–195

id., Vom Halys zum Euphrat (eds. U. Magen & M. Rashad), Münster 1996, 131–138

A. Mederos Martin, Trabajos de Prehistoria 53/2 (1996), 95–115

P. Parr, PEQ 128 (1996), 57–62 (Review)

A. Perez Largacha, Boletin de la Asociacion Espanola de Orientalistas 32 (1996), 23–30

A. Ruderman, The Jewish Bible Quarterly (formerly: Dor le Dor) 24 (1996), 199–200

D. Wengrow, OJA 15 (1996), 307–326

A. Zertal, Michmanim 9 (1996), 73–82

B. E. Colless, Abr-Nahrain 34 (1996–1997), 42–57

The Age of Solomon: Scholarship at the Turn of the Millennium (Studies in the History & Culture of the Ancient Near East 11

ed. L. K. Handy), Leiden 1997

E. H. Cline, ASOR Newsletter 47/2 (1997), 25

id., BR 16/3 (2000), 22–31, 46; L. G. Herr, BA 60 (1997), 122, 137–138

C. Herzog & M. Gichon, Battles of the Bible, 2nd ed., London 1997

A. Leonard Jr. & E. H. Cline, AJA 101 (1997), 365

id., BASOR 309 (1998), 3–39

A. Nur & H. Ron, BAR 23/4 (1997), 48–55

id., Tectonic Studies of Asia and the Pacific Rim (eds. W. G. Ernst & R. G. Coleman), Columbia, MD 2000, 44–53

A. Zarzecki-Peleg, TA 24 (1997), 258–288

J. Zorn, IEJ 47 (1997), 214–219

A. Ben-Tor, ibid. 48 (1998), 1–37

B. Halpern, NEA 61 (1998), 53–65

id., VT Suppl. 80, Leiden 2000, 79–121

id., David’s Secret Demons (The Bible in Its World), Grand Rapids, MI 2001

H. Shanks, BAR 24/2 (1998), 56–61

29/2 (2003), 50–55

31/1 (2005), 50–53

I. Shirun-Grumach, Proceedings of the 7th International Congress of Egyptologists, Cambridge, 3–9.9.1995 (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 82; ed. C. J. Eyre), Leuven 1998, 1067–1073

J. N. Tubb, Canaanites (Peoples of the Past), London 1998

S. Wimmer, Jerusalem Studies in Egyptology, Wiesbaden 1998, 109–110

S. Wolff, Mediterranean Peoples in Transition, Jerusalem 1998, 449–454

O. Zuhdi, KMT, A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt 9/4 (1998–1999), 68–75

S. Blakely, ASOR Newsletter 49/1 (1999), 17–19

T. Haettner Blomquist, Gates and Gods: Cults in the City Gates of Iron Age Palestine: An Investigation of the Archaeological and Biblical Sources (Coniectanea Biblica: Old Testament Series 46), Stockholm 1999, 76–80

A. Golani, Levant 31 (1999), 126–127; G. Hagens, Antiquity 73/280 (1999), 431–433

A. E. Killebrew, ASOR Newsletter 49/1 (1999), 9–10

id., Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites 3 (1999), 17–32

J. B. Lambert et al., Analytical Chemistry 71 (1999), 614A–620A

R. A. Mullins, ASOR Newsletter 49/1 (1999), 7–9

C. E. Suter, Aula Orientalis 17–18 (1999–2000), 421–430

M. Bietak & K. Kopetzky, Synchronisation, Wien 2000, 117

J. Braun, Stringed Instruments in Archaeological Context (Studien zur Musikarchäologie 1

DAI Orient Archäologie 6

eds. E. Hickmann & R. Eichmann), Rahden 2000, 5–10

A. Faust, PEQ 132 (2000), 2–27; R. Gophna, Les civilisations du basin Mediterraneen (Fest. J. Sliwa), Cracovie 2000, 99–104

Y. Goren (& S. Zuckermann), Ceramics and Change, Sheffield 2000, 165–182

id. (et al.), Inscribed in Clay, Tel Aviv 2004, 243–247

P. Guillaume, UF 32 (2000), 215–217

R. John, BAIAS 18 (2000), 127–128

E. A. Knauf, BN 103 (2000), 30–35

107–108 (2001), 31

id., The Land That I Will Show You: Essays on the History and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (J. M. Miller Fest.

JSOT Suppl. Series 343

eds. J. A. Dearman & M. P. Graham), Sheffield 2001, 119–134

H. M. Niemann, TA 27 (2000), 61–74

id., VT 52 (2002), 93–102

id., UF 35 (2003), 421–485

Y. Roman, Eretz 73 (2000), 17–26

87 (2003), 42–49

D. Bar-Yosef, ASOR Annual Meeting Abstract Book, Boulder, CO 2001, 1

id., Mitekufat Ha’even 35 (2005), 45–52

A. Fantalkin, Levant 33 (2001), 117–125

N. Franklin, ASOR Annual Meeting Abstract Book, Boulder, CO 2001, 29

id., Radiocarbon Dating and the Iron Age of the Southern Levant: The Bible and Archaeology Today (eds. T. Levy & T. Higham), London (in press)

R. S. Hallote, Studies in the Archaeology of Israel and Neighboring Lands, Chicago, IL 2001, 199–214

B. Hesse & P. Wapnish, ibid., 251–282

J. Heller, Unless Some One Guide Me (K. A. Deurloo Fest.

Amsterdamse cahiers voor exegese van de Bijbel en zijn tradities Suppl. Series 2

eds. J. W. Dyk et al.), Maastricht 2001, 312–345

D. Ilan, Studies in the Archaeology of Israel and Neighboring Lands, Chicago, IL 2001, 307–316

B. J. Kedar, Das Erwachen Palästinas im 19. Jahrhundert (A. Carmel Fest.

eds. Y. Perry & E. Petry), Stuttgart 2001, 13–19

P. R. de Miroschedji, Studies in the Archaeology of Israel and Neighboring Lands, Chicago, IL 2001, 465–492

E. Oren, The White Slip Ware of Late Bronze Age Cyprus, Wien 2001, 127–144

J. D. Schloen, The House of the Father as Fact and Symbol: Patrimonialism in Ugarit and the Ancient Near East (Studies in the Archaeology and History of the Levant 2), Winona Lake, IN 2001, 140–143

E. J. Van der Steen, Bibliotheca Orientalis 58 (2001), 303–311

id., AJA 109 (2005), 1–20

W. Zanger, Jewish Bible Quarterly 29 (2001), 226–231

M. Artzy, Tropis VII: Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Ship Construction in Antiquity, Pylos, Greece, 1999 (ed. H. Tzalas), Athens 2002, 21–28

P. Beck, Imagery and Representation, Tel Aviv 2002, 228–251

S. L. Cohen, Canaanites, Chronologies, and Connections, Winona Lake, IN 2002 (index)

S. Laurant, MdB 142 (2002), 50–55; A. Lemaire, ibid. 146 (2002), 34–39

S. Lev-Yadun & M. Weinstein-Evron, TA 29 (2002), 332–343

A. Mazar, Beer-Sheva 15 (2002), 264–282

id., BAR 29/2 (2003), 60–61

id., Symbiosis, Symbolism, and the Power of the Past, Winona Lake, IN 2003, 85–98

D. M. Rohl, Biblische Archäologie am Scheideweg?: Für und Wieder einer Neudatierung archäologischer Epochen im alttestamentilchen Palästina (Studium Intergrale: Archäologie

eds. P. Van der Steen & Uue Zerbst), Holzgerlingen 2002, 211–246

R. Bonfil, Tel Qashish: A Village in the Jezreel Valley, Final Report of the Archaeological Excavations (1978–1987) (Qedem Reports 5), Jerusalem 2003, 319–326

N. Coldstream, TA 30 (2003), 247–258

R. Greenberg, EI 27 (2003), 285*

id., JMA 16 (2003), 17–32

T. P. Harrison, BAR 29/6 (2003), 28–35, 60–62

id. (& R. G. V. Hancock), Archaeometry 47 (2005), 705–722

O. Ilan & Y. Goren, TA 30 (2003), 42–53

K. A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament, Grand Rapids, MI 2003 (subject index)

R. Reich, BASOR 331 (2003), 39–44

E. Yannai et al., Levant 35 (2003), 101–116

T. W. Burgh, NEA 67 (2004), 128–136

W. G. Dever, BAR 30/6 (2004), 42–45

E. Noort, Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 58 (2004), 309–322

E. Villeneuve & S. Laurant, MdB 168 (2005), 45.

Ivories

R. L. Alexander, JNES 50 (1991), 161–182

D. Barag, Annales du 12e Congrès de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre, Vienna, 26–31.8.1991, Amsterdam 1993, 1–9

BAR 20/1 (1994), 34–35

B. M. Bryan, The Study of the Ancient Near East in the 21st Century (The William Foxwell Albright Centennial Conference), Winona Lake, IN 1996, 49–79

Silvana Di Paolo, UF 28 (1996), 189–215

id., Vicino Oriente 10 (1996), 163–208

id., Orient Express 1997, 21–23

id., Rivista degli Studi Orientali 71 (1997), 25–53

A. Yasur-Landau, TA 32 (2005), 168–191

I. Ziffer, ibid., 133–167.

Water Supply

N. Franklin, Megiddo III/2 (op. cit.), Tel Aviv 2000, 515–523

UNESCO, Ancient Water Systems in the Biblical Tell: Proposed World Heritage Serial Nomination by the State of Israel, 1–2, Jerusalem 2001

Y. Y. Baumgarten, Cura Aquarum in Israel, Siegburg 2002, 235–236

J. Häser, SHAJ 8 (2004), 155–159.

Meggido Earthquakes from Marco et. al. (2006)
Wikipedia pages

Tel Megiddo

  • from Wikipedia - click link to open new tab


Legio

  • from Wikipedia - click link to open new tab


Surveys
Lidar Scans

Description Scan Date Scanner Processing Downloadable Link
  • Faulted Staircase
  • Site 12
  • Stratum IVA Earthquake - after ca. 800 BCE
24 April 2023 Jefferson Williams Photogrammetry Right Click to download
  • Faulted Staircase (closeup)
  • Site 12
  • Stratum IVA Earthquake - after ca. 800 BCE
24 April 2023 Jefferson Williams Photogrammetry Right Click to download
  • Tilted Columns
  • Site 7
  • Stratum IVA-IVB Earthquake - 9th century BCE - Iron II
27 April 2023 Jefferson Williams Area Right Click to download
  • East Side of Late Bronze (Canaanite) Gate
  • Site 3
  • where Marco et. al. (2006) documented "Fractured and Shifted Ashlar Stones"
  • probably built in Stratum VIII and continued to function in Stratum VII
  • Quake is variously dated to Post ca. 1200 BCE or 14th- 12th centuries BCE
27 April 2023 Jefferson Williams Area Right Click to download
  • West Side of Late Bronze (Canaanite) Gate
  • Site 3
  • where Marco et. al. (2006) documented "Fractured and Shifted Ashlar Stones"
  • probably built in Stratum VIII and continued to function in Stratum VII
  • Quake is variously dated to Post ca. 1200 BCE or 14th- 12th centuries BCE
27 April 2023 Jefferson Williams Area Right Click to download

kmz's for Site Visits
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