A Roman camp was found at the site of the biblical Armageddon (10 photos + 1 video)
Category: Archeology, PEGI 0+
19 February 2024
Archaeologists have discovered a Roman military camp. It is located at the foot of the hill of Megiddo (Tel Megiddo) in northern Israel, in the place designated by the Bible for mankind's final apocalyptic battle. 
In the Book of Revelation, Tel Megiddo is the place where the kings of the world are gathered by demons for battle before God brings down his terrible wrath on them. 
Its Hebrew name Ar-Megiddo, meaning "Mount Megiddo", was translated into Greek as Armageddon.
This place has seen many large armies and major battles.
Including the largest Roman army base found in Israel. The 1,800-year-old camp housed more than 5,000 soldiers of the Iron Legion's Sixth Legion (Legio VI Ferrata).
Yotam Tepper, who led the excavations for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), said the camp served the Roman legion for nearly two centuries.
“The camp was a permanent military base for more than 5,000 Roman soldiers for over 180 years, from 117-120 AD until about 300 AD,” he explained. — In the center of the camp, two main roads intersected, and the headquarters was located here. It was from here that all distances along the Roman imperial roads to the main cities in the north of the country were measured and marked with milestones.”
The dimensions of 550 meters by 350 meters suggest that this camp is unique for Israel. Other Roman military bases were also found in the country, but these were all temporary siege camps, small, belonging to auxiliary units. None of them compares to the entire complex, large legionnaire base at Tel Megiddo.
The base was discovered as part of an infrastructure project to widen and upgrade a nearby road carried out by the Netivei Israel National Infrastructure Company.
Among the finds in the camp are the remains of a monumental public building, a podium and the main road of the camp, Via Pretoria. However, the buildings have not been fully preserved: the stones were used by other builders in the Byzantine and early Islamic periods.
Archaeologists also found coins, weapon fragments, pottery shards, glass shards and many pieces of tiles - some with the mark of the legion.
Yotam Tepper stressed that the find was not an accident, crediting past discoveries by the Jezreel Valley Research Project and the Albright Institute of Archeology in Jerusalem.
Over six seasons of excavations, part of the commanders' courtyard was discovered.
It is assumed that the current finds represent the northeastern part of the camp.
According to ground penetrating radar, the rest of the camp lies under the wheat fields of Kibbutz Megiddo, a modern settlement.
