by the Rev. David B. Smith

Where in the world would you travel to find something Abraham saw? Where would you go to gaze upon a structure built by Solomon? The Bible is filled with true stories about real people, like Abraham and Solomon, who did great things because the Lord was with them. To understand the places and times in which they lived, all you have to do is a little digging.

But where you dig is very important. If you thought Israel might be a good place to start, you're right. One of the best spots is Megiddo (Mî-geed-dõ). Ever heard of it? Probably not, considering it's an ancient city.

Megiddo sits at the western end of the Jezreel Valley, just southeast of the modern city of Haifa. Megiddo was located near a north-south highway that the Romans came to call the Via Maris, or “Way of the Sea.”

Megiddo contains a ton of biblical history. More has been learned from digging there than from any other site in Israel. That's because Megiddo contains the remains of 30 different cities. Archaeologists have been brushing dirt off Bible history at this site for more than a hundred years.

So what might Abraham have seen at Megiddo? In ancient times the best way to enter the land of Palestine was from the north. Abraham probably passed by as he came from Haran (Genesis 12:5).

If he stopped at Megiddo, he would have seen three buildings surrounding a large, round outdoor altar. The altar was 5-feet high and 26 feet in diameter. That's big enough to park three family-sized cars side by side with room left over. The altar had seven steps leading to the top, where sacrifices were made. Abraham may have witnessed offerings being made there. Today, only the foundations of the buildings remain, but the altar is still intact.

In 1 Kings 9:15-19, Megiddo is mentioned as one of the cities that Solomon fortified with chariots. Chariots need horses to pull them. In 1925, buildings were discovered that looked like stables. They had a central hallway paved by cobblestones. Each stall was equipped with a post, manger and tie-all made from stone. The mangers were worn down in places where the horses had bitten the edges while feeding.

Another feature at Megiddo is a large, round grain silo. Modern grain silos stand straight and tall on a farm. In Israel silos were built into the ground.

When Solomon fortified Megiddo, he included a silo to keep grain for the city. The silo was 21-feet deep and 34 feet in diameter and had two staircases. The silo could hold 100,000 dry gallons of grain. If you poured your favorite cereal into the silo, you'd need over 600,000 boxes to fill it. This would have kept the citizens of Megiddo from going hungry during a famine or a war.

Other finds from Megiddo support biblical accounts:

• A seal made of jasper, with the image of a roaring lion. It was inscribed with the words, “of Shema, a servant of Jeroboam.” The Bible reports two kings named Jeroboam ruled over the Northern Kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 12 and 2 Kings 14).
• A stone tablet called a stele. It tells the story of Pharaoh Shishak's campaign against Jerusalem and the land of Israel (1 Kings 14).
• A collection of ivory jewelry. One of the items was a pen case that bore the name of Ramesses III, who is believed to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus story (Exodus 1).
• A clay pot called “The Orpheus Jug.” Orpheus was a Greek hero who charmed animals with his flute. This pot tells us that Philistines, who had Greek origins, lived and traded at Megiddo (Genesis 21:34).

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