Archaeologists imagine they’ve uncovered proof of an historical biblical battle, all thanks to a couple damaged fragments present in a curious location.
The artifacts, which largely encompass Egyptian pottery, had been discovered throughout a latest excavation of the traditional metropolis of Megiddo in northern Israel. The location is alleged to include over 30 layers of assorted settlements, relationship again from the Copper Age to World Warfare I.
Tel Megiddo was the placement the place Josiah, the king of Judah, famously fought the Battle of Megiddo in 609 B.C. The Jewish chief was defeated and killed by the military of Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II.
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The story of the battle is informed within the Second Ebook of Kings in the Outdated Testomony, however Megiddo can also be referenced within the Ebook of Revelation. The location is known as “Armageddon,” carefully associated to the Hebrew phrase “Har Megiddo,” which interprets to “mountain of Megiddo.”
Israeli archaeologists have discovered Egyptian pottery on the web site of an historical biblical battle. (Megiddo Expedition, Yevgeni Ostrovsky)
Megiddo is alleged to be the placement the place the prophesied Battle of Armageddon can be fought between the kings of Earth and God. However whereas archaeologists can not show that the positioning would be the location of a battle through the finish instances, they imagine they might have discovered proof of the Outdated Testomony story.
Dr. Assaf Kleiman, a senior lecturer at Ben-Gurion College of the Negev in Israel, informed Fox Information Digital he believes the pottery fragments belonged to the Egyptian military that defeated Josiah.
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The findings encompass “significant quantities” of Egyptian-produced damaged vessels relationship again to the late seventh century B.C., near when the Battle of Megiddo was fought.
Space X (left) is situated close to the Southern Assyrian Palace of Megiddo (proper). (Megiddo Expedition)
As an alternative of the fragments being proof of a commerce relationship, Kleiman believes that they had been introduced in by Egyptian troops reasonably than being imported into the territory.
The skilled cited the “crude production technique, functional mixture, and the lack of similar evidence in nearby settlements,” as key the explanation why they imagine the artifacts had been introduced in by a military.
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The Egyptian pottery (seen right here) was probably introduced in by armies within the wake of the Battle of Megiddo. (Megiddo Expedition, Yevgeni Ostrovsky)
“The exposure of so many Egyptian vessels, including fragments of serving bowls, cooking pots, and storage jars, is an exceptional phenomenon,” Kleiman defined.
“We, therefore, understand it as representing Egyptians who settled at Megiddo in the late 7th century, maybe as part of an army force that arrived at the site following the collapse of the Assyrian Empire,” he added.
He additionally mentioned that the Grecian pottery could also be proof of Greek mercenaries within the Egyptian military, which was not exceptional on the time.
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Greek pottery on the web site could also be proof of mercenaries within the Egyptian military. (Megiddo Expedition, Sasha Flit)
“Service of Greeks, probably from western Anatolia, in the Egyptian army of the 26th Dynasty is referred to in both Greek [from Herodotus] and Assyrian sources,” Kleiman famous.
“The possibility of the participation of such mercenaries in the killing of Josiah may be hinted in prophetic works in the Bible.”
Kleiman additionally defined that the Egyptian settlement at Megiddo “did not last long” and that the constructing the place the artifacts had been discovered was probably deserted many years later. The damaged vessels had been most likely left as litter.
Although Kleiman famous that there’s no non-biblical proof of Josiah, Kleiman asserted that the king’s existence “has never been doubted in biblical and historical scholarship.”
Megiddo is situated in northern Israel and has been constantly settled because the Copper Age. (Megiddo Expedition)
“We can also note that literacy was more common in that era, and thus his reign was most likely documented by scribes who witnessed the events in real time,” Kleiman mentioned. “Evidence for Necho’s presence in the Levant and the battle against the Babylonians in Carchemish, where the Egyptians lost, is documented in the Babylonian chronicles as well as in the Bible, in Jeremiah and Kings.”
Archaeologists plan to do extra analysis into the positioning’s Bronze Age roots.
Kleiman additionally discovered proof to imagine that some members of the Ten Misplaced Tribes of Israel weren’t all expelled to Mesopotamia within the seventh century B.C. and really could have stayed in Megiddo.
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“Our excavations demonstrated continuous production (and consumption) of similar locally-style vessels at Megiddo, especially cooking pots, also under imperial rule,” he defined. “This suggests that the social fabric of Megiddo in the Assyrian Era must have been composed of a significant portion of local populations, who were not expelled by the Assyrians and who lived alongside deportees brought in by the empire.”
