Excavations of Tel Megiddo have unearthed the remains of 26 or 27 distinct historical periods, from 4000 BCE to 400 BCE, but it takes some stretching of the imagination to see in the modern-day site any traces of its former grandeur. Help is given by an introductory film, some excellent models in the visitor centre, and signs that explain the importance of various earthen hummocks and depressions.
The most tangible aspect of the excavations is the 9th-century-BCE water system, which consists of a shaft sunk 30m through solid rock down to a 70m tunnel. This hid the city’s water source from invading forces, rather like Hezekiah’s Tunnel in Jerusalem. There is no water to slosh through here, though. Save the tunnel until last, as it leads you out of the site, depositing you on a side road some distance away from the visitor centre.
Megiddo is 37km southeast of Haifa (along Rtes 75, 70 and 66), 38km northwest of Caesarea (via Rte 65) and 13km southwest of Afula (in the Jezreel Valley).
