Tel-Megiddo National Park was officially declared a national park in 1966.
In 2005, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO,
inscribed Tel-Megiddo as a World Heritage Site, together with the biblical tells of Hatzor and Bersheva.
At 190 dunams, or 47.5 acres, Tel-Megiddo National Park encompasses the archaeological mound of Megiddo,
which has an area of about 60 dunams, or 15 acres, and rises about 60 meters above its surroundings.
In addition to the settlement on the upper part of the archaeological mound,
remains of a lower city were found to the northeast, near the entrance to the site.
During the biblical period, Megiddo was one of the most important cities in the country.
Its location allowed it to control the outlet of the Iran Valley, or Vadiara, to the Jezreel Valley and the Via Maris, the way of the sea.
An international trade route that linked the ancient world's centers of culture and power, Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Some of the most impressive archaeological remains in the country have been unearthed in the extensive excavations that have been taking place here for more than a century.
They attest to the city's eminence, particularly during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.
The Canaanite city gate, flanked by four chambers, the gate was built during the late Canaanite period, or the late Bronze Age.
At that time, the city was not fortified, which means that the gate was ceremonial rather than defensive.
It served as the entrance to the palace complex of that period.
During its last phase, when ovens were built in the chambers, the gate probably served as a kind of service wing of the palace.
The gate went out of use after the palace was burned at the end of the late Canaanite period.
The northern stables. Two stable complexes were found at Megiddo, one on the northeastern part of the mound, and one in the southwest.
They revealed Megiddo's importance as a cavalry base or a center for commerce in horses.
The construction of the stable city is attributed to one of the Israelite kings.
Perhaps Jeroboam II in the 8th century BCE, or to King Ahab in the 9th century BCE.
Some scholars believe that the stables were used for other purposes, as storehouses, markets, or army barracks.
The Israelite gate.
Some time after the destruction of the late Canaanite period, the late Bronze Age, the city was rebuilt,
preserving the Canaanite character of its inhabitants and the material culture.
During the period of the Israelite monarchy, the city once again attained importance,
and was extensively built up and fortified by the Israelite kings.
Here you can see remains of the city gate from that time, which was incorporated into the fortifications.
A two-chambered outer gate was situated at the top of a ramp that ascended into the city from the north.
The deep trench visible from the observation point was dug by the Chicago expedition.
In the far section of the trench, opposite the observation point, the mound's numerous strata can be seen.
More than 20 cities excavated down to bedrock.
Remains found in a depression in the bedrock go back as far as the Neolithic period.
Fines from the early Canaanite period indicate the presence of a large, unwalled settlement
that stretched east towards the present-day road at the foot of the mound.
Below, you can see Megiddo's cultic area from the 4th millennium BCE to the beginning of the Israelite period.
In the early Canaanite period, a series of temples was built here continuously, one atop another.
The earliest, dating from the early Canaanite period, was a broadroom structure with an enclosed courtyard.
Paving stones discovered in the courtyard bore incised Egyptian-style motifs,
among them depictions of humans and animals.
Megiddo's huge water system was ewned during the period of the Israelite kings
in order to bring water to the city without having to exit the walls.
To this end, Megiddo's inhabitants dug a gigantic 36-meter deep shaft
from which a 70-meter long horizontal tunnel extended to the spring,
which emerged in a cave at the foot of the mound outside the walls.
The tunnel was cut in an incline so as the water would flow to the bottom of the shaft
and the inhabitants could draw water while standing at the top.
The outer entrance to the spring was sealed with a massive stone wall, concealed with earth,
so that an enemy besieging the city would not discover its location.
North of the path are remains of palaces, administrative structures that served the Assyrian governor
during the period when Megiddo was the capital city of an Assyrian district.
The northern of the two palaces was built before the southern one.
The elaborate construction of the latter reveals Assyrian building techniques.
The plan of both structures resembles palaces in Assyria, albeit on a smaller scale.
