Megiddo is a tell (an ancient hilltop settlement) in northern Israel overlooking the Jezreel Valley in Lower Galilee. Known for its historical and theological importance, especially under its Greek name Armageddon (“Battle of the End of Days”), the city was strategically located on an ancient trade road, the Via Maris, linking Egypt and Damascus. In ancient times Megiddo was an important city-state and assumed a prominent role. Excavations have unearthed 25 layers of ruins representing every single period of ancient history in the Land of Israel.
Meggido was first inhabited in the 6th millennium BC during the Neolithic period, although the first significant remains date to the Chalcolithic period (4500–3500 BC). Later, during the beginning of the Early Bronze Age (ca. 3300 BC), a temple was constructed on the tell, described by its excavators as “the most monumental single edifice so far uncovered in the Early Bronze Age Levant“. By the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC, Megiddo was already a fortified city with massive walls, and a thousand years later, it became a centre of Egyptian rule over Canaan. Because of its strategic location, Megiddo was the site of several historical battles. The first reference to Megiddo in a written source dates from 1479 BC. It is a detailed account (the first recorded battle in history, The Battle of Megiddo) of the campaign of the pharaoh Thutmose III to reassert Egypt’s dominion over the territories in Canaan.
Megiddo was taken by the Israelites at the time of King David, and the city reached its peak under King Solomon in the 10th century BC. Solomon rebuilt Megiddo as a royal city, administering the northern part of the kingdom. Several structures dating to the reign of Solomon have been identified, such as palaces, fortifications, stables, administrative buildings and a water system. These structures, however, were destroyed in the late 10th century BC, possibly by Pharaoh Shoshenq I, but the city was rebuilt. In 732 BC, the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III took the city and destroyed it. After 720 BC, a new city was built at Meggido, and it became the capital of an Assyrian province named Magiddu. The city was abandoned after the Persian period. A small garrison known as Legio was stationed nearby during the Roman era.
The Canaanite city gate dates to the Late Bronze Age period (1150-1150 BC); the gates were faced with ashlar blocks, some made of basalt.The Israelite Gate city gate dates to the Iron Age period (9-10th century BC). This gate was built by King Solomon (10th century BC), according to some scholars) or Ahab (9th century BC) or Jeroboam II (9th century BC).The north Stables and Palace dating from the 8/9th century BC Israelite period, it belongs to the “Chariot city” of King Solomon.The Sacred Area, which served as a focus of worship for over two thousand years, was the religious focal point of the city.The Sacred Area. The first temple was built during the first part of the Early Bronze Age. The round altar, nine metres in circumference, was probably used for animal sacrifices.The Granary, a 7m deep pit which used to be a grain silo from the Assyrian period (8th century BC), it had a capacity of 450 cubic metres.The Southern Stables. They had five units and could accommodate 150 horses (9th or 8th century BC). Each unit consisted of a rectangular building divided into three sections by two rows of alternating pillars and troughs.The southern stables.The southern stables.The ruins of the Assyrian city. In 732 BC, the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III conquered the northern part of the Kingdom of Israel; Megiddo became the capital of the province of Magiddu.The Water System was built in the 10th century BC; it was an 80m tunnel which led to the spring under the bedrock.Megiddo, the “Chariot city” of King Solomon.
Caesarea Maritima lies on a sandy shore of the Mediterranean, about halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa. This most fertile area of ancient Judea is the site of one of the most important cities of the Roman World and the capital of the Roman province of Judaea. Caesarea was founded between 22 and 10 BC by Herod the Great (37-4 BC) as an urban centre and harbour on the site of the earlier Strato’s Tower.
Caesarea was first settled by the Phoenicians, who also founded the port cities of Sidon, Tyre and Byblos. In the 4th century BC, the Phoenicians founded Strato’s Tower and used the natural bays and nearby rivers to establish a port that provided all the essential services for the ships and their crews. The city changed hands many times before Roman troops entered Palestine in 63 BC, marching South from Syria under the leadership of Pompey the Great. Some three decades later, Augustusconfirmed the client rule of Herod the Great in Palestine and designated him as the “King of the Jews”.
In an ambitious construction project lasting some twelve years, Herod turned Strato’s Tower into the main port of his kingdom. He named the city Caesarea in honour of Augustus. Herod’s building program included broad collonaded streets, a palace, a temple, public buildings, a theatre, a Hippodrome, an amphitheatre and other entertainment facilities. However, Herod’s port never attained the importance he surely hoped for. Caesarea lost its impact as a royal city when it was absorbed into the Roman Empire. The AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the AD 115 Antioch earthquake generated tsunami waves that reached the coast, causing significant damage to the harbour. The city reached the height of its prosperity when it became the country’s Byzantine administrative capital from the 4th to the 6th century AD. The city was later abandoned after the Arab conquest in the 8th century AD. Today, it is a large and beautiful national park, as well as a fascinating place to visit while exploring the Holy Land.
PORtFOLIO
The Promontory Palace of Herod the Great stretches into the sea.The Promontory Palace was the private section of the palace.The lower wing of the Lower Terrace of the Promontory Palace was built around a pool, which was surrounded by four rooms decorated with mosaic floors.The peristyle of the Upper Terrace of the Promontory Palace of Herod the Great with the Hippodrome in the background.The Hippodrome was built by Herod the Great for the inauguration of the city in 9/10 BC. It was the venue of the Actian Games instituted by King Herod in honour of Emperor Augustus, which were held every 4 years.The Hippodrome was 300 metres long and 50 metres wide and may have had as many as 15,000 seats in Herod’s day.View of the dignitaries’ platform in the Hippodrome.The Hippodrome was intended primarily for horse and chariot competitions. The riders’ chariot, pulled by two or four horses, emerged from compartments on the northern side of the Hippodrome.Herod’s Royal Harbor was known as Sebastos. It was the disembarkation point for visitors to the city.The reconstructed theatre was built by Herod during the first stages of the city’s development and renovated in the 2nd century AD. The seating capacity in its final stage was about 4,000. The theatre is still in use today for concerts and shows.The dedicatory inscription was found reused in the staircase of the theatre of Caesarea. It is the first and only mention of Pontius Pilate’s name ever unearthed (AD 26-36, Israel Museum, Jerusalem) The inscription reads: ” Pontius Pilate, the Prefect of Judea, has dedicated to the people of Caesarea a temple in honour of Tiberius”.Part of the eastern wharf of the inner harbour with the podium of the Temple of Augustus and a series of vaults used as warehouses. The Temple of Augustus was built by Herod and was covered by an octagonal Byzantine church in the 6th century. Only the huge podium and a series of steps are visible today.Part of the eastern wharf of the inner harbour with the podium of the Temple of Augustus and a series of vaults used as warehouses.The high-level aqueduct of Caesarea was built by Herod the Great. Caesarea had no reliable source of fresh water when construction on the city began around 22 BC. King Herod commissioned a raised aqueduct to deliver water from the springs near Shuni, 16 kilometres north-east of Caesarea.A portion of the high-level aqueduct of Caesarea shows the two stages of construction. When Hadrian visited Caesarea in AD 130 on his grand tour of the eastern part of the Roman Empire, the city’s growth required additional water. Hadrian then commissioned extensive repairs and a new aqueduct to be built. This new section (known as the high-level aqueduct II) was added to the right of the first canal and doubled its capacity.Dedicatory inscription to Hadrian on the high-level aqueduct of Caesarea at Beit Hanania with the emblem depicting the 10th legion.The Mithraeum, a 1st-century grain storage converted into a Mithraeum during the 3rd century AD.The Mithraeum.The Byzantine Bathhouse was built in the 4th century AD.The palaestra of the Byzantine Bathhouse. Before bathing, clients could exercise in the palaestra.A pool in the Byzantine Bathhouse was built in the 4th century AD.The palaestra of the Byzantine Bathhouse.The public latrine was used during the Roman and Byzantine periods. Marble benches were set along the southern and western walls of the latrine. Water flushed through its channels, lay at the bottom of the walls, and connected with the main sewer beneath the decumanus street.The Praetorium, the Byzantine Governor’s Palace, combined administration, financial and judicial functions.The Ibexes Mosaic Hall in the Praetorium, the Byzantine Governor’s Palace.The Governor’s Palace Baths.A section of a Byzantine street paved with opus sectile and mosaics. The statues are older and date to the 2nd and 3rd century AD. They originally belonged to Roman temples.The headless porphyry statue of Hadrian is depicted seated and holding a sceptre and orb (now missing). The statue’s original location was not on Byzantine Street. It may originate from a nearby temple dedicated to Hadrian, which he visited in AD 130 and endowed with a new aqueduct.Caesarea.
A stunning mosaic floor, known as the “Bird Mosaic,” was accidentally uncovered in 1955 on the outskirts of Caesarea, outside the walls of the ancient settlement. During the excavations of 2005, archaeologists determined that the ‘Bird Mosaic’ was part of a Byzantine palace complex dating from the 6th century AD. During the Byzantine period, the harbour city of Caesarea flourished and expanded as much as 800m inland. This palace complex, covering an area of nearly 1 acre (4,000 sq. metres), was probably owned by a reputable and wealthy family. The “Bird Mosaic” adorned the floor of a large open courtyard, the atrium, with a portico along the western and southern sides.
6th century AD Bird Mosaic that adorned the atrium of a large palace complex outside the city wall of Byzantine Caesarea.A peacock, a detail from the 6th century AD Bird Mosaic.6th century AD Bird Mosaic that adorned the atrium of a large palace complex outside the city wall of Byzantine Caesarea.
following hadrian photography 