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Megiddo—The tell overlooks the Jezreel Valley where ancient and modern armies clashed and where today fields of wheat, corn, cotton, and sugar beets blanket its well-watered plains. The fortified 20 acre site protects the outlet of the Wadi ‘Ara, a pass connecting the Mediterranean coastal road with routes continuing to the north and east.

The dark depression at the base of the light colored excavated areas (right, center) is the 115-foot deep shaft King Ahab constructed in the 9th century B.C. This shaft connects to an underground tunnel which leads to the spring at the base of the hill. Directly below the shaft is a short, light beige incision which is the 10th century B.C. Solomonic water gallery. Directly below the gallery is a spring, the ancient city’s life supply.

In the upper right half of the picture and directly behind the depression of the water shaft is another round depression marking an Iron II Israelite grain silo.