AN ancient "Armageddon" army camp earmarked by the Bible for mankind’s apocalyptic final battle has been unearthed.
The 1,800-year-old Roman camp housed more than 5,000 soldiers from the Sixth Ironclad Legion, and lies at the foot of Tel Megiddo in northern Israel.
In the Book of Revelation, Tel Megiddo is where demons bring together the kings of the world to do battle before God unleashes his terrible wrath.
Its Hebrew name, Har Megiddo – meaning Mount Megiddo – was rendered as Harmagedon in Greek, leading to its present infamous moniker.
Now it seems the ominous site has form for hosting large armies, having once held the biggest Roman army base ever found in Israel.
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Yotam Tepper, who directed the excavation for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), said it served the legion for nearly two centuries.
He said: “The camp was the permanent military base for over 5,000 Roman soldiers for more than 180 years, from 117-120 to about 300 AD.
“Two main roads intersected at the centre of the camp and its headquarters were erected here.
“It was from this point, that all the distances along the Roman Imperial roads to the main cities in the north of the country were measured and marked with milestones.”
Measuring 550m by 350m, it was in a class of its own.
Dr Tepper said: “Whilst Roman military camps are known in Israel, they are temporary siege camps, or small camps belonging to auxiliary divisions.
“None compares with the entire complex of the legionary base, as has been uncovered in the archaeological excavations at Legio, next to the Megiddo Junction.”
The base was unearthed during an infrastructure project to expand and upgrade a nearby road by the Netivei Israel National Infrastructure Company.
Among the discoveries within the camp are the remains of a large, monumental public building, a podium, and the main road of the camp – the Via Pretoria.
However, the buildings are not preserved to their full height, with the stones being repurposed by other builders during the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods.
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Archaeologists also found coins, parts of weapons, pottery sherds, glass fragments, and lots of roof tiles – some marked with the legion’s brand.
Dr Tepper emphasised that the find was not accidental, crediting the past discoveries of the Jezreel Valley Research Project and the Albright Institute of Archaeology in Jerusalem.
Already six seasons of excavations have taken place, revealing part of the commanders’ courtyard nearby.
The present finds are thought to constitute the north-eastern part of the camp.
Ground-penetrating radar suggests the rest of the camp lies beneath the wheat fields of Kibbutz Megiddo, a modern settlement.
