Located at the southern end of the Jezreel Valley, tel Megiddo guarded a strategic pass through the Carmel range. A 'tel' is a man made hill where successive cities have been built upon the ruins of others from previous eras. Over 20 separate layers of occupation have been uncovered at Megiddo. Both Solomon and Ahab fortified Megiddo, cementing their control over the important valley seen from its ancient walls. The world's great armies will gather in the Jezreel Valley at the foot of Har Megiddo (commonly known as Armageddon) just before Jesus' return to earth.

Taking a slice from tel Megiddo like a big piece of pie, archeologists discovered a large Canaanite altar that dates a thousand years BEFORE Abraham's arrived in the Promised Land approximately 4000 years ago. Altars like this one were used for human sacrifices to Canaanite fertility gods. In return for the lives of Megiddo's first-born male children, it was believed that Baal and Asherah or another of the pantheon of ancient fertility gods would bring rain, sunshine, and other necessary elements together to produce healthy crops to feed and enrich the community.