Eusebius and Jerome (Onomast.) do not attempt to mark the situation of the place, and it appears that the name IMegiddo was in their time already lost. They often mention a town called Legio (Atytwv), which must in their day have been an important and well-known place, as they assume it as a central point from w hich to mark the position of several other places in this quar- ter (e. g. fifteen miles west of Nazareth, and three or four from Taanach). This has been identified (Reland, Pa- Icest. p. 873 ; comp. Benjamin of Tudela, ii, 433) with the village now called Lejjim, which is situated upon the western border of the great plain of Esdraelon, where it begins to rise gently towards the low range of wooded hills that connect Carmel with the mountains of Sarna- ria (Onomast. s. v. Gabathon). This place was visited by Maundrell, who speaks of it as an old village near a brook, with a khan then in good repair ( Jo ii?ney, March
MEGIDDO
46
JklEHETABEL
22). This khan was for the accommodation of the car- avan on the route between Egypt and Damascus, wliich passes here. Having already identitied tlie present vil- lage of Taannuk with the ancient Taanach, the vicinity of this to Lejjun induced Dr. Robinson (Blbl. liesearckes, iii, 177-180; also new ed. iii, 116-118) to conceive that the latter might be the ancient Mcgiddo, seeing that Taanach and ^legiddo arc constantly named together in Scripture (1 Kings iv, 12; 1 Chron. vii, 29); and to this a writer in a German review ((irosse, in the Stud. 11. Krit. 1845, i, 252 sq.) adds the further consideration that the name of Legio was latterl}' applied to the plain or low valley along the Kishon, as that of ^legiddo had been in more ancient times ("1^5^ PP?, 2 Chron. xxxv, 22; '|'1^5p P?p3, Zech. xii, 11; to irtciov Maytcdtii, 3 Esdr. i, 27). See Esdraelox, Herodotus (ii, 15'J) appears to allude to the overthrow of Josiah at this place (2 Kings ix, 23, 29), but instead of Megiddo he names the town Mai/dolum (MaycoXov), the Migdol of Egypt (see Hareiiberg, Bibl. Bnm. vi, 281 ; Kosen- miillcr. .1 Iti-r/h. H, ii. 99). Kosellini (Afonum. stor. ii, p. i;5;)) thinks that Herodotus may still refer to the Pales- tinian locality, and he imagines that he finds traces of the name on the monuments (Mdldo, i. e. Magdo, ih. iv, p. 158), but Ewald (/.</-. CVmc//. iii, 400) finds the Mag- dolum of Herodotus in d-Mejdd (the Migdal of Josh. xix, 38), between the Kishon and Acco (comp. Hitzig, rii'dist. i, 96). ilegiddo or Lejjun is probably the place mentioned by Shaw as the Rus el-Kishon, or the head of the Kishon, under the south-east brow of Carmel {Trar. p. 274). It was visited and described by Mr. Wolcott in 1842, who found it to be an hour and forty minutes distant from Taanach. The Xahr Lejjun is a stream five or six feet wide, running into the Kishon, and feeding three or four mills. A little distance up it is situated the Khan cl-Lejjun, and on a small eminence on the opposite side the remains of the ancient Legio. Among the rubbish are the foundations of two or three buildings, with limestone columns mostly worn awny ; and another with eight or ten polished columns still re- maining, and others of limestone among them. The finest structure appears to have been in the south-west
corner of the ruins, by the side of the brook. Among its foundations are two marble columns with Corinthian capitals, and several of granite. A gateway with a pointeil arch is still standing. A small bridge is thrown over the stream, and leads to the khan, which is of Sar- acenic structure {liiUiothcca Sacra, 1843, p. 77). Van dc Yelde visited the spot in 1852, approaching it through the hills from the south-west. He describes the view of the plain as seen from the highest point between it and the sea, and the huge tells which mark the positions of the " key-fortresses" of the hills and the plain, Taa- nfik and el-Lejjun, the latter being the most considera- ble, and having another called Tell Mctzellim, half an hour to the north-west {Syr. and Pal. i,350-356). About a month later in tlie same year Dr. Kobinson was there, and convinced himself of the correctness of his former opinion. He, too, describes tlie view over the i)lain, northwards to the wooded hills of Galilee, eastwards to Jezreel, and southwards to Taanach, Tell iMetzellim be- ing also mentioned as on a projecting portion of the hills Avhich arc continuous with Carmel, the Kishon being just below {Jiib.llcn. ii, 116-119). Uoth writers men- tion a copious stream flowing down this gorge (^March and April), and turning some mills before joining the Kishon. Here are proljably the "waters of Megiddo" ("i^a? ''•q) of Judg. V, 19, though it should be added that by professor Stanley (-V. ami P. p. 339) they are supposed rather to be " the pools in the bed of the Ki- shon" itself, which has its springs in Tabor (ver. 21 ; see Hollman, Commentar. in carm. Deborcp, Lips. 1818, p. 42 sq.), and not (as in ^lichaelis, Siippl. p. 339; Hames- veld, iii, 138) the Sea o{ Cmdcria (^I'liny, v, 17; xxxvi, 65), at the foot of Carmel. The same author regards the "plaui (or valley) of Megiddo" as denoting not the