Archaeologists discovered findings that may prove the biblical battle in which King Josiah met his end was indeed a historical event. Archaeologists excavating at the site of Megiddo in northern Israel proposed that new ceramic finds provide the first evidence for Egyptian forces stationed in Megiddo at the time of King Josiah's death, according to Biblical Archaeology Review.
At this site, archaeologists found a multitude of Egyptian ceramics, specifically from the Nile Valley. The discovery of large amounts of Egyptian and Greek pottery at Megiddo confirmed that Egyptian forces and their Greek mercenaries had a presence at Megiddo at the end of the seventh century BCE. The archaeologists explained the presence of these Egyptian ceramics as evidence that they were brought by Pharaoh Necho's army.
"The analysis of the objects showed that the building which was excavated was constructed around the middle of the seventh century BCE, shortly before Pharaoh Necho killed King Josiah," the researchers stated.
"These are not decorative tableware representative of the era and the Jewish tradition. Therefore, it is very difficult to argue that someone in Megiddo, a displaced person or a surviving Israelite, suddenly became interested in inferior Egyptian pottery and decided to import it into his home," said Assaf Kleiman, co-researcher from the University of Haifa.
Although most of biblical Megiddo had been excavated since 1920, there was one site that had not yet been researched. The archaeologists identified a promising spot known as Area X at Megiddo. In Area X, they found a small area containing the remains of a mudbrick wall and two successive buildings with well-preserved layers dating from the eighth to sixth centuries BCE.
The earliest layers excavated in Area X contained evidence of Israelite occupation of Megiddo and the fiery destruction that ended that occupation at the hands of the Assyrian army under Tiglath-Pileser III around 732 BCE. Later layers showed evidence of Assyrian occupation, when Megiddo was the capital of the province of Magiddu and home to a mixed population of Israelites and deportees from around the Assyrian Empire. The latest layers of Area X provided new evidence related to the biblical story.
Although no destruction layer was identified at the end of Assyrian control over Megiddo in the mid- to late seventh century, there was a sudden change in ceramic remains. The later layers included a large amount of imported Egyptian and eastern Greek pottery. According to the excavators, no other site in the region had such a large amount of Egyptian pottery, and no non-coastal site had as much Greek pottery.
The archaeologists suggest that the most logical explanation for the large and sudden presence of Egyptian and Greek pottery is the presence of a large garrison of Egyptian and Greek troops at Megiddo. The Greek troops were well known as mercenaries who served under Pharaoh Necho II. This evidence fits with Assyrian history: after the Assyrian Empire lost control of the Levant about a century later, it was Assyria's Egyptian allies that filled the power vacuum.
According to the Bible, the last king of the Jews, Josiah, was killed by Pharaoh Necho II in the biblical city of Megiddo. King Josiah's death is recorded in both 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles of the Bible. As recorded in 2 Kings 23:29, "In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Necho killed him at Megiddo, as soon as he saw him."
During this time, Pharaoh Necho II rode out from Egypt to aid the Assyrians. In the last two decades of the seventh century, Assyria was under attack by the Babylonians, the Medes, and the Persians. A few decades after King Josiah's death, the kingdom of Judah finally fell at the hands of the Babylonians.
Recent scholarly discussions emphasize a potential connection between Gog, as referenced in the books of Ezekiel and Revelation, and Gyges—an influential Lydian ruler known to have dispatched mercenaries to support Egypt in the 7th century BCE. This insight suggests that forces from western Anatolia may have been directly involved in the events surrounding King Josiah’s final battle.
The researchers noted that past excavation efforts at Megiddo, conducted over a century ago, lacked the modern scientific methods now available. The result is that previously contested or incomplete evidence is being revisited with updated techniques, allowing experts to identify subtle markers of occupation, trade, and military presence. This new approach has helped confirm that deeper, undisturbed remains from the city’s Assyrian period still exist.
The excavation team highlighted the site’s impressively long habitation record—some 20 settlement layers spanning 5,000 years. These layers underscore Megiddo’s enduring prominence as both a strategic stronghold and a cultural crossroads in the ancient Near East.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.