Archaeologists' discovery 'proves' major Biblical event happened at site of Armageddon

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence which suggests a major Biblical battle may have actually taken place after all - and it's all thanks to a bunch of pottery fragments.

For those of us who haven't sat down to study our Bible verses, a climactic battle between soldiers of ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II killed Judaean King Josiah, who was supposedly a descendant of Jesus, happened at a place named Megiddo.

However, archaeologists and historians haven't been able to find any evidence of it actually happening, until now.

According to a study published in the Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament, researchers have unearthed evidence in support of an Ancient Egyptian presence at Tel Megiddo, Northern Israel.

Artefacts linking Ancient Egypt to Tel Meggido were uncovered (Megiddo Expedition via Pen News)

What was 'Armageddon' in the Bible?

Most of us will be familiar with the phrase Armageddon, as the final boss battle between the fairly vague 'forces of good and evil' which occurs at the end of the world, which has cropped up numerous times over the years in popular culture.

In the phrase crops up in the Book of Revelation, with the following verse: "And they (demons) gathered the kings and armies of the world together at the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon (Armageddon)."

'Har-Magedon' is a translation of Tel Megiddo in early accounts of the Greek Bible, which is not only the site of this battle but also were King Josiah was supposed to have been killed, an event which crops up in the earlier Book of Kings.

Harmagedon later became Armageddon and the association with climactic battles has persisted over the years.

The importance of the findings at Tel Megiddo

According to co-author Dr Assaf Kleiman, the evidence linking the death of the ancient Judaean ruler to the site of mankind's last battle came as a 'big surprise' for archaeologists.

Excavations at Tel Meggido (Megiddo Expedition via Pen News)

"We have found high quantities of crude and straw-tempered pottery vessels imported from Egypt, as well as a few East Greek vessels," he said, with co-author Dr Israel Finkelstein, University of Haifa and Tel Aviv University, saying the Greek pots also suggested that mercenaries from the region had served in the Egyptian army.

"This scenario may be linked to the biblical account about the killing of King Josiah of Judah by Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo in 609 BC," Finkelstein added.

"The Bible recounts the death of Josiah at Megiddo in two places," he continued.

"He’s killed by Necho during an encounter at Megiddo in the Book of Kings, and killed in a battle with the Egyptians in the Book of Chronicles.

"On this background, the new evidence for an Egyptian garrison, possibly with Greek mercenaries, at Megiddo in the late seventh century BC, may provide the background to the event."

The findings appear to link the Biblical battle of King Josiah and Pharaoh Necho (Megiddo Expedition via Pen News)

But how is the death of King Josiah and humanity's end of days linked, and where do the ancient Egyptians fit into all of this?

How was Ancient Egypt involved in 'Armageddon'?

It would seem that Josiah's death at the location is the very reason why Tel Megiddo has an apocalyptic reputation.

Finkelstein argued to LiveScience that Josiah was considered a particularly pious leader and that talk of an Armageddon only occurred after his death. So it would therefore make sense that a final battle between the forces of good and evil would occur at the place where he was slain by Egyptian forces.

"It would make sense to place the [final] battle out there due to Israel’s history of that location," added Christianity.com's Hope Bolinger.