Digging Up Armageddon: The Search for the Lost City of Solomon

by Eric H. Cline

A vivid portrait of the early years of biblical archaeology from the acclaimed author of 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed

In 1925, James Henry Breasted, famed Egyptologist and director of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, sent a team of archaeologists to the Holy Land to excavate the ancient site of Megiddo--Armageddon in the New Testament--which the Bible says was fortified by King Solomon. Their excavations made headlines around the world and shed light on one of the most legendary cities of biblical times, yet little has been written about what happened behind the scenes. Digging Up Armageddon brings to life one of the most important archaeological expeditions ever undertaken, describing the site and what was found there, including discoveries of gold and ivory, and providing an up-close look at the internal workings of a dig in the early years of biblical archaeology.

The Chicago team left behind a trove of writings and correspondence spanning more than three decades, from letters and cablegrams to cards, notes, and diaries. Eric Cline draws on these materials to paint a compelling portrait of a bygone age of archaeology. He masterfully sets the expedition against the backdrop of the Great Depression in America and the growing troubles and tensions in British Mandate Palestine. He gives readers an insider's perspective on the debates over what was uncovered at Megiddo, the infighting that roiled the expedition, and the stunning discoveries that transformed our understanding of the ancient world.

Digging Up Armageddon is the enthralling story of an archaeological site in the interwar years and its remarkable place at the crossroads of history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Archaeology, Middle East, Ancient, Judaism, Audiobook

424 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 17, 2020

About the author

DR. ERIC H. CLINE is the former Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and current Director of the Capitol Archaeological Institute at The George Washington University. A National Geographic Explorer, NEH Public Scholar, and Fulbright scholar with degrees from Dartmouth, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania, he is an active field archaeologist with 30 seasons of excavation and survey experience in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Cyprus, Greece, Crete, and the United States, including ten seasons at the site of Megiddo (biblical Armageddon) in Israel from 1994-2014, and seven seasons at Tel Kabri, where he currently serves as Co-Director. A three-time winner of the Biblical Archaeology Society's "Best Popular Book on Archaeology" Award (2001, 2009, and 2011) and two-time winner of the American School of Archaeology's "Nancy Lapp Award for Best Popular Archaeology Book" (2014 and 2018), he is a popular lecturer who has appeared frequently on television documentaries and has also won national and local awards for both his research and his teaching. He is the author or editor of 20 books, almost 100 articles, and three recorded 14-lecture courses. His previous books written specifically for the general public include "The Battles of Armageddon: Megiddo and the Jezreel Valley from the Bronze Age to the Nuclear Age" (2000), "Jerusalem Besieged: From Ancient Canaan to Modern Israel" (2004), "From Eden to Exile: Unraveling Mysteries of the Bible" (2007), "Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction" (2009), "The Trojan War: A Very Short Introduction" (2013), "1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed" (2014), “Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archaeology" (2017), and “Digging Up Armageddon” (2020). He has also co-authored a children's book on Troy, entitled "Digging for Troy" (2011). For a video of his "Last Lecture" talk, go to http://vimeo.com/7091059.

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

I imagine that many readers may find this study less than exciting. But if you have any interest in how archaeology is "done," in how modern people and personalities shape our vision of the past, then this is a fascinating glimpse into not just the daily operations of a dig, but how much else comes into play: politics, financiers, world issues, and far from unimportant, personal/personnel issues. In addition, Cline's dives into numerous archives (public, private, familial) in order to be able to tell this story is a credit to historical sleuthing.

[Shrike58 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this might be too much "human interest" and office politics for a lot of people, it's good to have a deep examination of the social dynamics, the ethnography if you will, of the early days of professional archaeology. If Cline piles the self-serving agendas and intrigue a little too high and deep, that he worked for years on the Megiddo site himself probably fired his imagination, and allows him to credibly analyze the work of the University of Chicago expeditions in the 1920s and 1930s.

[Karen Levay · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mix of “gossip” about the staff of an archeological excavation and the actual finds. The commentary on change in excavations techniques and staffing as well as the various conclusions and remaining uncertainties of aspects. I “read” this as an audio book. I now want to find a hard copy to see some of the charts read to us about levels and finds.

[Peter Tillman]

Nature's nice review: https://www.nature.com/articles/d4158...

[Viktoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cline has done it again.

[Pak455 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trzy gwiazdki, bo bardziej liczyłem na opis wyników. Albo, inaczej mówiąc, bardziej chciałem czegoś w stylu "Kiedy słońce było Bogiem", niż tego (bo tu nie znajduję dobrego odpowiednika). Jest to historia badań amerykańskich, prowadzonych w latach międzywojennych. Owszem, są tam pewne smaczki, choćby rosnące napięcie żydowsko-palestyńskie w tle, ale jak dla mnie za dużo drobiazgów międzyludzkich w grupie archeologów, a za mało osiągnięć samych badań, w końcu bardzo ciekawego stanowiska.

[Roberta Westwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely grand!

I got so much more than I expected with this book. I have listened to Professor Cline’s lectures on archaeology previously (The Great Courses, excellent!), so I already knew I liked his work. And it was through these lectures that I first learned of the “mound” and the many levels of ancient civilizations that had built atop of each other, and the digs here. I was keen to learn more, and I was not disappointed. But this book was about so much more than how the site has been excavated over many years… it was also about the people who carried out the digs. When archaeologists, photographers, students and other workers, many with spouses, all living together, stuff is going to happen. Yes, I mean drama! There were liaisons, disputes, threats, firings, and egos aplenty. And the stories were interwoven so well, it was better than good fiction.

One thing this audiobook was missing was a PDF of the characters and a timeline. These are included in the Kindle version, but it costs more than the audiobook, so I couldn’t justify it. I did find that the Kindle sample does contain these, if you scroll through it. This helped me make sense of the people over time, and made listening richer.

[Thomas Otto · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is about the story of the excavation from 1925 to 1939. It's about archeologists, and how they collaborate, or work against each other. The author summarises essentially the archives of the excavation campaigns and the personal and official correspondence of team members.
At many occasions he has to speculate, for example why was this hed archeologist fired, or why did the team dislike the wife of that draughtsman, although they were happily married for 40 years afterwards.
I am not sure why this houd interst somebody other than a sociologist of archeology, but fine .. I stopped reading.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the early days of Chicago’s Oriental Institute excavations at northern Israel’s site of Megiddo (Armageddon in the New Testament) in the 1920s and 1930s. Megiddo is known both in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles as a place of great battles.

Dr. Cline is Professor of Classics and Anthropology at The George Washington University in DC and the author or editor of over 20 books.

[Dscotthep · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reads like it was written and edited by my favorite weekly tabloid newspaper. There's lots and lots of gossip, a bunch of dirt on various personality conflicts, and some relationship news.

Turns out, this was a book about the *people* who dug up Armageddon, rather than about Armageddon itself.

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting account of the archaeological excavations of the Megiddo tell from the late 1920s to the late 1930s, focusing in particular on the human element rather than the excavations themselves. I've been to the site twice over the past 20 years and now I have a reason to pay it another visit in light of what I read in this book.

[Daniel Farabaugh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much of this book was based in the hiring and firing of people at the dig site and too little of it was about archeology that they found. As an archeologist who worked at the dig site, he probably finds the inner workings fascinating but these sections dragged.

[Steve Gross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting day by day accounting of diggin in Megiddo in the 30's. Well written, especially juggling the multitude of characters. A little to much "Had I But Known".

[Dries Van Den Elzen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alternatieve title: Gossip about the archaeologists at Megiddo. Uninteresting.

[Ron Me]

An excellent book for those who think archaeology would be the most fun thing ever

[Andrew Sternisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well done, but this topic is just not interesting to me.

[Karen Knudson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Actually gave up about chapter 5. Odd phrases from narrator. Mostly the in- fighting among archaeologists

[Stefan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat dry, but still interesting. Wish I had some photos to look at, but I only 'read' the audio, so...

[SeaShore · Rating 4 out of 5]

He reveals all the details about the archaeological dig at Megiddo and the hazards, costs and any and everything encountered on such a massive and eventful projects. He references the journals and records of Mr Loud's field diary of 1935

[Jim Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a surprise this book was! I expected a course on the archeology of the location but this is about the history of the dig at Meggido. This is about the archaeologist and what they went through to continue to dig at the site. One read of this and you will get the thought of joining a dig for a season right out of your head.

I bought the book when I got the audible.