Recently, an Israeli prisoner, excavating a new prison ward intended to house Palestinian prisoners, in the town of Megiddo (the Biblical place of Armageddon), discovered the ruins of an ancient Christian church. I thought it was a spoof at first -- it seemed too implausible, like a badly plotted soap opera.
So far, the archeologists believe that the church dates back to the third century. If so, it would make it the oldest church in Israel, and it could shed light on Christian practices of that era. Ironically, the historic importance is so significant that even the Israeli government is excited about this.
People from all over the world come to see Megiddo, beause it is incredibly rich archeologically, dating from the Chalcolithic period, with 26 different cities built on top of each other. I visited there myself, and was astounded by the sophistication of the ancient civilizations. If you ever go, be sure to see the iron age tunnel.
But now there is a new reason to visit Megiddo -- to see the ruins of this early church. Parenthetically, we know from inscriptions found in the ruins, that it was built with money donated by a Roman officer, and a woman named Aketous. Of course, you can't really visit it yet, because they have to figure out what to do with the prison first!
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