From Armageddon to Chicago

The Megiddo excavation of the University of Chicago’s Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (previously the Oriental Institute; hereafter ISAC) was the first of many multiyear archaeological expeditions initiated by the burgeoning institute in the early twentieth century. The discovery, recording, and interpretation that took place over the fourteen seasons of fieldwork (1925–1939) under three successive field directors—Clarence S. Fisher (1925–1927), P. L. O. Guy (1927–1934), and Gordon Loud (1935–1939)—would come to lay the foundations for archaeology in the southern Levant. Accessible through ISAC’s seminal publications, museum collections (including both archaeological objects and archival records), and public exhibitions, the wealth of information and materials acquired as a result of the Megiddo Expedition are still rigorously consulted and built upon today, making it one of the most impactful and lasting endeavors in ISAC’s history.