in hebrew it's called megido.lieve this vast plateau will be the staging ground r&r twhere the armies of righteous and the wicked gather for the final showdown. >> soon the world as we know it will come to an end. and that we'll live in a paradise earth where we won't have to die or get sick. >> reporter: but while some focus on what they believe might happen here in megido, the site itself gives us a nearly unprecedented glimpse back to some of the major battles of biblical times and helps us understand where those modern ideas of armageddon came from. >> so for me megido is a key for understanding the history of this country. >> reporter: our guide here is israel finkelstein, a renowned israeli archaeologist who's directed the excavations at megido for 20 years. >> so perched on top here you can see from all sides that it's such a strategic vantage point. >> it's -- it controls the most important highway of antiquity in the ancient near east between egypt and mesopotamia. >> reporter: this stunning hilltop in no

in hebrew it's called megido.plateau will be the staging ground where the armies of the righteous and the wicked gather for the final showdown. >> so the world as we know it will come to an end and that we'll live in a paradise earth where we won't have to die or get sick. >> but while some focus on what they believe might happen here at megido, the site itself gives an unprecedented glimpse back at some of the battles of biblical times. and helps us understand where those modern ideas of armageddon game from. >> the key for understanding the history of this country. >> our guide here is israel finklestein who's been here for 20 years. so perched on top here you can see from all sides that it's a strategic vantage point. >> it controls the most between egypt and mesopotamia. >> this was once a city larger than ancient jerusalem. and hotly contested. these young eager students laboring in the summer heat unearth history every day. this is a burial site from nearly 4,000 years ago. so is that one skeleton? >> there