Location and Settlement

Lejjun was located just southeast of Tell el-Mutesellim, the ancient site of biblical Megiddo. Its ruins are situated at the outlet of the Wadi ‘Ara, an important pass through the Carmel range that in antiquity connected the international coastal route from Egypt with the northern route to Mesopotamia. Lejjun was for centuries thought to be the location of biblical Megiddo, but scholars and archaeologists ruled it out in favor of Tell el-Mutesellim.

The Arabic name Lejjun (Lajjûn) preserves the ancient Latin toponym Legionis and its shortened form Legio. The village of el-Lajjun was established in the Ottoman period, around the fourteenth century ad, and was abandoned and destroyed during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Some of the buildings of el-Lejjun are now located within the grounds of Kibbutz Megiddo, at the southern foot of Tell el-Mutesellim. The remains of Legio are located on a low hill called el-Manach, east of Kibbutz Megiddo.