P.L.O. Guy

Philip Langstaffe Ord Guy (1885-1952) was a British archaeologist who directed the University of Chicago Oriental Institute's excavations at Tel Megiddo from 1925 to 1934, during the most ambitious phase of the Megiddo project.

Guy oversaw the excavation of major architectural features at Megiddo including the water system, the gate complexes, and the stable compounds that became central to the debate over Solomonic-era construction at the site. The structures he identified as "Solomon's Stables" - large pillared buildings with stone mangers - were initially attributed to Solomon's reign based on 1 Kings 9:15-19, which describes Solomon building at Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. Later scholars, particularly Israel Finkelstein, redated these structures to the Omride dynasty period, making the attribution one of the most contested issues in Iron Age archaeology.

Megiddo's biblical significance is difficult to overstate. The site is mentioned in the accounts of Joshua's conquest (Joshua 12:21), the Song of Deborah (Judges 5:19), Solomon's building program (1 Kings 9:15), Josiah's death in battle against Pharaoh Necho (2 Kings 23:29-30), and provides the root for the eschatological "Armageddon" (Revelation 16:16, from Hebrew Har Megiddo, "Mount of Megiddo").

Guy's excavation strategy, which initially aimed to strip the entire mound layer by layer, was unprecedented in scale but proved impractical. The approach was later modified under Gordon Loud to focus on specific areas. Despite methodological limitations, Guy's work documented major architectural phases that remain reference points in Megiddo's stratigraphy.