The excavations of the Harvard Palestinian Expedition at Samaria in 1909 have revealed for the first time the plan and the masonry of a royal Israelite palace. The view thus given of the material resources and technical skill at the command of the kings of Israel is so enlightening for the history of Palestine that the identification of the palace becomes the point of paramount interest. It must be recorded at once that we have not found a line of Hebrew inscription anywhere in the building, nor have our excavations given us the name of any of the kings of Israel. The identification rests entirely on archaeological grounds; but these, though simple, are direct and clear.