In the ancient city of Gezer, located 30 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem, a palatial complex has been discovered from the 10th century BCE. Philippe Bohstrom explains its significance:
The monumental building dates to . . . the era associated with King Solomon, who is famed for bringing wealth and stability to the newly-united kingdom of Israel. The American archaeological team also found a layer featuring Philistine pottery, lending credence to the biblical account of [Philistines] living in the city until being vanquished by King David.
The complex features a large central courtyard, like contemporary palace-like buildings found throughout the southern Levant, including at Ḥatzor and Megiddo. Though there’s no telling who ruled from there, if anybody did, the edifice is significantly larger than the size of ordinary houses of the time. . . .
The excavation team calls the building “Solomon’s Palace” because of the biblical tradition of Solomon building grand structures at Ḥatzor, Megiddo, and Gezer (1 Kings 9:15). . . .
Archaeologists had assumed that once they cleared the massive stones left behind from the destruction, they would find storerooms filled with artifacts. To their dismay, most of the rooms were empty. “It appears that everything was cleaned out before the destruction. Perhaps they knew of the impending attack and removed most of the objects,” says Steve Ortiz, [one of the excavation’s directors].
Read more on Haaretz: http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/archaeology/1.739358