On your mark. … Details in the architecture of the palaces at Megiddo—traditionally assigned to the tenth century B.C.—and at Samaria—normally dated to the ninth century B.C.—expose yet another inconsistency in the standard chronology of ancient Israel, Finkelstein claims (following Norman Franklin of Tel Aviv University). For example, the mason’s marks carved into building blocks at Megiddo, shown in this photo, have clear parallels at Samaria (see photograph). According to Finkelstein, the mason’s marks help prove that the palaces at Megiddo were not built by Solomon in the tenth century B.C., as scholars have believed.