A fragment of a stone vessel, found in the fill near the southern wall, bears the inscribed word krbn (korban), which means “sacrifice.” As seen in this wax impression, two crudely drawn birds, identified as pigeons or doves, also appear, upside-down and below the word, on the fragment. The vessel may have been used in connection with a sacrifice to celebrate the birth of a child, since these birds were traditional offerings on such an occasion. The sale of these birds was targeted by Jesus when he “drove out all who sold and bought in the Temple, and he overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves” (Matthew 21-12; Mark 11-15).
Israel Dept. of Antiquities and Museums
Hershel Shanks. Jerusalem’s Temple Mount- From Solomon to the Golden Dome. Continuum International Publishing Group, NY, 2007. p. 89.