Among the artifacts uncovered during the archaeological excavation at Masada was a terra-cotta pot with these words written on it: macaser kôhe¯n, “priestly tithe.” It is reminiscent of a Herodian-period stone vessel fragment unearthed near the temple mount in Jerusalem, inscribed with the word qorban, “sacrifice.” The Herodian vessel fragment also depicts two birds, perhaps indicating that it was used to present doves or pigeons in sacrifice at the temple as specified in Leviticus 12:8. Mishnah Macaser Sheni 4.10–11 mentions vessels inscribed with qorban or its abbreviation, q, and notes that among the other possible abbreviations on such sacred vessels is m for macaser, “tithe”; d for demac, “mixture”; and t for t