This incised stone block is one of the most fascinating remains of Herod's Temple. It apparently fell from the southwest corner of the Temple Mount to the street below, where it was discovered by excavators. The formal inscription "to the place of trumpeting..." and the shape of the stone suggest that it was once part of a parapet that ran along the wall of the Temple complex. According to Josephus, this was the location of "the roof of the priests' chambers, where one of the priests invariably stood to proclaim by trumpet blast, in the late afternoon the approach of every seventh day, and on the next evening its close..." (Josephus, The Jewish War, 4, 9). Presumably, the trumpet blasts could be heard throughout Jerusalem - in the City of David to the south and in the Upper City to the west.
The final word in the inscription is partially missing and can be interpreted in either of two ways: "to declare [the Sabbath]" or "to distinguish [between the sacred and the profane]."