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Recovered from a refuse pit that was discovered accidentally during preparations for a Pontifical Mass in Jerusalem in 2009, this tiny clay bulla, or seal impression, reads “Gibeon, for the king” ([g]b’n/lmlk) in paleo-Hebrew. Gabriel Barkay has identified it as one of a group of more than 50 known “fiscal bullae,” but thanks to the wet-sifting project, this is the first one to come from an archaeological context rather than from the antiquities market. According to Barkay, these fiscal bullae were part of a taxation system established by King Manasseh of Judah (Hezekiah’s successor) in the early seventh century B.C.E. Various goods such as oil and grain were collected as taxes in administrative centers throughout Judah (e.g., Gibeon) and marked with a seal like this one for conveyance to Jerusalem. The king then used these goods to pay a heavy tribute to the kings of Assyria in order to maintain peace.