leaving bread out as a signal one is still allowed to eat is probably a good system. until the birds start getting peckish...
cows are probably more reliable. and moving cows on a mountain is probably easier to see from a distance than 2 loaves of bread.
(this page discusses the system where the time period for still being able to eat chametz on erev pesach was shown by 2 loaves of bread on the colonnade <that probably looked nothing like this> the time for no longer eating but not destroying was 1 loaf of bread, and the time for burning chametz was when both were removed. I do wonder what size the loaves must have been to be a signal to all the people, but there seems to be another problem. a few pages ago we learnt that one does not need to search for chametz in courtyards as the birds take away the crumbs.... there is an alternative method of signalling the times using cows ploughing on Mount of Olives, 2 for eating chametz, 1 for waiting, and no cows for time for burning the chametz.)
Supremely interesting. Reminds me of original telegraph system on hills. see "The Information" by James Gleick.
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