Candles have also been used for religious purposes. The Bible, for instance, makes numerous references to the use of candles, including the story of King Solomon who, after building the Temple, used ten candle-sticks to light the north and south ends of the structure. In the Middle Ages, candlemaking became a popular occupation, as evidenced by the creation of many candlemakers' guilds throughout Europe. Later, candles were used as a means of keeping time. At auctions, the bidding time was limited by inserting a pin into a candle and letting the wax melt until the pin dropped, thus concluding that period of time.