Grain silo in ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptians measured wealth in grain. They built silos and filled them with wheat and barley. The administrative building and silos were at the heart of the ancient community. Because grain was a form of currency, the silos functioned as a bank and a food source. The silos' size indicates the community was apparently a prosperous urban center.

Early people likely used the silo to fight against famine. They predominantly stored barley and wheat, and the silos had raised platforms and slight slopes for drainage and moisture protection. The early silos have been discovered in South Egypt that were large enough to support an entire urban community.

The ancient Egyptians made a practice of preserving grain in years of plenty against years of scarcity, and probably Joseph only carried out on a large scale a habitual practice. The climate of Egypt being very dry, grain could be stored in pits for a long time without sensible loss of quality.

Grain silos date back to the Third dynasty (2686-2613) and were utilized extensively in the Djoser Complex designed by Imhotep. In fact, the Step Pyramid seems to have been built on top of a shaft that could originally have been used to store grain. The complex seems to be a grain storage and distribution center.

In Tell Edfu, a 3500-year-old city of Egypt, Egyptians built the large, mud-brick buildings in a city courtyard. They were easy for people to get to. The storage facilities are used as grain depots. The grain bins are in a large silo courtyard of the 17th Dynasty (1630-1520 B.C.) and consist of at least seven round, mud-brick silos. Each silo measures 5.5-6.5 meters across.

Predating the silos was a mud-brick building with 16 wooden columns, dated by pottery and seal impressions found in the hall to the early 13th Dynasty (1773-1650 BC).
Grain silo in ancient Egypt

Grain storage in ancient Egypt

The principal food crops, barley and emmer, were used to make beer and bread, the main staples of the Egyptian diet. Grains were harvested and stored in granaries until ready to be processed. The storage of food staples is always of utmost importance as it is a key component of food distribution, which is an important means of executing power and accomplishing the goals by specific actors in a system.

Ancient Egypt had one of the most successful and stable agricultural economies of the ancient world, and had both a system and facilities for grain storage: larger granaries were attached to temples and palaces, while smaller ones were dispersed within the town.

The structure of granaries, comprising storage chambers of either vaulted or rectangular shape, was essentially similar throughout all dynasties. The basic type of storage chambers was dome-shaped. Mud of the Nile valley mixed with water, sand and straw was particularly suitable for building granaries in the arid climate of Egypt.

The ancient Egyptians made a practice of preserving grain in years of plenty against years of scarcity, and probably Joseph only carried out on a large scale as habitual practice. The stores of wheat and barley served the inhabitants of Egypt during the period of drought and hunger that followed.
Grain storage in ancient Egypt