Papyrus fragments found at the Red Sea harbour of Wadi el-Jarf in 2013 belonged to a work crew active near the end of Khufu’s reign. The best-preserved logs describe missions led by an official named Merer, including river transport of limestone from Tura to the Great Pyramid project at Giza. They are contemporary administrative evidence for part of the construction supply chain. They reveal journeys and organisation, while leaving the exact methods of raising and placing blocks to other evidence.
The discovery was made at a harbour, rather than inside a pyramid. Excavators found the papers near the entrance to a storage gallery, among material associated with a crew that had worked at Giza before being sent to the Red Sea coast. The archive includes accounts and daily logs. Merer’s entries bring a vast royal project down to the scale of organised trips: a team, a route, a load of limestone, and a destination. The connection is unusually direct because the documents belong to the reign in which the Great Pyramid was being built.
Wadi el-Jarf supplies a second part of the story. Its galleries stored equipment for expeditions across the Red Sea, and the wider harbour system is linked to access to the Sinai’s resources. IFAO’s excavation account connects this logistical world with the pyramid project, including the likely importance of copper for tools. The diary does not contain a complete pyramid-building blueprint. Its value is more specific: it documents a functioning transport and administrative system where popular retellings sometimes offer only mystery. A surviving work log can answer one question precisely without answering every question about the monument.
The established record.
- 01
The papyrus archive was discovered at Wadi el-Jarf in 2013.
- 02
Merer’s logs describe limestone transport from Tura to the Giza project.
- 03
The documents date to the end of Khufu’s reign.
How the story unfolded.
- Late reign of Khufu
The crew keeps its records
Daily logs record work that includes supplying the Great Pyramid project.
- 2013
Papyrus emerges at the harbour
Excavation recovers the crew’s archive near a storage-gallery entrance.
- 2017
The best-preserved logs are published
IFAO publishes the Merer journals, papyri Jarf A and B.
Where the evidence stops.
A contemporary supply log establishes transport and organisation. It does not describe every construction technique, settle all questions about labour, or explain precisely how each pyramid block was raised.
Read the original sources.
The source may establish a narrower point than the headline. Follow the specific finding, its date and its limitations.
How much of a monumental building project can be recovered from the routine paperwork of one crew?