# Granaries > Keeping the harvest dry - Date: c. 9,300 BCE - Era: Prehistory - Domain: [Food & Preservation](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/food/) - Rebuild stage: II (Settlement) - Difficulty: 2/5 - URL: https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/grain-storage/ A granary keeps harvested grain dry and away from animals until it is needed for food. At Dhra’ in the Jordan Valley, people built raised-floor stores around 9300 BCE, before cereals were domesticated. Notched stones supported wooden beams and an earthen floor, leaving a space beneath the grain. ![Granaries · Keeping the harvest dry](https://lastcodex.org/_astro/plate.BBzwZe9y_1odtTM.webp) ## Legend 1. Earthen wall 2. Notched stone support 3. Floor beam 4. Reeds and earthen floor layer 5. Ground beneath the floor ## What it is A granary is a space set aside for stores of grain. It separates them from damp ground, rain and animals that eat or contaminate them. It can be as small as a basket plastered with earth, or as large as a building filled with sacks or a silo holding loose grain. Its form depends on the climate, the materials available and how the harvest will be brought in and taken out. The building cannot make up for a crop that is too wet: grain must be dry enough before it goes into storage. Drying and cleaning follow [harvesting and threshing](/en/inventions/harvest/). Once the store is filled, the grain needs protection from renewed damp and regular inspection. A lot kept for the next sowing must also retain its ability to germinate, as described in [seed selection and saving](/en/inventions/seed-saving/). ## How it works ![An upright notched stone supports a wooden beam beneath small branches and an earthen floor layer.](https://lastcodex.org/_astro/v1.CBMBdXsT_9I5GX.webp) _The stone carries the timber; the floor encloses the store above the open space._ At Dhra’, builders stood stones upright inside the granary enclosure. Some were old [grinding stones](/en/inventions/quern/) put to a new use, with a notch at the top to hold a beam. The beams carried smaller pieces of wood, reeds and a layer of earth mixed with plant material. The weight of the stored crop passed from the floor into the beams, through the supports and down to the ground. The space under the floor allowed air to circulate and kept the provisions away from damp soil. That separation alone does not protect an entire store. A roof must keep out rain, openings need to be closed and cracks repaired. Insects can arrive with a new harvest or remain in debris from the previous crop. Rodents exploit gaps and any route the building leaves open. Some granaries raised on posts have guards that prevent rodents from climbing up to the platform. Air moving beneath a granary is different from air entering the grain itself. A solid-walled store receives grain that is already dry; an airtight container protects it from outside humidity as long as its walls and closures remain intact. Ventilating a building and sealing a container therefore address different problems. The choice of storage depends in part on the moisture in the crop and in the surrounding climate. ## How to do it To understand the floor, make a small open model on a wooden board. Arrange stable stones in several rows and lay sticks across their tops. Every stick needs supports: letting them all project too far on one side would tip the assembly. The supports at Dhra’ had notches that held the beams in place. Lay small twigs across the sticks and cover them with a little damp clay-rich earth mixed with plant fibres. Leave part of the assembly uncovered so that the way each layer rests on the next remains visible. Put a few small weights above the supports, then between them, to observe what the beams do. This demonstration follows the sequence of layers found at Dhra’; it does not provide dimensions for a building. For real provisions, start with a clean space protected from rain and animals, and a harvest that is dry enough for storage. Place sacks on a platform, clear of the ground and walls; leave room to clean and inspect the stock. Repair openings used by pests and remove debris from the old crop before bringing in a new one. A large granary or silo needs a structure designed for the weight and sideways pressure of the grain. > **Safety.** Do not use the model to store food. Discard mouldy or suspect grain: moulds can produce toxins that survive food processing. Do not stand on a storage floor or load a store whose strength has not been checked. ## History and evolution ![A basket grain bin plastered with earth stands on a wooden platform beneath an overhanging roof.](https://lastcodex.org/_astro/v2.ClZeBiMU_Z1TXpu6.webp) _The plastered container and roof protect the stock; the platform separates it from the ground._ The remains at Dhra’ in the Jordan Valley show circular granaries built around 9300 BCE. Their outside diameter was about three metres. The surviving supports in Structure 4 stood 35–50 cm high and carried a floor that sloped at 7°. Burnt wood and earth bearing impressions of plant material helped archaeologists Ian Kuijt and Bill Finlayson reconstruct the layers. The roof has not survived; they suggest a flat covering coated with earth. These stores stood between buildings where people lived and prepared food. They predate cereals with the physical characteristics of domesticated plants. People were therefore already collecting and keeping harvests of plants that were still wild or were being brought into cultivation. Archaeologists also know of older pits sometimes interpreted as silos, though their purpose remains disputed. Agricultural societies developed many ways to keep grain: pottery vessels, plastered baskets, pits, earthen stores, buildings for sacks, and metal or concrete silos. Some pits keep grain cool, but moisture can spoil the stock near their walls. Large silos hold a mass of grain that pushes against their sides; sack stores need stable stacks and access for inspection. ## Key facts - Granaries at Dhra’: Around 9300 BCE - Outside diameter at Dhra’: About 3 m - Supports in Structure 4: 35–50 cm high - Floor slope in Structure 4: 7° ## Requires - [Stone Tools](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/stone-tools/): The first cutting edge (3.3 million years ago) - [Querns and grinding](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/quern/): A stationary stone and a handstone turn grain into meal (23,000 years ago) - [Harvest and threshing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/harvest/): From standing wheat to stored grain (15,000 years ago) ## Sources - [Evidence for food storage and predomestication granaries 11,000 years ago in the Jordan Valley](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2700141/), Ian Kuijt and Bill Finlayson, PNAS, 2009 - [Farm structures in tropical climates: grain storage](https://www.fao.org/4/s1250e/S1250E0w.htm), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - [Mycotoxins](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mycotoxins), World Health Organization Fact-checked on 2026-10-31. --- The Last Codex · https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/grain-storage/ · © The Last Codex. 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