Merrer’s Diary (2013)
Merrer was an official who oversaw port operations during the construction of the Great Pyramids of Giza in the 4th century BCE. His diary was discovered among 40 papyri recorded during Pharaoh Kufu’s 27th year of being king. Merrer recorded details about his trips to the Tura limestone quarry carving the blocks used to construct the Great Pyramids and his administration of the port at the base of the pyramid project. His diary reveals the trip to the quarry took one day, and the return trip, with the stone weighing down his boats, took two, depending on the condition of the Nile at the time. Merrer’s crew moved about 200 blocks a month when the river was favorable.