The Red Sea Scrolls: How Ancient Papyri Reveal the Secrets of the Pyramids

Review by Aidan Dodson. In 2013, a remarkable discovery was made at the site of Wadi el-Jarf on the Egyptian Red Sea coast. It comprised a group of papyri, which not only proved to be the oldest inscribed examples of their kind yet found, but also shed wholly new light on the way in which the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza was managed and materials delivered. As such, it ranks among the most important archaeological finds ever made in Egypt. The papyri, dating to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, were the remains of logbooks belonging to Merer, a man in charge of a work gang who undertook a range of logistic activities in more than one part of Egypt. Some of their work wa