Mechanism and Technology of Grain Storage in the Achaemenid Empire

The grain storage had always been an important and vital affair in the ancient Near Eastern states. Thousands of administrative tablets related to the grain storage indicate the importance of grain management. How and in what capacity was this done in the Achaemenid Empire? The present paper tries to examine the architectural structures and technology utilized to build storehouses, and the capacity of them by use of archaeological and historical evidence of this period. There is no doubt that the vast territory of the Achaemenid Empire and its inhabitants needed accurate and purposeful management of production, storage and redistribution of agricultural products, especially cereals. In fact, the management of the storehouse’s played a significant role in the economic programs, political and military goals of the Achaemenid Empire. The Persepolis Fortification archive and the Babylonian archives had thousands of texts and many indications about transactions and storage of different types of grains in the royal, central and local storehouses, as well as providing valuable information regarding storage procedure and the amount of incoming and outgoing commodities. These texts show that storehouses were emptied and cleaned annually; also ragged grains were replaced by new products. Meanwhile, archaeologists who excavated the Achaemenid layers of Chogha-mish in Iran, Tell-Jemmeh and other sites in Palestine and Egypt, introduced some of the structures as a storehouse. Present study shows that grain storehouses in different areas of the Achaemenid Empire followed two traditional building patterns: rectangular storehouses or storage rooms where grain was stored in jars, and circular storehouses such as silos. Studies show that rectangular buildings are more local and circular structures are more suitable for central and main storehouses due to structural features for storing large amounts of grains. By calculating the diameter and estimated height of the excavated structures, we can confirm their high capacity, especially for central storehouses, in the Achaemenid period.