Innovation No. 30 of 77 in the book
Project Management
Merer’s logbook recorded daily stone transport
- When
- c. 2550 BCE
- Dynasty
- 4th Dynasty
- Era
- Old Kingdom
We have the actual work diary of a man who helped build the Great Pyramid — kept by an official named Merer around 2550 BCE, the oldest inscribed papyri ever found.
It is pure project management: daily logs of his gang of 40 men, where they rowed, how many limestone blocks they hauled from quarry to Giza, rations issued, days worked.
Behind the pyramid stood the ancient equivalent of spreadsheets — schedules, teams, supply chains, all tracked in writing.
The world’s oldest project plan was managing the world’s most famous building site.
A team led by Pierre Tallet found the logbook in 2013, in a desert cave at Wadi al-Jarf on the Red Sea coast. The hieratic scrolls date to the end of Khufu's reign, around 2560 BCE, and are the oldest inscribed papyri yet found. Merer was an inspector over a crew of forty boatmen, and his log tracks the ferrying of fine white limestone from the Tura quarries across to the Giza site, called Akhet-Khufu.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Merer reporting to?
A senior official named Ankhhaf, whom the log calls Director of the Pool of Khufu — the man running the great harbour basin at Giza and the pyramid project overall. He was a half-brother of Khufu.
What makes a boat log count as project management?
It records a schedule against a resource. Merer logs the days worked, the crew size, the trips completed and the rations issued, which is a supply chain being measured and reported up a chain of command.