The Diary Of Merer Tells Us NOTHING About the Great Pyramid's Construction

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Published Oct 24, 2026

On the Egyptian coast of the red sea, Wadi al-Jarf is a somewhat quiet and unassuming place today, but in 2013, an incredible discovery was made. Hundreds of fragments of papyrus were found, buried in front of man-made caves that served to store boats at what was once an ancient harbour.

Zahi Hawass called it the ‘greatest discovery in Egypt in the 21st century’, because it contained a papyrus logbook written more than 4,500 years ago by Merer, a middle-ranking official with the title ‘Inspector’ and he was writing during the 27th year of the reign of Pharoah Khufu.

Many of the huge media outlets and documentaries said the discovery revealed how Egyptian's built the Great Pyramid, and how it was a firsthand account of the pyramid's construction. But is it?

After looking at the text closely, I believe it is clear that the Diary of Merer doesn't specifically mention the building of the Great Pyramid at all, and the stone that Inspector Merer delivered for the Giza Plateau could have been used for any number of structures. Watch the video to learn more.

All pictures are taken from Google Images, Google Earth and the sources listed below for educational purposes only. Please subscribe to Ancient Architects, Like the video, and please leave a comment below. Thank you.

Video Contents:
0:00 Introduction to the Diary of Merer
1:18 The Claims About the Diary
3:19 What the Diary of Merer Actually Says
9:02 What We Actually Learn From the Diary
10:44 No Evidence the Stone Was For the Pyramid
11:19 What Akhet-Khufu Means in the Text
13:37 We Don't Learn Anything We Didn't Already Know
14:10 Where is Ro-She Khufu?
15:50 Pierre Tallet's Opinion
16:33 The Diary of Merer's Historical Importance

Sources:
IFL Science: https://www.iflscience.com/papyrus-reveals-how-the-great-pyramid-of-giza-was-built-43872
Archaeology Magazine: https://archaeology.org/issues/july-august-2022/features/egypt-wadi-el-jarf-port-papyri/
Interesting Engineering: https://interestingengineering.com/culture/a-4500-year-old-papyrus-holds-the-answer-to-how-the-great-pyramid-was-built
Lost Secrets of the Pyramid, 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E78tKmd3LlY
Egypt’s Great Pyramid - The New Evidence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpuI63lADRc
The text translation comes from Pierre Tallet's book: Les Papyrus de la Mer Rouge Ile Journal de Merer (Papyrus Jarf A et B).
Digital Giza: https://youtu.be/KGRBikmjN_M?si=L17EIj4_DrCb-hP0
Jean Pierre Houdin's Pyramid Model: https://youtu.be/G9OhJAasatM?si=xX7zIPuuoHuyY9Tc

#ancientarchitects #greatpyramid #pyramidsofegypt