Round Silo 1

View of the interior of a large grain silo that was excavated by Van Beek.  This rounded silo is 20 ft. [6.1 m.] in diameter and its preserved wall is 8.6 ft. [2.64 m.] high.  Originally it was about 18 ft. [5.5 m.] high.  In the lower right and upper left note the mud–brick projections that supported an arch that in turn supported the beams of a flat roof (Van Beek; Petrie thought they had conical roofs).  10 such silos were excavated by Petrie and this one by Van Beek.  Van Beek estimates that this silo could contain approximated 132 tons of grain!!

None of the silos have obvious points of entry, so entry must have been through the roof—the larger silos actually have stairs leading down into them.

Van Beek believes that South Arabian caravans stopped here to purchase grain—that was grown in the fertile loess soil in the area— for making bread on their long journey back to Yemen after having off loaded their cargoes of frankincense and myrrh at Mediterranean ports such as Gaza.

The silo was destroyed very quickly, in a matter of minutes, either by warfare or earthquake.

Unfortunately the protective sheet–metal roof was ripped off, by winds, and this structure has been destroyed by rain.