Agranary, also known as agrain house and historically as agranarium inLatin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily forgrains orseeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains or seeds fromrodents, pests,floods, and adverse weather conditions. They also assist in drying the grains to prevent mold growth. Modern granaries may incorporate advanced ventilation and temperature control systems to preserve the quality of the stored grains.
Grain storage chambers (ghorfas) ofKsar Hadada, southern Tunisia. Ksar Hadada is a fortified granary village that was built by North AfricanBerber communities to store grain and cropsGolghar granary built in 1786,Patna, India
From ancient times grain has been stored in bulk.[1] The oldest granaries yet found date back to9500 BC[2] and are located in thePre-Pottery Neolithic A settlements in theJordan Valley. The first were located in places between other buildings. Beginning around8500 BC, however, they were moved inside houses, and by7500 BC special rooms were used for storage.[2] The first granaries measured 3 x 3 m on the outside and had suspended floors that protected the grain from rodents and insects and provided air circulation.[2]
These granaries are followed by those inMehrgarh in theIndus Valley from 6000 BC. Theancient Egyptians made a practice of preserving grain in years of plenty against years of scarcity. Because the climate of Egypt is very dry, grain could be stored in pits for a long time without discernible loss of quality.[1]
Historically, asilo was a pit for storing grain. It is distinct from a granary, which is an above-ground structure.
Simple storage granaries raised on four or more posts appeared in theYangshao culture in China and after the onset of intensive agriculture in the Korean peninsula during theMumun pottery period (c. 1000 B.C.) as well as in the Japanese archipelago during the FinalJōmon/EarlyYayoi periods (c. 800 B.C.). In the archaeological vernacular of Northeast Asia, these features are lumped with those that may have also functioned as residences and together are called 'raised floor buildings'.
China built an elaborate system designed to minimize famine deaths. The system was destroyed in theTaiping Rebellion of the 1850s.[3][4][5]
In theSouth Hams in southwestGreat Britain, small granaries were built onmushroom-shaped stumps calledstaddle stones. They were built of timber-frame construction and often had slate roofs. Larger ones were similar tolinhays but with the upper floor enclosed. Access to the first floor was usually via a stone staircase on the outside wall.[6]
Towards the close of the 19th century, warehouses specially intended for holding grain began to multiply in Great Britain. There are climatic difficulties in the way of storing grain in Great Britain on a large scale, but these difficulties have been largely overcome.[1]
Grain must be kept away from moisture for as long as possible to preserve it in good condition and preventmold growth. Newly harvested grain brought into a granary tends to contain excess moisture, which encourages mold growth leading to fermentation and heating, both of which are undesirable and affect quality. Fermentation generally spoils grain and may cause chemical changes that create poisonousmycotoxins.
One traditional remedy is to spread the grain in thin layers on a floor, where it is turned to aerate it thoroughly. Once the grain is sufficiently dry it can be transferred to a granary for storage. Today, this can be done using a mechanicalgrain auger to move grain from one granary to another.
In modern silos, grain is typically force-aeratedin situ or circulated through externalgrain drying equipment.
Modern grain farming operations often use manufactured steel granaries to store grain on site until it can be trucked to major storage facilities in anticipation of shipping. The largemechanized facilities, particularly seen in Russia and North America, are known asgrain elevators.
Granary model,Han dynasty.Stoneware model granary canisters as these were funeral gifts, buried with the deceased as a symbol of wealth and to provide food in the afterlife
The Grain House (Kornhaus), building on the left, next to tram 9, located onKornahusplatz inBern, was a granary built between 1711 and 1715 (photo from 1983)
A grain brick tower built by German Australian Carl Wilhlem Gunther von Heiden in the 1900s, inSydney, Australia
^abcOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Zimmer, George Frederick (1911). "Granaries". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 336.
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