They built granaries (storage facilities for the specific purpose of holding grain) for large scale storage, starting about 4500 years ago. These granaries were often built with bricks made of mud, water, sand, and straw and were attached to temples and palaces. This would mean that there were several granaries in a locality as opposed to a sole central facility. For individual or domestic storage, there are examples of high officials having their own personal grain silo, but baskets, jars, and smaller storage vessels were more common for ordinary people.

To give you an idea of size and layout, seven mud brick silos with a diameter between 5.5 and 6.5 meters from the 17th Dynasty (1630-1520 B.C.) were discovered by a A University of Chicago expedition at Tell Edfu in southern Egypt. These silos were in a courtyard and were a part of a palace and administration center.

If you want to go a little more in depth, you can check out:

• "Storage and insect species of stored grain and tombs in ancient Egypt" by Levinson & Levinson, 2009, Journal of Applied Entomology

• "Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology", by Nicholson & Shaw, 2000, Cambridge University Press

• This article & photos from the University of Chicago describing their expedition

Hi there, just a reminder that we explicitly forbid any discussion of modern politics in this sub. So if you're coming here to answer this question:

• "here is what the Egyptians used to store grain: ___________" would be a spot on answer.

• "My opinion of Ben Carson is: _____________ " will be removed.

Thanks!

Interestingly, the idea that the Pyramids were created under the orders of Joseph to store grain was a not uncommon medieval belief. We can find it, for example, in John Mandeville, who actually argues against the competing theory that they were tombs (sorry for the archaic translation, don't have my own version in front of me at the moment):

And now also I shall speak of another thing that is beyond Babylon, above the flood of the Nile, toward the desert between Africa and Egypt; that is to say, of the garners of Joseph, that he let make for to keep the grains for the peril of the dear years. And they be made of stone, full well made of masons’ craft; of the which two be marvelously great and high, and the other ne be not so great. And every garner hath a gate for to enter within, a little high from the earth; for the land is wasted and fallen since the garners were made. And within they be all full of serpents. And above the garners without be many scriptures of diverse languages. And some men say, that they be sepultures of great lords, that were sometime, but that is not true, for all the common rumour and speech is of all the people there, both far and near, that they be the garners of Joseph; and so find they in their scriptures, and in their chronicles. On the other part, if they were sepultures, they should not be void within, ne they should have no gates for to enter within; for ye may well know, that tombs and sepultures be not made of such greatness, nor of such highness; wherefore it is not to believe, that they be tombs or sepultures.

It would be an interesting project to trace the history of the idea, try to see if there's actually a connection to Carson.

To piggyback on this question. Is there any archaeologists that in any fashion support Ben Carson's statement, that the Pyramids were not tombs but rather for grain storage? Nevermind his other comments about aliens, nobody legitimate supports that.