The 14th century saw a wave of travelers who left records of their travels. In 1323 the Anglo-Irish friar Simon Fitzsimon (Symon Semeonis) visited the area with his friend Hugh (who died in Cairo) and observed "the granaries () of Joseph mentioned in Genesis. They are three in number, of which two are of such size and height that at a distance they look more like the summits of mountains than repositories of corn."Itinerarium 60; ed. Golubovich 1919, 271; ed. and trans. M. Esposito, SLH 4:84-85. In 1349 the Tuscan monk Niccolò Poggibonsi noted that "three miles outside Babylon there are granaries, which are called Pharaoh's granaries. Joseph, the son of Jacob, had them built." He continues: "three are outside Babylon, which are so big that coming from Alexandria they can be seen 60 miles away. The said seven granaries are diamond shaped and within is a large house, above and below of porphyry; and within there is a deep pit. And many a time we threw in stones and did not hear them strike the bottom and it looked very dark, and we left at once through fear, having our little torch quenched from the wind, which came from there."Libro d'Oltramare 193; ed. Lega 1881, 93-96; trans. Bellorini and Hoade 1945, 96-97 (modified slightly). The year 1374 saw thirteen Tuscan travelers make the pilgrimage to the Holy Land, three of which left accounts: Leonardo Frescobaldi, Simone Sigoli, and Giorgio Gucci. Frescobaldi makes a brief mention of "the granaries which Joseph had made at the time of Pharaoh king of Egypt, in the days of the famine."Viaggio; ed. Mazi 1818, 92; trans. Bellorini and Hoade 1948, 46. Sigoli offers a fuller and more literary account, noting that "Joseph found means to have from every side as much corn as he could, and quickly he collected a very great number of bushels, and this grain he put in these granaries. And they are among the biggest edifices to be seen: and they are three and distant one from another a stones throw; and they are built of very great long thick stones and in shape like a diamond; the base is very wide and the summit pointed ... and each has four sides, and the corn was placed inside: just imagine the very great amount amount that inside would take."Viaggio; ed. Poggi 1829, 25; trans. Bellorini and Hoade 1948, 169. Gucci appears to have reflected a bit more on what he saw: "These granaries, which are of giant structure, are said to have been made by Pharaoh at the time of the great famine at the time of Joseph, though to see them they appear to be works for perpetual memory rather than granaries.Viaggio; trans. Bellorini and Hoade 1948, 104. Gucci also records that "each is so high that no bowman at the foot would reach the top," the same phrase used by Poggibonsi a generation earlier. In 1392 Thomas Brygg, an Englishman who later became mayor of Bordeaux, noted the "famous granaries of wondrous size which Joseph, the son of Jacob, had built in the days of Pharaoh."Itinerarium; ed. Riant 1884, 381; trans. Hoade 1970, 78. In 1395 the French lord Ogier d'Anglure described the challenges of getting to the foot of the Pyramids and the commotion of workers stripping the smooth facing: "the great stones falling like so many vine plants that these masons were chopping down." "It should be explained," he continues, "that these granaries are called Pharaoh's Granaries; and the pharaoh had them built in the time when Joseph, the son of Jacob, was governor over all the kingdom of Egypt ... As for describing the inside of these granaries, we could hardly speak of it, since the entrance from above is walled up and there are enormous tombs in front of it ... [for] the entrances were closed up because people had been using the places to make counterfeit money."Saint voyage 249-51; ed. Bonnardot and Longnon 1878, 67-68; trans. Browne 1975, 59-60. Ogier does mention "a doorway into the ground, a long way in front of and below the granary," but it is not very tall, and "a very dark place, and foul-smelling from the beasts that live in it" (ibid.).
