Dr Wan Hu postulates that self storage was the first commercial activity undertaken by mankind. Here’s a review of some of history’s great self storage projects.

The Upper Palaeolithic peoples of Central Europe are well known for their exquisite cave drawings. Fine examples exist in Lascaux, France; Cave of Altamira, Spain and Creswell Crags, UK. The eminent professors extensive studies suggest that the drawings of bison, horses and deer, informed hunter-gathering cavemen of what could be safely stored in each cave. Further research is required to validate this exciting hypothesis.

The Great Pyramid of Giza built for King Khufu in 2560BC is a spectacular early storage facility. Construction of this wonder of the Ancient World took 20 years. For over 3800 years it stood proudly as the tallest man made structure. However despite its size it only has 3 chambers. Such poor space utilisation would dismay modern self storage operators. Security would also cause concern, given that all 3 chambers were looted.

Noahs Ark offered the first mobile self storage solution. According to chapters 6-9 of the Book of Genesis, the Ark was a large vessel built by Noah, at God’s command. It saved Noah, his family, and a representation of the world’s animals from a great flood. Modern storage companies dont store animals, but fortunately Noah saw the advantage of ignoring this rule.

Many storage operators would struggle to accommodate 8,000 terracotta soldiers, 130 chariots, 520 ponies and a further 150 cavalry horses. The figures vary in height (183″195 cm – 6ft”6ft 5in), according to their role, the tallest being the generals. For Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of China it was no problem. Perhaps youthful exuberance helped; he was only 13 when construction began. And he did have 7,000 staff, so customer service must have been superb.

World War II gave the Luftwaffe their opportunity to shine in the storage of allied prisoners-of-war. They believed their purpose built state-of-the-art facility was escape proof. Foolishly the put all their bad eggs in one basket; most prisoners had impressive escape records. How could a mere camp contain Dickie Attenborough, Steve McQueen and Ives. Throw in Charles Bronson, who could dig a tunnel before lunch and you’re just asking for trouble. And that’s just what they got. A mass escape which upset Adolf terribly. Storage is all about security and this camp just didn’t deliver.

Fort Knox, perhaps understandably, takes security more seriously than the average self storage centre. It’s protected by numerous layers of physical security, alarms, video cameras, armed guards, and the Army units based at Fort Knox, including Apache helicopter gunships, the 16th Cavalry Regiment, training battalions of the United States Army Armour School, and the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division. Most storage operators find that CCTV, a good fence, alarm and staff vigilance will do.

In all it’s glorious history, self storage operatives have striven for the highest levels of honesty, integrity and professionalism. Sadly one storage centre in London has recently let the side down. What is going on in the Houses of Parliament, where British politicians are stored? This building seems to house a lot of bad eggs. Security is lapse; they can come and go as they please. Instead of offering leadership of the highest order, many appear to have their noses in the trough. Time for a cull.

This brief history illustrates the rich heritage of self storage. One in ten U.S. households now rent a self storage unit. Theres enough self storage space to completely cover 3 Manhattan Islands. And it all started in a cave in France.