Ancient Egypt Door Locks

Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, circa 2000 BC 

The Earliest door lock consisted of a wooden crossbar on two wooden brackets mounted on the door and the door frame. the next stage in development was the use of a key.

Since barred doors could only be locked from within, the next improvement was a wooden lock with a short beam, or blot, outside the door. 

The beam was drawn aside with a key of the same material. the key's job was to lift the tumblers that held the beam or blot in place. the blot was opened or closed when its free end was pushed by the key into or out of a wooden guide in the door frame. 

These wooden pin tumbler locks with keys were used as far back as in Ancient Egypt, which is why they are often called Egyptian locks. but in fact, there is much evidence to indicate that the Egyptians took over this type of lock from the earlier cultures in Mesopotamia. 

The Roman Era, Circa 200 AD 

The Roman's metal pin tumbler locks evolved out of the Egyptian