The Ancient Egyptians were the first to write and the first to make writing materials (papyrus); hence, the first also to preserve documents and manuscripts. Similarly, the Egyptian State took interest in saving and organizing correspondences, writings and records to facilitate obtaining data. In the Pharaonic era, the main principle was: what is not preserved in a document, does not exist. Distinctions were also made between letters, maps, and accounts with regard to value, confidentiality, material used, and whether the document is original or copied.

In Ptolemaic Egypt, Alexandria became the royal archival center. Other archives also existed in provinces, such as: the Zenon Archive in Fayoum; Zenon worked for the minister of finance in the era of Ptolemy II (ruled 286-246 B.C.).

In the Roman era, the number of Egyptian state documents increased. Similarly, the number of Public Archives also increased, for there was Hadrian’s Public Archives, established in Serapeum, as well as, other archives in the capitals of each province. A 127-year-old document has revealed much about the type of Archives built in that era and the type of documents they stored.

The Arabic papyrus in the Islamic era reveal a very precise document preservation system, that was founded by Ahmad Ibn Tulun, who laid down the foundations of the Diwan Al-Insha’ system in which copies of all the governor's writings were kept. The Diwan Al-Insha’ kept its function of preserving documents, correspondences, writings, and texts of writs and decrees long past the end of Ahmed Ibn tulan's rule, and was used by the later Ayyubid and Mamluk Sultans.Mameluk and Ayyubid Sultans.

In the Ottoman period, every administrative unit was responsible for preserving its own documents. The Roznama or Almanac, was in charge of keeping documents and records of Egypt’s financial system, including taxes and lands while judicial administrations in the provinces compiled enormous numbers of registers. Nazirs (administrators), Katibs (clerks), Mubashereen (comptrollers), and Wakil (surrogates) in cities and towns kept records. Accounting Diwans also kept records of their own work; however, upon their dismissal or moving to another place, accountants used to take their records with them. This caused a state of disorder in the administrative system, a fact that prompted Mohammed Ali Pasha to establish the Daftarkhana or House of Documentation as a place especially designated to preserve records and documents. Moreover, local authorities and individuals received orders to submit their records and papers to the Daftarkhana.