Banking

The first banks were probably the religious temples of the ancient world, and were probably established sometime during the third millennium B.C. Banks probably 1 the invention of money. Deposits initially consisted of grain and later other goods including cattle, agricultural implements, and eventually precious 2 such as gold, in the form of easy-to carry compressed plates. Temples and palaces were the safest places to store gold as they were constantly attended and well 3. As sacred places, temples presented an extra 4 to would-be thieves.