Prehistoric settlement in the Western Delta : a regional and local view from Sais (Sa el-Hagar).

This paper publishes Prehistoric archaeological material from Egypt Exploration Society work at Sais (Sa el-Hagar), Egypt. The site was a fishing camp in the Early Neolithic which was settled in the Middle to Late Neolithic Period for the cultivation of the floodplain. There is a gap in the settlement record of at least 300 years in the early 4th millennium until the Buto-Maadi culture settlement was established at Sais around 3,500 BC. The possible reasons for and implications of the hiatus in continuous settlement at Sais are explored in the context of the development of Lower Egyptian centres of power