The site of Sa el-Hagar, named after a nearby modern village in the western Nile Delta of Egypt, was known in the past as Sais. It appeared as a religious centre in the written records of the first dynasty of the ancient Egyptian state, and became the capital city of the twenty-sixth dynasty. Previous research at the site, however, had found no evidence of human habitation of the pre-dynastic or even earlier periods; a new research project by the Egypt Exploration Society and Durham University has succeeded in revealing the late prehistory of this site for the first time.
After preparatory fieldwork, including core drilling and test excavations across the large concession area, the project concentrated on one promising locality for further investigation where excavation was carried out in unusual circumstances. The locality had already been seriously affected by the construction of an embankment, and a large depression named the ‘Great Pit’, approximately 400 × 400m and 4m deep, had been created. As a result, the project could excavate early layers in deep soils that were otherwise unreachable, although pumping was required to remove ground water. The latter issue, and time constraints, restricted the excavated area to 10 × 10m, reaching a depth of approximately 3m. The volume under review is the outcome of this painstaking excavation and the meticulous study of the finds.
The volume consists of 11 chapters and appendices. Chapter 1 briefly describes the history of the site and the background to the research. Chapters 2–5 describe respectively the four stratigraphic phases identified on the basis of finds, as well as a few radiocarbon dates: the top layer, dated to the twenty-sixth dynasty, followed by the pre-dynastic (Sais III), Late Neolithic (Sais II) and Early Neolithic (Sais I).
Following a total collection policy, all small artefacts and organic remains were collected by hand picking and sieving. Chapters 6–10 deal respectively with lithic artefacts, pottery, miscellaneous objects and faunal and botanical remains from the three prehistoric phases. It is noted by each specialist that the preservation of artefacts and organic remains is generally very poor throughout the layers due to the dynamics of alluviation in the Nile Delta floodplain. For example, pottery sherds were so heavily abraded that it was difficult to find diagnostic rim and base sherds, and identifiable botanical remains were extremely meagre. Despite such a disappointing situation, the specialists’ studies are well conducted and valuable information is provided in concise catalogues.
In such circumstances, lithic artefacts are the most important clue to understanding the technical skill, mobility and subsistence strategies of the prehistoric people who lived in the delta floodplain. Here, it is interesting to read that the stone artefacts recovered are generally small and fragmentary, and that expedient tools for daily tasks predominate throughout the Sais I--III phases due to the economising behaviour of the toolmakers. It is understandable that stone transported from elsewhere must have been used as efficiently as possible because there was no readily accessible lithic raw material source in the delta floodplain. On the other hand, without other supporting evidence, it is hard for readers to accept interpretations such as that magical meanings were embedded in a small number of bifacially worked tools and that prehistoric Sais was a ‘big men’ society. As for the chronological position and cultural affiliation of the lithic assemblages of Sais, it is essential to compare them with other lithic assemblages at sites in neighbouring regions. Only superficial comparisons, however, have been undertaken. Moreover, the illustrations of the lithic artefacts do not always adhere to the basic rule of drawing archaeological objects in a development view. This chapter required more thorough review before publication.
In contrast, the chapter on the faunal analyses is most professionally written and worth reading. The characteristics of the faunal assemblage and the relative importance of different food procurement activities at Sais are well highlighted through comparisons with those at other contemporary sites in Egypt. Considering the ecological conditions of the Sais landscape, it is no surprise that domesticated cattle and pig dominate the mammalian fauna while sheep and goat are rare, and that shallow-water fish are the most common among aquatic food resources. The faunal analyses also indicate the ages at which domesticated animals were slaughtered and in which season fish were caught. Such information provides important insights into the resource scheduling of prehistoric people at Sais.
Chapter 11 summarises the achievements presented in the preceding chapters and gives an extensive synthesis of prehistoric Sais in relation to other contemporary sites in Egypt and the Levant. It is a very readable account of sociocultural development in late prehistoric Egypt. At present, Sais is the only site in the delta floodplain where Neolithic layers have been identified, demonstrating that the Nile Delta was habitable—and indeed inhabited—at that time, although it remains uncertain when and how the first Neolithic communities settled there. As there are inconsistencies in the quantity and quality of data between the three prehistoric phases identified in this relatively small excavation, it is not easy to know whether and how people's residential base and subsistence focus shifted through time within the larger area of Sais. Nonetheless, this research project has, significantly, revealed that a food-producing economy and the related technologies were well established in prehistoric Sais by no later than the fourth millennium BC. Overall, this volume makes an unprecedented contribution to our understanding of the human habitation in the Nile Delta before the birth of the ancient Egyptian state.
