A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – History of Sais goes back to Egypt’s predynastic times (prior to 3100 BC). It was once a beautiful Egyptian city located in the western Egyptian delta along the right bank of the Rosetta Branch of the Nile River.
Today, the only visible ruins of the city near the village of Sa al-Hadjar are dated to the Late New Kingdom (c.1100 BC).
There are no surviving traces of this town prior to this period of time, but it is scientifically attested that the history of Sais goes back to pre-dynastic times. From the 3rd millennium BC, Sais was an important economic, political and religious center of the goddess of war and hunting, Neith, whose temple was to be erected by the founder of the first dynasty.
Known as a center for science and the arts, the city was first mentioned in inscriptions of the archaic period, however, it played an important role in all historical periods, and was most important in the late ages. It was then the state capital during the reign of the XXIV and XXVI dynasties.