Research Projects
Saïs and its Hinterland: Dynamics and Power in the West Nile Delta
A research project of the Department of Archaeology.
Background
The project combines regional survey work, targeted excavation and various types of surveys at Saïs (Sa el Hagar) to investigate the reasons for settlement development, growth and abandonment from the Neolithic to the Late Antique period in the north-west of Egypt. The project is funded by the AHRC. The project Principal Investigator is Dr. Penny Wilson, ably assisted by a Research Assistant (2 years funding) Dr. Roger Dickinson, and geologists from the University of Mansoura, Dr. Hosni Ghazala, Professor Adam Shehat, and ceramicist advisors Dr. Sylvie Marchand (IFAO) and Dr. Gregory Gilbert (Hon. Research Fellow, Department of Archaeology, Durham University).
The results of the project include the discovery of an Early Neolithic fish midden site, a Middle Neolithic settlement, Buto-Maadi Period settlement, Ramesside town house, Saite sacred zone and buried buildings at Saïs. The survey has also located parts of river channels to the west and north and identified a fort at Tell el Dahab III and levee settlement lines in Kafr Sheikh province. A storage and display facility is being built at Sa el Hagar to disseminate results of the project and about the site to local people, visitors, tourists and students.
