Featuring only a few scattered inscribed blocks and piles of refuse at present, Sais (Today Sa El-Hagar) was the capital of the 5th Lower Egyptian Nome and the capital of Egypt during the 24th and the 26th Dynasties. Prehistoric archaeological material found recently in Sais proposes that the site was a fishing camp in the Early Neolithic and was settled in the Middle to Late Neolithic Period. According to a wooden label of King Aha (1st Dynasty), showing the symbol of Sais, the town was an important cult center for the warfare-goddess Neith since the beginning of the Egyptian history. Despite the current insufficiency of monuments at the site, enough information could be gathered through the visit of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus to Sais in the 5th century BC. He describes it as a significant political and economic city with great temples, colossal statues, large obelisks, sacred lake and huge granite naos of King Amasis (Ahmose II). Various monuments dating mainly to the Saite Period were found at Sais, but their exact provenance is unknown. These include granite and limestone anthropoid sarcophagus, inscribed stelae, amulets and a number of statues of Psamtik I. The royal tombs of the Saite Kings are believed to be located in the precinct of the Neith Temple, of which no traces have yet been found.
The site revealed a unique fragmentary relief of viticulture dating to the Late Period 26th Dynasty, which is persevered today at the Louvre Museum in Paris.