Texts from the Baboon and Falcon Galleries

Demotic, Hieroglyphic and Greek Inscriptions from the Sacred Animal Necropolis, North Saqqara

by John D. Ray

Book cover: Texts from the Baboon and Falcon Galleries

Extent: 374 pages

Publisher: Egypt Exploration Society

Subjects: Ancient Egypt

Series: Texts from Excavations

Series volume number: 15

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(December 2011)

ISBN: 9780856982057

Price: $59.50

Out of stock

This volume catalogs all graffiti from the Baboon and Falcon galleries at the Sacred Animal Necropolis, North Saqqara, including dedications to Imhotep, masons’ marks, a Greek graffito on dreams, and inscriptions on bronze temple furniture and jars.


This volume features all the graffiti from the Baboon and Falcon galleries at the Sacred Animal Necropolis, North Saqqara, excavated by the Egypt Exploration Society by Bryan Emery between 1966 and 1971. The graffiti includes dedications to the god Imhotep with an important historical content, and masons’ marks which show some of the construction history of the galleries. There is also a Greek graffito listing the contents of dreams or visions, and a series of dedications on bronze temple furniture which mention a hitherto unknown god. Jars with hieroglyphic signs shed light on one of the main characters found in the Greek Hermetic literature, and a selection of ostraca give insights into the management of the animal cults.

  • By (author) John D. Ray