The Baboon and Mother of Apis Catacombs were cleared in the 1968/9 season and the 1969/70 and 1970/71 seasons respectively during the Egypt Exploration Society's excavation of the site now known as the Sacred Animal Necropolis at North Saqqara. These excavations were initiated by W. B. Emery and directed by him from 1964 until his death in Cairo in March 1971. Later in that year, the Society's Committee appointed H. S. Smith as Field Director and G. T. Martin as Site Director for the project. During the years 1971-6 fieldwork was completed by the Society as far as was deemed practicable. Work then started upon the formidable task of publishing the underground catacombs and surface structures discovered and the very large quantities of objects and documents found during the excavations. Two of the reports, on the Falcon Complex and Catacomb and the Main Temple Complex have since appeared. This volume by Sue Davies constitutes the final archaeological report on the cult installations accessed directly from the Main Temple Complex.

Contributions by: H.S. Smith, K.J. Frazer