Professor geoffrey martin

Prof. Geoffrey A. T. Martin

Biography

Audio resource: Geoffrey tells of his time

Geoffrey was an accomplished storyteller. On 24th August 2019, he recorded an interview with Sergio Alarcón Robledo, a recent MPhil Egyptology graduate from Christ's who became a friend and colleague. In the interview, Geoffrey told of his first field season in the Nile Valley, at the site of Buhen, in 1963-64: the following conversation highlights give an impression of the kind of man he was, and the stories he could tell.

Christmas 1963: A Sudanese cook and a very special cheese

A wild man (with an Oxford accent) crossing the desert

Along the Nile by steamer: Abu Simbel in the moonlight

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Born in 1934 in South Ockendon, Essex, Geoffrey Martin obtained his BA in Ancient History from University College London in 1963, following a period of training as a chartered librarian and National Service. He followed this up with postgraduate study in Cambridge, becoming a Fellow of Christ's and taking his MA in 1966. He received his PhD in 1969, during his Junior Research Fellowship.

Following his BA in Ancient History from University College London in 1963, Geoffrey came to Cambridge where he took his MA in 1966, and joined the Fellowship at Christ’s as the Lady Wallis Budge Junior Research Fellow that year.  He was awarded his PhD in 1969 during his Junior Research Fellowship.

Geoffrey left the Fellowship in 1970 to return to University College London as a lecturer in Egyptology, where he was ultimately Edwards Professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Philology.  He was also a Senior Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research in Cambridge, Vice-President of the Egypt Exploration Society, Corresponding Member of the German Archaeological Institute, and Patron of the Thurrock Local History Society.

He participated in and directed fieldwork and epigraphic missions in The Sudan (Buhen), in Egypt (Saqqara, Amarna and The Valley of Kings, Luxor) and was Field Director on the Cambridge Expedition to the Valley of the Kings.   He was most well known for his discoveries at Saqqara of the tomb of Maya, Tutankhamun’s treasurer, and the private tomb of Horemheb.  Geoffrey was the author of numerous monographs, mostly concerning results of archaeological fieldwork, epigraphy and sigillography, and papers on Egyptological themes.

Following his retirement Geoffrey returned to Cambridge and was elected a Fellow-Commoner of the College in 1998.  In the years that followed, he was a much esteemed and valued member of the College community, tirelessly contributing as Honorary Keeper of the Archives, Honorary Keeper of the Plate and Acting Praelector in 2009.  He took particular interest in the Lady Wallis Budge Junior Research Fellows in the College, participating in seminars they arranged and acting as an inspirational guide and mentor. Geoffrey continued making these valuable contributions even through the coronavirus pandemic of 2020-2022, despite no longer being in good health. His passing on 7th March 2022 came as a great shock to the College community, with Christ's and the Egyptology world at large being united in sadness and gratitude for a life of great scholarly achievement.

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