Geoffrey Almeric Thorndike Martin (28 May 1934 – 7 March 2022) was a British

egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

, Edwards Professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Philology Emeritus,

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, Joint Field Director of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project and fellow commoner of

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

Biography

Martin was born in South Ockendon on 28 May 1934. He attended school at

Aveley Aveley is a village and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England, and forms one of the traditional Church of England parishes. Aveley is 16 miles (26.2 km) east of Charing Cross. In the 2021 United King ...

and then Palmer's School in Grays in Essex. Martin received a BA in Ancient History from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

in 1963. He has the degrees of MA, PhD and Litt. D from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and was Budge Research Fellow in Egyptology at

from 1964 to 1970. After leaving Christ's College Martin became Lecturer in

Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Ancient Greek, Greek , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian History of Egypt, history, Egyptian language, language, Ancient Egypt ...

, Reader from 1978 and

Edwards Professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Philology The Edwards Professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Philology is a university professorial chair held at University College London. History The chair was founded on the death of Amelia Edwards of the Egyptian Exploration Fund in 1892, who bequea ...

from 1988 until retirement in 1993. Martin's fieldwork was carried out in various locations in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. He excavated with the Egypt Exploration Society's mission at

Buhen Buhen, alternatively known as Βοὥν (Bohón) in Ancient Greek, stands as a significant ancient Egyptian settlement on the western bank of the Nile, just below the Second Cataract in present-day Northern State, Sudan. Its origins trace back t ...

in the Sudan in 1963. With the EES and the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden and

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

he excavated at

Saqqara Saqqara ( : saqqāra ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for ...

from 1964-68; he was site director from 1970-1974, and field director from 1975 to 1998. He was field director of the Amarna Epigraphic Mission, of the Egypt Exploration Society in 1969 and 1980. From 1998 till 2002 he worked under Nicholas Reeves, Project Director, as Joint Field Director of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project. Martin died on 7 March 2022, at the age of 87.

Work

Martin was most famous for his discoveries of the tomb of

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen, (; ), was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of an ...

's treasurer, and the private tomb of

Horemheb Horemheb, also spelled Horemhab, Haremheb or Haremhab (, meaning "Horus is in Jubilation"), was the last pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of Egypt (1550–1292 BC). He ruled for at least 14 years between 1319 ...

, but also more generally for his work in the

Valley of the Kings The Valley of the Kings, also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings, is an area in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the Eighteenth Dynasty to the Twentieth Dynasty, rock-cut tombs were excavated for pharaohs and power ...

and

. The discoveries in Saqqara include Tia, Ramesses the Great's sister and other dignitaries.

Notable publications

*'Egyptian Administrative and Private-name Seals' (Oxford, 1971) *'The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna', I-II (London, 1974, 1989) *'The tomb of Hetepka and other Reliefs and Inscriptions from the sacred animal Necropolis North Saqqâra 1964–1973' (London, 1979) *'The Sacred Animal Necropolis at North Saqqara' (London, 1981) *'Canopic Equipment in the Petrie Museum' (Warminster, 1984) (with Vivien Raisman) *'Scarabs, Cylinders and other Egyptian Seals' (Warminster, 1985) *'The Tomb Chapels of Paser and Raia' (London, 1985) *'Corpus of Reliefs of the New Kingdom', I (London, 1987) *'Excavations in the Royal Necropolis at El-Amarna' (Cairo, 1987) (with Aly El-Khouly) *'The Memphite Tomb of Horemheb', I, (London, 1989) *'The Hidden Tombs of Memphis' (London, 1991) *'Bibliography of the Amarna Period and its Aftermath' (London, 1991) *'The Tomb of Tia and Tia' (London, 1997) *'Stelae from Egypt and Nubia in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, C. 3000 BC-AD 1150' (Fitzwilliam Museum Publications, 2005) *'Umm el-Qaab VII: Private Stelae of the Early Dynastic Period from the Royal Cemetery at Abydos'. Archäologische Veröffentlichungen, vol. 123 (Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2011, ).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Geoffrey Thorndike 1934 births 2022 deaths British Egyptologists People from Aveley Alumni of University College London Academics of University College London