Geoffrey Thorndike Martin
Geoffrey Almeric Thorndike Martin (28 May 1934 – 7 March 2022) was a British egyptologist. He held the Edwards Professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Philology Emeritus title at University College London and was Joint Field Director of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project. He was also a fellow commoner of Christ's College, Cambridge.
Martin was born in South Ockendon, Essex, and attended Aveley and Palmer's School in Grays. He earned a BA in Ancient History from University College London in 1963, and later a MA, PhD, and Litt. D from Cambridge University. He was Budge Research Fellow in Egyptology at Christ's College, Cambridge from 1964 to 1970. After Cambridge, he became a lecturer at UCL, then a Reader in 1978, and Edwards Professor from 1988 until his retirement in 1993.
His fieldwork took him to Sudan and Egypt. He excavated at Buhen in Sudan in 1963 and at Saqqara from 1964 to 1968, later serving as site director (1970–74) and field director (1975–1998) for the project there. He led the Amarna Epigraphic Mission in 1969 and 1980, and from 1998 to 2002 he worked with Nicholas Reeves as Joint Field Director of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project.
Martin died on 7 March 2022 at the age of 87. He is best known for discovering the tomb of Maya, Tutankhamun’s treasurer, and the private tomb of Horemheb, as well as his work in the Valley of the Kings and Saqqara. His Saqqara discoveries included Tia, Ramesses II’s sister, and other dignitaries.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:34 (CET).