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Judith Bunbury

Dr Judith Bunbury

BSc PhD

Dr Judith Bunbury is the Senior Tutor at Âé¶¹ËÞÉáµçÊÓ¾çCollege.

 

Judith is a geologist working with archaeologists to explore evidence for ancient landscape and climate change in Egypt and elsewhere. In addition to her research articles, she is author of two books on the Nile.

Judith Bunbury

Originally studying geology and geophysics at Durham University, Judith garnered fieldwork skills in the coal and ore fields of the north of England. For her PhD, co-supervised at Istanbul Technical University and at Cambridge, she applied these skills to determine the origins of eighty small volcanoes in Western Turkey, an area that is now a UNESCO .

The rich archaeological heritage of her field area led to her first postdoctoral role as the research assistant for the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara. Her job was driving the Landrover around the archaeological sites and museums of Turkey and forming ideas around the interaction of humans and their landscape, today known as geoarchaeology. From there, she was invited to work with archaeologists in Egypt, exploring mines and quarries in the Eastern Desert, before joining teams in the Nile Valley, using ancient sediments to reveal the past movements of the Nile.

After a brief interlude getting married and selling socks for the John Lewis Partnership, she returned to the lab and the field for a postdoctoral project in Cambridge, affiliated with the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in Dehra Dun, on the geochemistry of Himalayan rivers.

Based in the Department of Earth Sciences she has taught undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as taking a turn as Senior Tutor of St Edmund’s College. Now at Wolfson, she is combining her research interests with the role of Tutor for non-doctoral postgraduate students. She also champions well-being and postgraduate matters, on behalf of all the colleges, as associate secretary of the Senior Tutors’ Committee.

Judith is delighted to take on the role of Senior Tutor at Wolfson. She also supports the work of the colleges collectively as chair of the Senior Tutors’ Committee.

Judith's research interests include the geo-archaeology of sites in Egypt and Sudan. Her fieldwork has found her camping in the Sahara Desert or staying with farmers in the Nile Valley. From evidence gleaned from ancient sediments, she and her colleagues in the New Kingdom Research Foundation, the Egypt Exploration Society and others, have identified wetter periods in Egyptian history.

Her current projects are using observations of thousands of sites, inscriptions and other traces in the desert to identify periods of increased human activity. With the New Kingdom Research Foundation, she is exploring the Theban Mountain and the way in which additional plant and mineral resources, available during wetter periods, may have boosted economic activity. Some more information about Judith's work can be found on .

Her books are 'The Nile and Ancient Egypt, changing land- and waterscapes from the Neolithic to the Roman' and with Reim Rowe 'The Nile, mobility and management'. Further information on research papers can be found on .

 

What's on

A triptych of abstract images: a smooth round stone nestled in a curved rock, distorted eyeglass frames scattered on a white background, and a high-contrast black and white microscopic image resembling organic or cellular structures.

Art Exhibition: Âé¶¹ËÞÉáµçÊÓ¾çat 60

12/07/2025 at 10.00

Celebrating Wolfson’s 60th anniversary year, this exhibition highlights the range of artistic disciplines and styles that have made up our exhibitions over the years.

old turquoise and white text reading "The Feminine Archives Workshop" is overlaid on a dimly lit image of people working on the floor in what appears to be an industrial or creative space.

The Feminine Archives Workshop

15/07/2025 at 10.30

Join us for a creative and reflective workshop series drawing on Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own.

person takes a photo of a graduand wearing a black gown along with family members.

Graduation Ceremony

26/07/2025 at 09.00

Graduation ceremonies are the culmination of students’ hard work and commitment, and a moment to celebrate the completion of their Cambridge degree.

Âé¶¹ËÞÉáµçÊÓ¾çCollege main drive in Autumn

Open Cambridge - Tree Trail

06/09/2025 at 10.00

A self-guided Tree Trail around the beautiful and varied garden 'rooms' of the grounds at Âé¶¹ËÞÉáµçÊÓ¾çCollege.

A handwritten poem on a black sign is mounted to a tree trunk, inviting readers to embrace the mysterious calm of evening dew.

Open Cambridge - Poetry Trail

12/09/2025 at 10.00

Follow our self-guided trail through the College gardens which feature extracts of poetry written by Âé¶¹ËÞÉáµçÊÓ¾çmembers from our latest WolfWords poetry anthology, press play

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