Helga Bumke

Professor Helga Bumke serves as Professor of Classical Archaeology at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg since Winter Semester 2011. She is affiliated with the Faculty of Philosophy I, specifically the Seminar for Classical Archaeology within the Institute for Art History, Archaeology and Classical Studies. Her academic career spans significant positions including a professorship at Ruhr University Bochum (2010-2011) and research positions at the University of Bonn (2000-2010).

Her educational background includes studies in Classical Archaeology, Art History and Ancient History at the Free University of Berlin and Heidelberg University (1986-1993), where she earned her Master of Arts in Classical Archaeology. She completed her doctorate at the Free University of Berlin in 1997 with a dissertation on 'Statuary Groups in Early Greek Art' and achieved her habilitation in 2007 with a thesis on 'Artemis Sanctuaries in Western Asia Minor.'

Professor Bumke's research focuses on the topography and history of Didyma and Miletus, ancient sanctuaries and votive practices, and Greek sculpture and iconography. Her work explores the religious character of Greek deities in the Ionian 'colonization area,' cultural transfer in antiquity, and the intricate relationships between urban centers and their surrounding sacred landscapes. She has made significant contributions to understanding ritual practices, votive offerings, and sanctuary organization in ancient Greece.

Her recent publications (2012-2022) demonstrate a consistent focus on Didyma as a central research site, with increasing attention to specific aspects of sanctuary organization, votive practices, and the relationships between different cults within the same sanctuary complex. Her work shows a methodological evolution from traditional archaeological description toward more anthropological approaches examining ritual behavior and cultural interaction.

• Research Fellowship from the German Archaeological Institute (1997-2000)
• Research grant from the German Research Foundation in Athens (2006)
• Corresponding Member of the German Archaeological Institute (since 2009)
• Member of the Saxon Academy of Sciences in Leipzig (since 2017)

Professor Bumke has supervised numerous graduate students through her membership in the Graduate School ANARCHIE (2012-2021) and has secured substantial research funding, including the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy project 'Cults in Cults' (2009-2021) and the current DFG-funded project 'New Edition of the Construction Reports of Didyma.' Her research has been supported by prestigious institutions including the German Archaeological Institute and the German Research Foundation.

She leads the Didyma excavation project of the German Archaeological Institute (2012-2023) and co-leads the international research team working on the 'New Edition of the Construction Reports of Didyma' with the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Her work involves collaboration with multiple international research clusters, including Research Cluster 4 'Sanctuaries. Form and Ritual, Continuity and Change' organized by the German Archaeological Institute.