David Richard Michael Gaimster is a British archaeologist and

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

. During the 1990s, Gaimster published extensively on medieval to early modern European archaeology, notably on ceramics and

Hanseatic The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=German language, Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Norther ...

material culture, including the 1997 book ''German Stoneware, 1200–1900: Archaeology and Cultural History''. Gaimster became the director of the Hunterian at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from 2010 to 2017, after which he moved to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, becoming the director of the Auckland War Memorial Museum from 2017 to 2023. Gaimster is currently the director of the South Australian Museum.

Early life

Gaimster was raised in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, England, where he developed an interest in archaeology as a young child. In 1984, he graduated from

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

Career

Gaimster began working for the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

in 1985, working as a field archaeologist, an assistant keeper in the Medieval & Later Antiquities department and briefly as the caretaker of the

Secretum Secretum may refer to: *Secretum (book), a book by Petrarch *, a book by Monaldi & Sorti * Secretum (room) at the British Museum *A ''sigillum secretum'', a special seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a divers ...

. In 1991 while working at the museum, Gaimster received a PhD from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Gaimster published works relating to medieval and early modern European archaeology, notably on ceramics and

material culture. In 1997, Gaimster published ''German Stoneware, 1200–1900: Archaeology and Cultural History'', one of the most significant works on European ceramics published in the 20th Century. From 2002 to 2004, Gaimster worked as a senior policy advisor for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, when he worked on measures to prevent trafficking of cultural objects through market reduction approach laws. From 2004 to 2010, Gaimster worked as the General Secretary and Chief Executive for the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...

, and in September 2010 became the director of the Hunterian museum in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. Gaimster moved with his family to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand in 2017, where he became the director of the Auckland War Memorial Museum. During his time at the museum, he oversaw the construction of Te Ao Mārama, a redevelopment of the south atrium space, and managed the museum during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In June 2023, Gaimster moved to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

to take up the position of the director of the South Australian Museum.

Honours

David Gaimster was awarded the SHA Award of Merit by the Society for Historical Archaeology in 2005, due to his work in historical archaeology. He was elected a Fellow of the

in 1996, and of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 2016. In 2019, Gaimster became an honorary adjunct professor at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, in Museum and Cultural Heritage.

Partial list of publications

Books

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Chapters

Articles

* * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaimster, David 20th-century British archaeologists 21st-century British archaeologists Alumni of University College London British chief executives Directors of museums in Australia Directors of museums in New Zealand Directors of museums in the United Kingdom Directors of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Employees of the British Museum English emigrants to New Zealand English emigrants to Australia Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Living people People associated with the Auckland War Memorial Museum People associated with the University of Glasgow People from Cambridge Society of Antiquaries of London Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of University College, Durham