David Richard Michael Gaimster is a British archaeologist and museum executive. During the 1990s, Gaimster published extensively on medieval to early modern European archaeology, notably on ceramics and

Hanseatic The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

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 The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

from 2010 to 2017, after which he moved to New Zealand, becoming the director of the

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

from 2017 to 2023. Gaimster was the director of the

South Australian Museum The South Australian Museum is a natural history museum and research institution in Adelaide, South Australia, founded in 1856 and owned by the Government of South Australia. It occupies a complex of buildings on North Terrace in the cultur ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, South Australia, in 2023 to 2024.

Early life and education

David Richard Michael Gaimster was raised in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, England, where he developed an interest in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

as a young child. In 1984, he graduated from

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

with a BA. In 1991 he earned a PhD 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 ...

, with his thesis entitled "Pottery Supply and Demand in the Lower Rhineland c. 1400–1800: an Archaeological Study of Ceramic Production, Distribution and Use in the City of Duisburg and Its Hinterland".

Career

Gaimster began working for the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

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 (British Museum), the collection of obscene material held by the British Museum *A ''sigillum secretum'', a special seal Seal may refer to any of ...

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

. 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 The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for Culture of the United Kingdom, culture a ...

, 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 The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

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

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Gaimster moved with his family to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand in 2017, where he became the director of the

. 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In June 2023, Gaimster moved to

to take up the position of the director of the

, but stepped down from that role at the end of 2024.Simmons, David (27 December 2024)
SA Museum CEO steps down, new interim boss named
''

InDaily Solstice Media is an Australian publisher based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 2004, it was known for publishing the weekly tabloid newspaper ''The Independent Weekly''. Solstice publishes ''InDaily'', which was initially the onli ...

''. Retrieved 28 December 2024.

Recognition and honours

*1996: Elected Fellow of the

*2005: SHA Award of Merit by the

Society for Historical Archaeology The Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) is a professional organization of scholars concerned with the archaeology of the modern world (15th century-present). Founded in 1967, the SHA promotes scholarly research and the dissemination of knowledg ...

, for his work in historical archaeology *2016: Elected Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) 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 establis ...

*2019: Appointed honorary adjunct professor at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, in Museum and Cultural Heritage

Selected publications

Books

* * * * * * * * * *

Chapters

Articles

* * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaimster, David Living people People from Cambridge 20th-century British archaeologists 21st-century British archaeologists Alumni of University College, Durham 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 People associated with the Auckland War Memorial Museum People associated with the University of Glasgow Year of birth missing (living people) People associated with the South Australian Museum