Gala Morris
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3180-2965
Research title: Echoes of the Past: Reimagining Conservation Strategies through Archaeology, Creative Practice, and Sound
Research Summary
My research uses deep listening and music as creative, critical methods for engaging with the layered colonial legacies that shape landscapes in Aotearoa New Zealand and Scotland. I explore the tensions of how Scots displaced during the Clearances went on to become displacers in Aotearoa, and how this legacy continues to reverberate through contemporary conservation and heritage management. Working with sound through musical composition, field recording, and embodied listening, I examine the sensory and emotional registers of place that are often ignored within conventional archaeological and environmental practices, yet are vital for confronting colonial dimensions of landscape. This approach foregrounds lived experiences of dispossession and the ongoing influence of colonial frameworks, particularly those embedded in narratives of 'wilderness' and 'restoration'. Through creative practice, I aim to unsettle inherited stories, open space for more reciprocal relationships with Land, and contribute to conservation approaches that acknowledge climate change while centring community, memory, and justice.
Supervisors
Grants
2025 – SGSAH Visiting Doctoral Researcher Grant
2025 – CSCS Seedcorn Funding
2024 – SGSAH Earth Scholarships, Scotland-based Scholar
2023-2027 – Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities, Doctoral Training Partnership
2022 – He Waka Eke Noa: Faculty Research Team Excellence Award, Awarded to the War in Context Hub (Abbenhuis, M., Armstrong, J., Georgette, G., Emmitt, J. J., Gregory, T.), Faculty of Arts, University of Auckland
2019-2020 – University of Auckland Research Masters Scholarship (Value: $21,652 NZD)
2020 – Faculty of Arts Award for Research Excellence (University of Auckland)
2018 – First In Course Award (Top Grade)
- ANCHIST 741 (Latin Language Higher)
- ANCHIST 750 (Sources and Approaches for the Ancient World)
2017 – Grace Kay Award for Academic Excellence: $2,000 NZD Grant
2017 – First in Course Award (Top Grade)
- LATIN 101 (Introduction to Latin)
- BIOSCI 335 (Ecological Physiology)
- ANTHRO 317 (Field Methods in Archaeology)
2016 – Grace Kay Award for Academic Excellence: $2,000 NZD Grant
Conferences
Georgette, G. "Embracing Decolonial Methodologies: Listening for Colonial Echoes". Guest Lecture for Géopoésice: Worlding Epistemologies Masters Course, Hosted by Université Grenoble Alpes, 18 November 2025.
Georgette, G. "The Land Listens Back: Sonic Methodologies for Landscape Archaeology". Chartered Institute for Archaeologists SIG Tea Break Lecture series, Hosted by CIfA, 12 November 2025.
Georgette, G. "Echoes Without Borders: Sounding Heritage Across Scotland and Aotearoa". Building Bridges Conference. Hosted by Scottish Archaeological Forum, 25 October 2025.
Georgette, G. "Resonant Landscapes: A Sonic Exploration of Conservation and Heritage". Subversion: SGSAH Second Year Symposium. Hosted by the University of Glasgow, 23 June 2025.
Georgette, G. "Echoes of Absence: Sound, Silence, and the Wilderness Myth". Ecology, Politics, and Justice: Working Towards the Pluriverse, XXVI International Conference of the Society for Human Ecology. Hosted by the University of Mons, Belgium, 18-21 June 2025.
Georgette, G. “Echoes of the Land: Reimagining Rewilding Through Multisensory Connections”. Pasts and Futures of Rewilding Symposium. Hosted by Université Paris Cité, Paris, 20-21 March 2025.
Georgette, G. "A land retouched: Archaeology's role in Scottish Rewilding Initiatives". Wild Scotland, University of Aberdeen, 30-21 May 2024.
Georgette, G., Emmitt, J. J., and J. Armstrong, J. (2022) “3D Modelling of Ancient Coins: From the Lab to the Classroom”. Conference on Ancient Coinages, co-hosted by The Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand (RNSNZ) and the Classics Department of the University of Canterbury, 2-3 July 2022.
Georgette, G., Emmitt, J. J., and Armstrong, J. (2021) “Digitising Minted Memories: Photogrammetry and 3D Modelling Methods for Ancient Coins”. CAA Australasia Online Conference 2021, 16-18 September.
Georgette, G. “The Pork in the Road: Pigs, Prestige, and Urbanism in Archaic Central Italy”. Exchanging Ideas Conference. Hosted by the University of Auckland, New Zealand. February 3rd, 2020.
Georgette, G. “The Reclamation of the Roman Forum: Reassessing the Archaeological Evidence”. Day of Papers, The University of Auckland, October 25 2018.
*Previously presented as Gala Morris.
Teaching
University of Glasgow
2025 – Classical Civilisation 1A: Myth and Politics in Classical Athens (2025-26), Graduate Teaching Assistant
2025 – Archaeology 1A: The Archaeology of Scotland (2025-26), Graduate Teaching Assistant
2025 – Archaeology 2B: Theory and Practice (2024-25), Graduate Teaching Assistant
2024 – Guest Lecturer for ARCH4061/ARCH5117 Environmental Archaeology; Plants, Animals and People (2023-24) on Archaeozoology
2024 – Archaeology 2B: Theory and Practice (2023-24), Graduate Teaching Assistant
2023 – Archaeology 2A: 20 Things (2023-24), Graduate Teaching Assistant
University of Auckland
2020 – Guest Lecturer for ANCHIST 254/354: Early Rome on Animal Husbandry in Early Rome
2020 – ANCHIST 110 (Dynasty, Democracy, Empire), Graduate Teaching Assistant
2019 – ANCHIST 110 (Dynasty, Democracy, Empire), Graduate Teaching Assistant
Université Grenoble Alpes
2025 – Guest Lecturer for Géopoésice: Worlding Epistemologies on Decolonial Methodologies
Additional Information
Additional Roles
2025 – Scottish Archaeological Forum Committee, General Member and Social Media Manager
2025 – University of Glasgow Archaeology Seminar Series Co-Organiser
2024-2025 – PGR Representative
Education
2020 – Master of Arts in Ancient History – First Class (A+)
University of Auckland, New Zealand
Thesis Title: The Pork in the Road: Revisiting Animal Husbandry Trends in Central Italy, 900-100BCE
Summary: This thesis (c. 40,000 words and externally examined) used statistical methods to reconsider the central Italian zooarchaeological scholarship on ancient animal husbandry preferences and ratios in the first millennium BCE Italy. After collating these data, I undertook statistical analyses, including linear regressions and tests for heteroscedasticity, to re-examine the dataset. By collating evidence from all archaeological reports that included zooarchaeological evidence of three key domestic species – pigs, cattle, and sheep – between 900 and 100 BCE, I called into question the prevailing archaeological narrative of how animal husbandry was undertaken in first millennium BCE Italy. This thesis was supervised by Associate Professor Jeremy Armstrong (Classics and Ancient History) and Dr Rebecca Phillipps (Archaeology).
2018 – B.A.(Hons) in Ancient History – First Class
University of Auckland, New Zealand
Summary: This research training Honours degree provided classes in Ancient History, Archaeology, and Latin. It included an Honours dissertation (c. 15,000 words), entitled Shaping the Forum: Investigating the Interpretative Frameworks on the Archaic Forum Romanum in Rome and supervised by Associate Professor Jeremy Armstrong, which examined how interpretative frameworks can influence the questions and research objectives that archaeologists develop, using the Forum Romanum in Rome as a case study. The dissertation was awarded an A grade and my cumulative GPA was 8.2 (First Class).
2017 – Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and Archaeology
University of Auckland, New Zealand
2017 – Bachelor of Arts in Ancient History and English
University of Auckland, New Zealand
Research Assistantships
2020 - 2023 ‘Blood and Money: The Military Industrial Complex in Archaic Central Italy’ project
This collaborative project between Classics and Ancient History and Archaeology explored the development, manufacture, supply, and maintenance of military equipment in the ancient Mediterranean using archaic central Italy as a case study. Working with Associate Professor Jeremy Armstrong (Classics and Ancient History) and Dr. Josh Emmitt and Mr. Tim Mackrell (Anthropology and the School of Social Sciences), I have examined the archaeological context of military equipment from ancient Italian burials. Two publications on this research are in progress. The project is supported by the Royal Society of New Zealand’s Marsden Fund.
2019-2022 – ‘Ancient Coin Digitisation’ Project
In collaboration with Associate Professor Jeremy Armstrong (Classics and Ancient History) and Dr. Joshua Emmitt (Anthropology), this project explored the methodological processes, challenges, and limitations of creating 3D digital models of ancient coins. I have independently experimented with different photogrammetry methods, which required photography, videography, and IT skills. The goal of this project was to evaluate whether digitised coins can be used as an effective pedagogical tool for teaching Archaeology and Ancient History in the classroom.
2020-2021 – ‘Elite Networks and Mercenary Service in Early Italy’ Project
In this project, I undertook independent, self-directed research to assist Associate Professor Jeremy Armstrong in examining the nature of mercenary networks and relationships in the western Mediterranean, focusing particularly on ancient Italy as a case study. I collated a database of evidence on ancient networks and relationships from different research avenues, including ancient literary evidence (investigating and translating the original Latin), archaeological evidence from surveys and archaeological reports (often translating from Italian, German, and French), and using the Consortium for Latin Lexicography database to find relevant Latin inscriptions.
