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
Landscapes hold histories that are not always easy to see. My research asks how colonial ideas about Land became embedded in the landscapes of Scotland and Aotearoa New Zealand, shaping how we relate to Land and what we recognise as ‘wild’, damaged, or in need of restoration or protection.
By tracing connections between the Scottish Clearances and settler colonialism in Aotearoa, I explore how histories of displacement and dispossession endure in contemporary conservation and heritage practice. My work brings together archaeology, archival research, field recording, embodied listening, and musical composition. Listening helps us attend to the lived and sensory dimensions of place, while composition offers a way to work through the emotional and ethical weight of these histories, including my family’s place within them.
At its heart, my research asks what nature ‘recovery’ might look like if we reckon with the histories that shape how we relate to Land in the first place.
Supervisors
Grants
2025-2026 – SGSAH Visiting Doctoral Researcher Grant: Visiting Researcher placement at Te Herenga Waka/Victoria University of Wellington
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
Workshops:
Georgette, G. "Listening to the Past: Sensory and Reflexive Approaches to Historical Research". Hosted by the University of Auckland, 25 March 2026.
Conference Papers:
Georgette, G. "Of Deer and Chestnuts: Roman Legacies and Rethinking Belonging in Rewilded Landscapes". The Australasian Society for Classical Studies (ASCS) Conference, Hosted by the University of Auckland, 3 February 2026.
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, 20-21 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.
Teaching
Guest Lecturer:
2025 – Université Grenoble Alpes Géopoésice: Worlding Epistemologies: Decolonial Methodologies
2024 – University of Glasgow ARCH4061/ARCH5117 Environmental Archaeology: Zooarchaeology
2020 – University of Auckland ANCHIST 254/354: Animal Husbandry in Early Rome
Project Supervision:
2026 – Arts and Humanities International Summer School Project Supervisor:
Hidden Histories: Decolonising Everyday Landscapes
Graduate Teaching Assistant:
University of Glasgow
2027 (Scheduled)
- Classical Civilisation 2B: Empire and Identity
- Celtic Civilisation 1B
2026
- Classical Civilisation 1A: Myth and Politics in Classical Athens
- Celtic Civilisation 1A
2025
- Classical Civilisation 1A: Myth and Politics in Classical Athens
- Archaeology 1A: The Archaeology of Scotland
- Archaeology 2B: Theory and Practice
2024
- Archaeology 2B: Theory and Practice
2023
- Archaeology 2A: 20 Things That Changed the World
University of Auckland
2020
- ANCHIST 110 (Dynasty, Democracy, Empire)
2019
- ANCHIST 110 (Dynasty, Democracy, Empire)
Additional information
Additional Roles
2024-2026 – Scottish Archaeological Forum Committee Member and Social Media Manager
2025 – Co-organiser, University of Glasgow Archaeology Seminar Series
2024-2026 – Postgraduate Research Representative
Education
2020 – Master of Arts in Ancient History, First Class (A+)
University of Auckland, New Zealand
The Pork in the Road: Revisiting Animal Husbandry Trends in Central Italy, 900-100 BCE examined zooarchaeological evidence for pigs, cattle, and sheep across central Italy. Using statistical analysis, the thesis challenged prevailing accounts of animal husbandry in the first millennium BCE Italy.
2018 – Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Ancient History, First Class
University of Auckland, New Zealand
My dissertation, Shaping the Forum: Investigating the Interpretative Frameworks on the Archaic Forum Romanum, explored how archaeologists’ interpretative frameworks shape the questions they ask and the histories they construct.
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
On this Marsden Fund-supported project, I researched the archaeological contexts of military equipment from ancient Italian burials, contributing to a wider study of warfare, manufacture, and supply in archaic central Italy.
2019-2022 – Ancient Coin Digitisation
I tested photogrammetry methods for creating 3D models of ancient coins and explored their potential as teaching resources in archaeology and ancient history.
2020-2021 – Elite Networks and Mercenary Service in Early Italy
I compiled evidence from ancient texts, inscriptions, and archaeological reports to support research into mercenary networks in the western Mediterranean.
