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Archaeology

Geoffrey Fairfield

Jessica Wagstaff
Collection Technician, IDEA Project

Frank Geoffrey Fairfield (23 March 1906 – 15 November 1995) was an engineer, author, local historian, and collector. He discovered his first Māori artefact in a swamp near Buckland’s Beach while fishing, and it triggered a lifelong passion for archaeology.

The eruption of Mt Tarawera

The Mt Tarawera eruption in 1886 is probably the most devastating eruption to occur in Aotearoa New Zealand since Polynesian settlers arrived in the 14th century.

Tairua trolling lure

Auckland Museum has in the collection a unique tangible link between Māori and the East Polynesian homeland. A fishing lure made from tropical black-lipped pearl shell was made in East Polynesia and brought here, on a waka, with the Polynesian settlers of Aotearoa.

Ancient currency or petrified food?

Sometimes, human history and natural history are neatly entwined, as was recently discovered when researching a pair of disc-shaped fossil specimens.

Ancient Worlds: The creativity of great civilisations

The Museum's collection of items from great civilisations and earlier cultures illustrates the practical similarities and artistic differences in human creativity.

Objects from Oruarangi

Objects from Oruarangi, a pa south of Thames, tell us about the activities of Māori who intermittently lived there over a period of hundreds of years. They form a large part of the Museum's Māori collection.

Ancient Egypt at Auckland Museum

From Palaeolithic axes to Christian silver crosses, the extensive range of Ancient Egyptian items in the Auckland Museum collection provides fascinating insights into the greatest of all ancient civilisations.