Sites unseen

Curator Josh Emmitt says archaeology is not about studying rubbish, it's about trying to understand the human story.

- ELISABETH EASTHER

With a background in archaeology and ancient history and a PhD in anthropology from the University of Auckland, Josh Emmitt has worked all over the world. Today, he is archaeology curator at Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Auckland War Memorial Museum, where he is helping look after the spectacular international exhibition “Egypt: In the Time of Pharaohs”, which runs until November 12.

Did you have an inkling as a child that you’d grow up to be an archaeologist?

I was always interested in dinosaurs, which is a misconception most archaeologists try to work against, because archaeology doesn’t do dinosaurs. But I had a subscription to a magazine and each week they’d send out a new bit so you could build your own T rex. I also loved digging things up and anything to do with mysteries.

What sorts of mysteries?

Anything mysterious that could be explored. Like Bigfoot, Atlantis or the Loch Ness monster. I also loved Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider, with their romantic notions that are tangentially associated with archaeology. I see now how problematic those things are, especially within the framework of colonialism and pseudo-science. That’s not to say Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider aren’t great entertainment, but it’s the more nefarious colonial storytelling that I look back on and think, “Why did I read that?” I also realise I had to go through those phases to figure out what was wrong with those problematic narratives.

But was it your actual ambition to be an archaeologist?