During the 1990s, Gaimster published extensively on medieval to early modern European archaeology, notably on ceramics and Hanseatic material culture, including the 1997 book German Stoneware, 1200–1900: Archaeology and Cultural History.

David Richard Michael Gaimster[1] was raised in Cambridge, England, where he developed an interest in archaeology as a young child.

[3][4] In 1991[3] he earned a PhD from University College London, 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".

[3][2] From 2004 to 2010, Gaimster worked as the General Secretary and Chief Executive for the Society of Antiquaries of London, and in September 2010 became the director of the Hunterian museum in Glasgow.

[12][13] In June 2023, Gaimster moved to Adelaide to take up the position of the director of the South Australian Museum,[14] but stepped down from that role at the end of 2024.