#  Meet the Harvard Students of the 2026 Kythera Field Archaeology Project 

 





September 15, 2026

 

 

This past summer, three members of the Harvard community brought their archaeological training to the field on the island of Kythera, as part of the inaugural season of the [fieldwork project "EVOKE"](https://www.dioramasproject.org/evoke) (Exploring Vythoulas Origins in Kythera Environs). Natasha Chamitoff and Sebastian Freitag, both Harvard undergraduates, joined the excavation project as the two Harvard interns through CHS Greece, as part of the [Field Archaeology Internship in Kythera program](/internships/kythera-field-archaeology "Field Archaeology Internship in Kythera"). Alongside them, Kate Whitaker, who during the last academic year was a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, joined the excavation through a [Grant for Projects in Hellenic Studies](https://chs.harvard.edu/programs/grants/) from the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, DC. As members of an international team of directors, archaeologists, field specialists, and students (approximately 20 participants in total), the three Harvard students spent their days between excavation, finds processing, and documentation in the field, and their afternoons in lectures, archives, and the island's countless beaches. Below, they share their reflections on the experience.

 ![Three participants posing at a scenic coastal viewpoint, with rocky islands and blue sea in the background.](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/2026-09/KYTHERA-Harvard%20Students.jpg)

 

Kate Whitaker, Natasha Chamitoff, and Sebastian Freitag on Kythera.

 

 

 

##  Guest post by Natasha Chamitoff 

I'm beyond grateful for the experience I had as a student intern for the EVOKE archaeological project on the beautiful island of Kythera. In only three weeks, I learned the ins and outs of Greek archaeology while developing lifelong memories and relationships with fellow students and staff alike.

   ![Archaeological excavation overlooking a coastal landscape, with two people working in a dig area on a hillside.](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-09/KYTHERA-Dioramas-1.jpg?itok=3W-9Sqog) 

 

Excavating at the hilltop site of Vythoulas, overlooking the strait between Kythera and the Peloponnese.Vythoulas, the site of interest to the EVOKE project, is incredible for both its location and history. Situated on a hilltop in the north of the island, Vythoulas overlooks the strait between Kythera and the Peloponnese. From the in-situ Byzantine church on site, one can both see nearly 180° of ocean and feel its breeze (which becomes pretty helpful on hot workdays). Vythoulas has five thousand years of occupation history: there is evidence to suggest that people have been living there since 3000 BC. EVOKE is looking to understand how so many groups of people managed and adapted to the difficult natural environment for so many centuries. Very little ground-penetrating archaeology has been done on the island, and it was special to be a part of the first season of such a forward-looking project.

   ![Group photo beside a waterfall in a wooded area, showing participants during an excursion.](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-09/KYTHERA-Team%20CHS%20Harvard.jpg?itok=xQAfU2JS) 

 

On an excursion with the team: (from left) Evan Katsarelis, Associate Director of Academic and Research Programs (CHS Greece), Natasha Chamitoff, Sebastian Freitag, Kate Whitaker, and Daphne Martin, Internship Coordinator (Harvard University).Our days were jam-packed with hard work, exploration, and good fun. Each morning at 6:10AM, we all gathered by the bakery of Potamos, ready to make our way to site. Our fifteen-minute drive would conclude with a walk up to Vythoulas, watching the sun rise over the hill and greeting our favorite local herd of wild goats. We spent the next six hours of each day hard at work in all three open trenches. From both my trench's supervisor, Daphne Martin, and EVOKE's directors, I learned to recognize developing stratigraphy and navigate complicated archaeology. Along with the other students in my trench, we carefully organized our findings while learning to take thorough notes about each context.

By the early afternoon, we were ready for a lunch break, shower, and nap (essential) back in Potamos. On most evenings, we reconvened at an old building in town to process our findings. We would usually spend a few hours washing and organizing pottery sherds according to fabric and a chronology. I can’t believe it's possible to just look at a sherd as small as your finger and determine whether it's Neolithic or Classical!

On some evenings, we students were lectured on the history of the island or archaeological methodology, for example. Other times, we might make a group trip to another stunning beach of the many dozens on the island. I can't think of a more perfect day: archaeology in the morning and beach in the afternoon.

The unexpected highlight for me on Kythera was the excursions that the senior staff organized for us students. Both during the week and on weekends, they took us around to visit many spectacular cultural heritage sites and gorgeous landscapes of Kythera. On weekend nights, those of us interested were taken bar-hopping in Chora and to the most beautiful beach bar that I'd ever seen in Lagada. By the end of my time there, I felt that I knew the island and had no shortage of fun.



 

### Natasha Chamitoff 

 

Natasha Chamitoff (class of 2027) grew up in Austin, Texas, and is a rising senior at Harvard College concentrating in Classics and Linguistics. Her love for the Classics community and archaeology has motivated her to pursue a career in Classical Archaeology, for which the next step would be graduate school. Outside of Classics, she plays volleyball, tutors high school students, and enjoys spending time with her cat and two dogs.



 



      ![Portrait of Natasha Chamitoff](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2026-09/KYTHERA-Natasha%20Chamitoff.jpg?itok=nHa7R3Lh) 

 

 

  

 



 

 

 

##  Guest post by Sebastian Freitag 

When I arrived on Kythera for the EVOKE project, I knew I would be digging, but I had no real sense of how completely the rhythm of an excavation would take over my life, or how much I would come to love it. For several weeks I worked at the site of Vythoulas, and by the end it felt less like an internship and more like a small world of its own. The island and dig site are stunning, so even hard work felt like vacation.

   ![Fieldwork team at an archaeological excavation, documenting and excavating beside a stone wall.](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-09/KYTHERA-Dioramas-2.jpg?itok=Ph7UYEpJ) 

 

On site in the early morning.Our days began before the sun got heavy. We were on site around six in the morning, when the light was still soft and the air hadn't yet turned hot, and we dug until about two in the afternoon. A lot of that meant real, physical work: swinging a pickaxe, moving earth, looking for pottery and changing contexts without breaking anything precious. We paused for two breakfasts together on site, which quickly became some of my favorite moments of the day. I loved looking across the sea to the Peloponnesian peninsula or counting cargo ships passing the Kytherian strait.

After the morning dig and lunch came a siesta, and then the afternoons were given over to washing and sorting pottery and to lectures on the history of Kythera and on archaeological technique. It was a full, satisfying routine, and the shared team meals, lunch and dinner both, held it all together. I’ll admit that the Greek food was one of the genuine highlights; I don't think I've ever eaten so well.

   ![Workshop participants seated outdoors in a courtyard, washing and sorting archaeological finds.](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-09/KYTHERA-Group%20activities.jpg?itok=CNUusOQk) 

 

The team processing finds together in the afternoon.The moment that has stayed with me most was when my own trench turned up our first loom weight. It made all the careful, sometimes tedious work suddenly feel immediate and real.

What made the experience, though, was the people. My trench was gloriously international: my supervisor was a brilliant, kind Brazilian archaeologist, and my teammates were Australian, American, and Chinese. Because the World Cup happened to be running during the dig, my supervisor and I ended up watching Brazil's matches together. Most evenings the whole group would gather at a beautiful open-air restaurant in the middle of our tiny, almost Mamma Mia-like village to watch the games under the sky. Those nights are some of the best memories I have.

Our dig leader, Konstantinos Trimmis, set the tone for everything. He was warm and generous, part teacher and part father-figure to the students, and he loved sharing the island with us, taking us to hidden, impossibly beautiful beaches and spending time with us on weekends and even on weeknights.

Overall, I cannot recommend this experience enough to any other students, no matter the academic background!



 

### Sebastian Freitag 

 

Sebastian Freitag (class of 2028) is an undergraduate student at Harvard College studying History and Economics. He loves playing sports and was on the Harvard Heavyweight Varsity rowing team last year. Now he looks to pursue soccer. Next to sports, he loves reading, painting, and spending time with friends. He hopes to do more archaeology in the future.



 



      ![Portrait of Sebastian Freitag](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2026-09/KYTHERA-Sebastian%20Freitag.jpeg?itok=sQ08NQ1r) 

 

 

  

 



 

 

 

##  Guest post by Kate Whitaker 

This summer, I was very grateful to participate in the inaugural season of the Vythoulas excavation on Kythera, organized by the University of Sydney and supported by Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies. Having just finished another Harvard excavation (the Falerii Novi Project outside of Rome), I was excited to act as both a field archaeologist and object illustrator for this new project in Greece. Although I work primarily on Greek religion, I had not yet had the opportunity to dig there, so this experience was a significant opportunity for me to develop my academic interests in action. The Center for Hellenic Studies generously supported my travel and accommodations; without their help, I would not have been able to join this excavation.

   ![Researchers gathered near a small chapel, preparing fieldwork equipment in a dry rural setting.](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-09/KYTHERA-Dioramas-3.jpg?itok=l3MWIxtD) 

 

The team surveying near the site's in-situ Byzantine church.During the time I was on Kythera, I spent most mornings on site excavating in Trench 2. Since Vythoulas is a hilltop site made up of a series of terraces, the stratigraphy (analysis of the soils deposited over time) is particularly complicated. Usually, later periods are closest to the surface, having been deposited more recently, but this can be inverted on uneven ground through natural processes. Over thousands of years, soil and rocks may erode and fall onto other terraces, so that a higher level's layers from the Iron Age could end up on top of a lower level's dirt and objects from Late Antiquity. Additionally, this site has evidence of occupation from the Neolithic to the Medieval period, meaning that thousands of years of history are condensed into just a few feet of dirt on top of the bedrock.

Despite these difficulties, we were able to learn a significant amount about the people who lived in Vythoulas and what they did there. We suspected that our trench was in an important location because of the present-day church near it, and the breadth of objects found there confirmed the continued use of the space across millennia. Situated between the Peloponnese and Crete, Kythera was a strategic middle point for both economic and military control. We hope to continue developing our understanding of this small hub of goods and cultural production in future seasons.

   ![Workshop participant seated at an outdoor worktable, with archaeological materials and equipment nearby.](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-09/KYTHERA-Workshop.jpg?itok=ebBTZ-8v) 

 

Processing finds in the afternoon workshop.After excavation each day, the afternoons were spent processing artifacts. While others washed pottery and sorted it according to suspected dating, I worked on illustrating so-called "diagnostic" pieces — the rims, handles, bases, or patterned sherds that might tell us about the shape of the full vessel or its usage. Object illustration is an important part of the eventual published works that will come out of the excavation. This is because photographs, while capturing the most "realistic" view of an artifact, may also inadvertently obscure some aspects of it. For instance, on a lead curse tablet, the incised writing on a solid grey surface may not be visible without shifting light that comes from handling the object. In this case, an illustration in pen and ink of the exact lines and letters might make it possible for those who do not have access to the artifact to understand what it communicates. During the course of the two weeks I was at Kythera, I illustrated several objects, including pieces of pottery and small finds.

Overall, my participation in the Vythoulas excavation was an important step in my career as a student of Ancient Greece. I am incredibly thankful to the directors—Tamar Hodos, Konstantinos Trimmis, and Lita Tzortzopoulou-Gregory—, my fellow archaeologists, and the Center for Hellenic Studies.



 

### Kate Whitaker 

 

Kate Whitaker is an incoming PhD student at the University of Chicago's History of Religions program. She holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard Divinity School and a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago. Kate works on Archaic and Classical Greek religion, and she is particularly interested in food and the senses.



 



      ![Portrait of Kate Whitaker](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2026-09/KYTHERA-Kate%20Whitaker.jpg?itok=gBjZ46qk) 

 

 

  

 



 

 

 

 [ Learn about the Field Archaeology Internship in Kythera arrow\_circle\_right ](https://greece.chs.harvard.edu/internships/kythera-field-archaeology) [ CHS US webpage under Grants for Projects in Hellenic Studies arrow\_circle\_right ](https://chs.harvard.edu/programs/grants/) 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Internships ](/activities-type/internships)
- [ Research Opportunities ](/activities-type/research-opportunities)
- [ Ancient Greece ](/activities-field/ancient-greece)
- [ Harvard undergraduate students ](/target-audience/harvard-undergraduates)
- [ Harvard graduate students ](/target-audience/harvard-graduates)
 
 

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