Published: 20250901
#pažinkmus – Sandra Vaitkevičiūtė, Curator of the Collection at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. From Australia to archaeological discoveries: Sandra talks about travels, love for Lithuania, and (non-)ice cream boxes at work.
Sandra, your biography before working at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania is very colorful and, one could say, “winding.” I imagine you have already shared some of those stories with your colleagues?
Only very few colleagues know those twists. Before joining the team at the Palace of the Grand Dukes, I lived a very dynamic life – studies, travels, and cultural discoveries led me from one corner of the world to another… After completing my bachelor’s degree in archaeology, I left for Sydney for almost a year. Although I knew I would return home, the thought kept nudging me – where else could I go? But studies were also important, so upon returning to Lithuania I enrolled in a master’s program in archaeology. Already after the first semester, I went to Norway for half a year through the “Erasmus+” program. While living there, I applied for the “Work and Travel USA” program – that’s how I spent the summer in America. But I kept remembering Australia… After my first trip, it had stolen a piece of my heart, and the thought kept coming back: what if one more time? So, I paused my studies and went to Perth, a city in Western Australia. I returned to Vilnius almost a year later and continued my master’s studies, with an important part of them being an internship. I knew I wanted to do it at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. That was the true beginning and my closer acquaintance with the Museum.
What myths about Australia, the USA, and Norway could you debunk?
Most likely, each of us has our own myths about different countries. Speaking of Australia, it is enormous and diverse, with hot, long summers and harsh winters, sometimes even with subzero temperatures or meadows covered in frost. So, during my second trip, I already knew: wool socks are simply a must!
The United States is often associated with huge cities, fast pace, and crowds of people – I saw that too. But much of my summer passed in quite a different environment – a small village in New Hampshire, where life was slower and people more close-knit. Turns out, while going for a walk there, you might encounter both a bear and Americans of Lithuanian descent! With them I developed a warm and sincere bond. I had the chance to live with them, nurture Lithuanian traditions together – we organized Lithuanian gatherings with the tricolor, the national anthem, and even cepelinai.
And Norway… I don’t know how others see it, but to me it felt like a land of eternal frost. And if there is a myth about cold and long winters, I couldn’t debunk that one. To my eyes, it was winter, then more winter with more snow – and only then, suddenly, a hot summer. Four seasons? No, I didn’t really notice that, more like three winters and one short but hot summer (laughs).
You met a bear?!
The bear story is quite simple. My friend and I went for a walk along a dirt road, surrounded by pastures and forests. That’s where we saw a bear – it crossed the road like a cat would, or rather, walked slowly, stopped, and looked at us. We froze for a moment, and when it went its own way, we moved on too: the bear went in the direction of where we lived, and we chose what was left – the road leading farther away. After wandering a bit, we gathered the courage to return home and, fortunately, didn’t see the bear again. After that, we gave up evening walks – I traded them for morning runs.
After returning, you studied for a master’s degree in archaeology and did an internship at the Museum. After graduation, you stayed at the Museum and have now been here for five years. What made you stay?
When the opportunity to work here appeared, I didn’t hesitate long – I felt that everything was happening in the right time and place. After longer travels, I was craving stability, so it seemed that everything naturally fell into place. Of course, the impressions from my internship and the chance to directly touch history also contributed. During the internship, I had the opportunity to participate in archaeological research at the Palace, and in the Museum’s storage I chose to study profiled bricks – they became the main subject of my master’s thesis. I am very grateful to my current colleagues, who trusted me even when I still lacked confidence myself – their support was and remains incredibly important.
Every object – even a small shard – receives your attention. What does the journey of an archaeological artifact through your hands look like?
You take one ice cream box after another, which have been sitting in the Museum’s storage for about twenty years, and look inside to see what’s hiding there – and you can find anything (except ice cream): usually from bones to ceramic items. You look at the list of finds in the report, check if everything is there. Then you look again, whether anything can be pieced together – in other words, you play a puzzle game, only you don’t know if you have the right pieces. Usually, unfortunately, you don’t, but if you do, you can glue together fairly complete pots or stove tiles, which then go on to the exhibitions and displays at the Palace of the Grand Dukes or other museums. And then again, you take each artifact – whether a shard or a nearly whole tile – photograph it, create or refine its description, measure it. Next comes the selection of what will go for drawing, photography, conservation, or restoration, and there is also additional documentation that needs to be taken care of… and so it goes with thousands of artifacts. Finally, new boxes (no longer ice cream ones) are formed by material type, with a label attached indicating what is inside – this way, the Museum objects are ready to return to storage.
You’ve also taken up a new hobby – gardening. How was this year’s harvest?
Probably like for many gardeners: some things didn’t sprout, some sprouted but didn’t yield. Still, I can be proud of my balcony “dwarf” tomato (at least that’s what it said on the seed packet), which not only outgrew me but is already reaching the ceiling. But the plant grew not only upward – it bloomed abundantly and produced a wonderful harvest of plum tomatoes. Other dwarf tomatoes were more like real dwarfs and also rewarded me with fruit. Cucumbers had a harder time – only one out of three agreed to produce, while the others just kept blooming. As for the wild strawberries, I think they just need to be replanted in time. I hope I’ll remember that next season!
You travel a lot, but your heart remains in Lithuania? What moment in Lithuania stands out the most?
Yes, I love traveling, but Lithuania will always remain home. One of the most vivid impressions in recent years is from Lithuania itself – the centennial Song Festival, where I danced. For participants, the festival is more than just the day of the concert – it requires a lot of preparation. The last week before the event was especially intense, with rehearsals from morning to evening. It felt like it would never end, and when exhaustion knocked me down, I asked myself: do I really need this? But it was all worth it on the day of the concert, which passed in a flash. The excitement, the hundreds of people in national costumes, the shared spirit, and the feeling that you are a part of such a great event. And really, it’s hard to single out just one moment – I think it’s that sense of togetherness, from the first rehearsal to the end of the concert, that stands out the most.
