NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGY MUSEUM

Description

Essentials about the National Archaeology Museum in brief

Those interested in archaeology should have seen the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia (National Archaeology Museum) during a trip to Lisbon. Besides the Carmo Archaeological Museum, it is the second important museum for archaeology in Lisbon and houses the largest collection of archaeological finds in all of Portugal. The National Archaeology Museum is housed in the world-famous Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery) in the Belém district. The museum is worth a visit for the wonderful late Gothic architecture of the monastery alone. The museum is located in the center of the monastery and occupies the part of the building that was originally intended as a dormitory for the monks.

The history of the National Archaeology Museum

Historically, the National Archaeology Museum traces its origins to José Leite de Vasconcelos, a Portuguese ethnologist and philologist of international renown who founded the Portuguese Ethnographic Museum in 1893. The museum’s initial holdings were the collections of the founder and another private citizen. Many art objects were taken over from the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (National Museum of Ancient Art). After the proclamation of the Republic in 1910, the collection was expanded to include large holdings belonging to the royal family. However, numerous exhibits also come from the museum’s own excavation activities, which it has undertaken since its early days.

Die exhibition of the National Archaeology Museum

The permanent collection of the museum consists of two main sections: Finds from Egypt and Finds from Portugal. The latter presents numerous finds from the most diverse periods of Portuguese history – starting from the Bronze Age, through the traces of Phoenician and Greek sailors and traders who reached the southwestern tip of Europe, to the Romans and Moors who, due to their long stay, left rich testimonies in the territory of present-day Portugal. Due to the great richness of the collections of the Archaeology Museum, the permanent exhibition is complemented by frequent temporary exhibitions on specific themes. The museum also maintains the most important archaeological library in Portugal.