National Archaeology Museum (Lisbon)

The Museu Nacional de Archeology ( German: National Archaeological Museum ) is a museum in Lisbon district of Belém.

History

The museum was founded in 1893 by the Portuguese archaeologist José Leite de Vasconcelos as the 'Portuguese Ethnographic Museum. The beginning inventory were the collection of the founder and the collection of another private person: Estácio da Veiga. Many works of art were taken 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 inventories from the property of the royal family.

Numerous exhibits come from own excavation activity, which makes the museum since its early days. Since 1895, the museum reported in its own scientific publication " O Arqueologo Português " ( Portuguese archaeologist ) of its activities.

The permanent collection consists of two main divisions: Finds from Egypt and finds from Portugal. The latter presents numerous finds from the Bronze Age and also has an important collection of Roman mosaics, which are mainly in southern Portugal. In addition, constantly exhibitions are organized on specific topics, which are then accompanied by scientific publications as a rule. The museum also maintains the most significant archaeological Portugal library.

Building

The Jerónimos Monastery in Belém is one of the most important buildings in Portugal, built in the Manueline style. Since time immemorial, and since 1983 officially the building is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Since 1903, the National Museum of Archaeology is located in the middle of Hieronymus monastery and occupies a total area of a dormitory ( dorm ) designed part of the building, which was, however, usually only used as a storage area. The entrance is on the west portal. At the western end of the Museum, the Naval Museum closes and marks the end of the 300 meter long building complex.

Related topics in Portugal

In addition to the National Museum in Lisbon there is another Archaeological Museum: Archaeological Museu do Carmo in the Convento do Carmo, where essentially architectural fragments as well as medieval and Jewish grave stones are exhibited.

In the museum at the site Conimbriga at Condeixa -a-Nova numerous finds from the Roman period are exhibited, which were discovered in Conimbriga and at other sites in the north and center of Portugal.