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Museu Nacional de ArqueologiaOpens in a new tab

Belém · Museums

The Museu Nacional de Arqueologia stands on Praça do Império, 1400-206 Lisboa, in the Belém neighbourhood of Lisbon. It is housed in the west wing of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, in the space that was formerly the monks' dormitory, and it shares the building with the Museu de Marinha, which is dedicated to Portuguese ships, shipbuilding, seafarers and nautical navigation, particularly during the Age of Discoveries. Belém Tower and several other attractions of the district are close by. The institution was founded in December 1893 on a proposal by the archaeologist José Leite de Vasconcelos, who lived from 1858 to 1941, and it began as the Museu Etnológico de Belém. King Carlos enacted the Royal Decree, which two ministers signed, including Bernardino Machado, minister of Public Works, Trade and Industry. Leite de Vasconcelos left his correspondence, engravings, manuscripts and photographs to the museum on his death. The collection began with the holdings of its founder and of Estácio da Veiga. After the establishment of the Republic, it took in the archaeology collections of the former Portuguese Royal House. Donations or legacies came from Bustorff Silva, Luís Bramão and Samuel Levy, and further material arrived through field activities or government orders. The holdings draw on finds from over 3,000 archaeological sites on the Iberian Peninsula. They include Neolithic tools, coins, Roman mosaics, amphorae and glassware, epigraphy, ethnography, jewelry, metalwork, pieces from the Islamic Period and Classical sculpture, along with exhibits from Ancient Egypt, Africa and Greece. The museum has the largest collection of Roman Period mosaics in Portugal, the biggest collection of Classical sculpture in the country, and the largest collection of Gallaecian sculpture in Iberia. Items on show include an Iron Age torc, gold leaf buttons from the Iron Age, a 4th Century Roman mosaic depicting The Muses, a statue of a Gallaecian warrior and a Roman funerary cupa, which is a wine vat. Its stated purpose is to tell the story of settlement across the territory, from the origins to the Middle Ages, and it is also the main centre for archaeological research in Portugal. The listed hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00-18:00, with closures on 1 January, 1 May, 13 June, 25 December and at Easter. The official museums page, however, currently lists the museum as closed for re-qualification works, so check before visiting. The telephone number is +351 213 620 000. Buses 28, 714, 727, 729 and 751 serve the area, as does tram 15 from Cais do Sodré and the Cascais Line to Belém station.