National Archaeology Museum

Welcome to the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, a site dedicated to answering the profound question: 'When and how did we become who we are?' Housed since nineteen oh four in the western wing of the magnificent Mosteiro dos…

We begin our tour on the ground floor, where the collections of prehistory are meticulously organized according to the principles of nineteenth-century positivist science. Here, you will find the earliest evidence of human…

The 'Sala do Ouro,' or Gold Room, is perhaps the most captivating section of the museum. It houses one of the largest collections of ancient gold and silver in Europe, with pieces dating back over three thousand years. …

Standing guard within the museum are the colossal granite statues of the Lusitanian warriors, or 'Guerreiros Castrejos.' These figures, dating from the first century BC and AD, represent the indigenous people who resisted Roman…

One of the most fascinating narratives in the museum is the story of the god Endovelicus. In the late nineteenth century, Leite de Vasconcelos excavated the Sanctuary of São Miguel da Mota, where he discovered hundreds of…

Unexpectedly, the National Archaeology Museum also houses the best collection of Egyptian antiquities in Portugal. This nucleus was initiated by Leite de Vasconcelos in nineteen oh nine, during his visit to an archaeology…

As we move into the sections dedicated to Roman Lusitania, the focus shifts to the administrative and social structuring of the territory. This era is represented by a vast array of artifacts—from glass-blown vessels and…

Our journey through the National Archaeology Museum concludes where it began—with the legacy of José Leite de Vasconcelos. This museum is the 'maximum exaltation' of his life's work, a place where he sought to recover the heart…