Archaeology Museum

Founded in 1893, this museum houses the largest archaeological collection in all Portugal, with artifacts dating from the Paleolithic period to the Middle Ages.

The National Archaeology Museum (Museu Nacional de Arqueologia) of Lisbon contains the most impressive archaeological collection in Portugal. The Museum is housed in the building adjacent to Jerónimos Monastery, in the district of Belém.

It was founded in 1893 by the renowned archaeologist José Leite de Vasconcelos and features artifacts that date from the Palaeolithic to the Middle Ages. Originally, it was called the Portuguese Ethnographic Museum.

Museum Collections

There are beautiful objects including precious stones, items made of gold, and earthenware pots, but we particularly like the Egyptian and Islamic halls.

If you’ve already been to Egypt, the Egyptian hall will bring back many memories. It features several mummies of people and animals and a collection of impressive old photos.

Is the Museum Worth Visiting?

Since the National Archaeology Museum is adjacent to the Jerónimos Monastery, we recommend visiting the Museum if you have enough time. In our opinion, it has a very interesting collection from several parts of the world.