The Archaeological (Archaeology) Museum of Faro has wonderful displays

Home Mosques Muslim Heritage Personalities Travel Contact Us

Archaeological Museum of Faro

Introduction

The Archaeological Museum of Faro, also known as the Municipal Museum is located inside the Faro’s Old Town. It is housed inside a splendid 16th-century Renaissance Convento de Nossa Senhora da Assuncao , in what was once the Jewish quarter of the city. Some of the exhibits include a range of artifacts from prehistoric Portugal to Romans Period and the era of Muslims presence in the region. Main garden of the museum is located in the centre and exhibitions are displayed inside the rooms and corridors around it. few storage jars are displayed in the corridor as well.

Muslim Period

The Islamic Room of the Faro Museum is based on Islamic art in Portugal. A Portuguese translation of Ibn Abdun’s poem is dipslayed on the wall of the Islamic Room. Translation of a beautiful lamenting poem written in Arabic by Ibn Abdun(11th-12th century). It makes one’s heart cry over the bitterness in his thoughts about the people of al-Andalus. This is a tombstone made out of sandstone from Loule in 1016. A 11th century gravestone from Castro Marim (Faro region), the deceased is named as Abdullah al-Adib Ibn.

The back yard of a Muslim house in Algarve was very important place, this is where cooking, ceramics making and even family gathering would take place. Some of the everydays use objects from the Muslim period. The pantry in a house was used to store the provisions. Food was preserved by using complex methods of preservation in vinegar, honey or by drying. The lamps in the Islamic period were an important symbol of one’s social status.

Visigoth and Roman Collections

Inside the museum, a pitcher at the top and a jar at the bottom, both are from the 6th/7th centuries. One plaque belongs to a Visigothic gate, decorated with geometrical motifs, is from the 5th/6th centuries. One room had many Roman tombstones and the capitols.

The Roman coins inside the museum, most of them have come from the city of Ossonoba (Faro). They range from 125 AD to 248 AD in dates. Round nozzle oil lamps with double volutes are from the mid to late 1st century AD. A well preserved mosaic of Oceanus is also on display. It was discovered in 1926 and extracted in 1976.