Archaeological Museum of São Miguel de Odrinhas (MASMO)

Name in Portuguese: Museu Arqueológico de São Miguel de Odrinhas (MASMO)

A beautiful museum, built around the ruins of a Roman villa, which houses a vast collection of artefacts. There are inscriptions and relics from the Roman period, as well as relics from more recent eras and others dating back through the prehistoric eras to Paleolithic times. This amazing collection shows the richness of human occupation in the Sintra area over many thousands of years.

The museum was built on the site of a Roman ruin. There had been displays of Roman inscriptions in the local chapel since the 1400s but it wasn’t until the 1950s that plans started being drafted to create an official archaeological museum. This was built and served the public for many decades, but was closed, needing serious repairs. A new museum was built and opened in 1999. Most of the collection comes from various sites in the Sintra municipality, both from archaeological excavations as well as items found by locals.

A visit to the museum includes a tour of the remains of the Roman villa, as well as the many Roman plaques, tombstones, columns, and more. It has a vast collection of stone tablets with carved inscriptions from Roman, Visigothic, and Medieval periods. There is also a large hall of prehistoric items, from Paleolithic to the Iron Age. Artefacts from many significant sites (as well as others that have been destroyed) in the area, including the Megalithic Monument of Praia das Maças, are well displayed with information posted in Portuguese.

Besides the museum, the site has an extensive library, an auditorium, as well as leisure areas. It regularly hosts events and exhibitions, as well as guided tours to archaeological sites in the area.

Location

The museum is in the Lisbon district, in the Sintra municipality. It’s in the town of Odrinhas, parish of São João das Lampas, north of the city of Sintra.

GPS coordinates: 38.886361, -9.366007

Admission

The museum is closed Sundays and Mondays. It’s open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10:00am to 13:00 and 14:00 through 18:00. Admission is free.

Signage

There are signs in the area pointing out the way to “museu arq. de S. M. Odrinhas.”

Links

• The museum’s website (in Portuguese) is hosted by the Sintra municipality.
• The museum’s entry (in English) on Wikipedia
• The museum’s Facebook page (in Portuguese)
• A guided video visit (in Portuguese) from RTP
• A video visit to the Roman ruins (with English subtitles) from Discovery of Portual
• A description (in English) from Mad About Sintra

Nearby

The Megalithic Site of Barreira is a short walk away (a few hundred meters). The Praia das Maças Prehistoric Monument is about 15km away (but is not open to public visits).