Dra Elisabete Pereira will be talking about the work of Estácio da Veiga, an important figure in the history of archaeology in Portugal and the Algarve in particular. As a result of his survey work in the 19th century, he identified some of the most important archaeological sites in the region and formed a remarkable collection of objects from various locations in the Algarve.


This collection gave rise to the Archaeological Museum of the Algarve, which curiously opened in Lisbon in 1880. Elisabete will be relating the history of the archaeological investigations of Estácio da Veiga, the history of the objects that were collected, and some of the personalities that he collaborated with, including priests, landowners, industrialists, and collectors. Their work played a decisive role in the preservation of the archaeological heritage of the Algarve region.

Dra Elisabete Pereira is a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Contemporary History in Évora (University Nova de Lisboa-University of Évora) and holds a Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science with a specialisation in Museology (2017). She is the co-coordinator of the Dictionary Quem e Quem na Museologia Portuguesa (Who's Who in Portuguese Museology) and Principal researcher of the project “TRANSMAT – Transnational materialities (1850-1930): reconstituting collections and connecting histories”. Her research focuses on the history of collections and her Ph.D. thesis was awarded funding by the Direcção-Geral do Património Cultural of Portugal for its publication in 2018 (Archaeological Collections and Knowledge Networks: Actors, Collections, and Objects 1850-1930).

Non-members are welcome to attend AAA lectures for a 5 euro admission fee, with all money raised by the AAA being used for archaeological grants and speakers. For more information contact algarvearchass@gmail.com, visit arquealgarve.weebly.com or Facebook 'Algarve Archaeological Association'. Please check the website or Facebook page for any last-minute changes.

Press release by Jane Robertson