The Religions of Lusitania. Loquuntur saxa

A deep dive into the religious phenomenon throughout history

An exhibition that makes a deep dive into the religious phenomenon throughout history comes to a close on August 31, after six years of successful presentation at Lisbon’s National Museum of Archaeology. The Religions of Lusitania. Loquuntur saxa examines Hispania Aeterna and Roma Aeterna, two traditions, which converge and rejoin, as a result of the Pax Romana.

On show we find sculptures, documents, books and other objects dedicated to protective numina, different deities, deified heroes, ritual and magical practices, life and death. They are obscure texts, which must be unlocked to be read, objects and images of a twice millenary past, which, after being decoded, are much more related to the present than one would expect.

There is a name behind this exhibition curated by José Cardim Ribeiro: Leite de Vasconcelos. In a way, the Religiões da Lusitânia exhibition is a homage to this remarkable scholar who was the first to study the Religions of Lusitania thoroughly a hundred years ago.

But then again, as the organizers say, this exhibition is much more than that…