The Mineralogical and Geological Museum of the Faculty of Sciences in Lisbon preserved until the fire of 1978 samples representing several geological units of Timor, collected willfully by agents of the colonial administration. The study of this unique collection in the mainland museums has helped to shed light on the geology of the most distant overseas Portuguese territory. The results were presented at the International Geological Congress, held in London in 1948. Most of the samples were lost in 1978, saving up however the collections sent by the governor of the province to the author of the study on the geology of Timor, former naturalist of the museum. This paper is based on scientific documentation and revisits the collections in order to contextualize its formation and composition, highlighting its role as landmark of sovereignty and the assertion of colonial science in the Portuguese Empire of the East.
Timor; Geological collections; Mineralogical and Geological Museum; Colonial science
