Built in 1996 thanks to the joint efforts of the Archaeological Superintendence for the Marches and the Municipal Administration, the Museum is located in the restored and modernized premises adjacent to the Cloister of San Francesco.

The structure has the function of a district museum, bringing together materials from the municipal area relevant to various eras and cultural facies, from prehistoric times to the threshold of the Roman age. There is a sampling of material coming from the Paleolithic sites of Ponte di Pietra and Nidastore, from the fortified Aeneolithic village of Conelle, from the stratified settlement of Cava Giacometti which from the final Neolithic arrives to the Bronze Age, from the high ground settlement of end of the Bronze Age of Monte Croce Guardia.

Also important are the ceramics and bronzes of Etruscan import from the Gallic necropolis of Montefortino, precious goldsmiths, votive statuettes and grave goods for burial. Finally, 3 stone cippi are exhibited, two of which were found in the Arceviese and the third near Fabriano; they carry the sculpted representation of the porta ditis (door of the underworld) with, on the back, a small niche for worship and sacral use. The museum is equipped with an explanatory-didactic apparatus which also makes use of audiovisual and multimedia means.