Established in 1911, by the will of the Senator Domenico Ridola who donated his important archaeological collections to the State, the museum presents the important archaeological remains found in the Matera area.
In the exhibition spaces the finds follow a chronological and topographical order. In the prehistoric section the most significant finds concern the entrenched villages of the Neolithic age, which testify, starting from the VI millennium BC, the introduction of agriculture and consequently the structuring of permanent settlements, according to models defined in the Eastern Mediterranean.
For the more recent phases of prehistory and for the phase of VI-IV century BC the most interesting documentation is related to Timmari, located a short distance from Matera. From this center come, among other things, some funerary objects from the 4th century BC characterized by bronze armor and monumental red-figure vases and numerous votive statues, of fine workmanship, found in a sacred area.