History

The Saint Petersburg Archaeology Museum was established in 2023 on the basis of the State Museum of the History of Saint Petersburg, at the behest of the President of the Russian Federation, V. V. Putin.
The museum’s exhibition is planned to be opened in the Menshikov Bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress, where an archaeological site related to the history of the founding and construction of Saint Petersburg is located — a fragment of the rampart of the wooden‑earth fortress from 1703. It was discovered in 2019 in the earth fill of the Menshikov Bastion during emergency repair work to waterproof the fortification.
The decision to create the Museum of Archaeology of St. Petersburg in the Menshikov Bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress is linked to the need to preserve this unique structure. In 2024, the Architectural Bureau “Studio 44” developed a concept for adapting the Menshikov Bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress for exhibition spaces of the Museum of Archaeology of St. Petersburg.
The Council for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage under the Government of St. Petersburg has approved the architectural concept for the new museum. The implementation of this project is scheduled for 2030. Despite this, the Museum of Archaeology is already actively engaged in research and educational activities and is working to build up the museum’s archaeological collection. 
Since 2023, the Museum of Archaeology has presented several temporary exhibitions to the public on the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress: “Archaeology of St. Petersburg. Summer 1703, “Imagining the Fortress,” “Acropolis. The Appearance of the Fortress.”
A number of scientific conferences were held: “Alexander Grach and the Archaeology of St. Petersburg,” “Strategies for Researching the Modern City,” “The Modern Museum of Urban Archaeology.” In 2026, the International Archaeological Congress “Citadel 1.0” was held, organized by the Museum of Archaeology together with the State Hermitage, with the participation of the Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences and with the support of the Government of St. Petersburg.

In 2025, the museum became the organizer of the family festival “Archaeologist’s Day” at the Peter and Paul Fortress.
The conference hall of the Museum of Archaeology regularly hosts thematic lectures, seminars, meetings with archaeologists, and classes for children and teenagers. Address: Peter and Paul Fortress, Nevskaya curtain wall (left side).