Historical and Archaeological Museum, located in the Kerch is one of the oldest museums in Ukraine. Officially, the museum was opened June 15, 1826 initiated the establishment of the Kerch State Museum I. Stempkovsky made.

The basis of the collection of historical and archaeological museum was the private collection of the Kerch famous archaeologist P. Dyubryuksa, regularly updated thanks to the constant research of ancient and medieval monuments, carried out both by P. Dyubryuksom and his contemporaries, as well as their followers.

Since 1833 the Kerch Museum of Antiquities was run by the Imperial Archaeological Commission. One of its main tasks was not just a collection and storage of historical monuments, but also the search for the rare exhibits of the Hermitage collections. Scientific activities of the museum played a very important role in the development of national archeology.

Article 20 Social catastrophes. was not spared and the city of Kerch. But neither the dashing years of anarchy or civil war could not affect the existence of the Museum of Antiquities. With the advent of Soviet power, he was transferred to the People's Commissariat of Education, after which it became the focus of most of the new cultural and educational activities.

In 1922 the museum was awarded the title of the archaeological, that's when he was transferred to one of the best buildings in the city - the private mansion, which is an architectural monument of the 19th century., Formerly owned by the well-known tobacco manufacturer P. Mesaksudu. Here the exposition of the museum is located to this day.

Large losses incurred in the Kerch Museum of the Great Patriotic War, when there were lost almost all museum collections and archives. After the war began invoked procedure archaeological sites began to organize the exhibition, as well as created a new exposure.

Today, the exposition of historical and archaeological museum is represented by two wonderful exhibitions: "The history of the kingdom of Bosporus", opened in 2006, the 180th anniversary of the museum, and "Kerch area in the Middle Ages."