The Regional Archaeological Museum - Plovdiv is one of the first cultural institutions in Bulgaria, having been founded in the end of the XIX th c., immediately after the liberation of the country from the Turkish domination (1878). The idea for the creation of a Museum came from the notorious Bulgarian Revival activist, scholar and statesman Yoakim Gruev, who was the Director for the People’s education in Eastern Rumeliya from 20 May 1879 until 23 November 1884. It is believed therefore that the creation of the Museum dates back in 1879, because the collection of the first exhibits started in this year in the library of the Education Directorate of Eastern Rumeliya. Prior to Yoakim Gruev, the official initiator for the „creation and organization of a Museum, [but] and of a National Library in Philippopol” was Emanuil Nikolov Bogoridi, nephew of the general governor Al. Bogoridi, whose initiative was documented on 12 June 1879. In an even earlier document dated 12 March 1879 N. M. Shishedzhiev has raised the issue of a „first step with a view of founding a Bulgarian Museum”.

A letter with № 42 from 30 January 1880, signed by Yoakim Gruev has obliged the prefects to take care of „searching and collecting old objects for the Museum with the Directorate of the People’s Education”. This is for the time being, the oldest official document suggesting that from the beginning of 1880, a „Museum for Relics” has already existed in Plovdiv. In this letter „the guide lines for the organization and for the development of the museums, of their tasks and their objectives have been set. The main types of the activities were defined – discovery, collection, survey, scientific, publicity, cultural events. Only the guide lines for the display of exhibits were missing because there were no available premises for this activity.” On 10 April 1881 two other documents were issued giving instructions as to how to carry excavation works and it was mentioned there that the beginning was set of the „Regional Museum in Plovdiv”.

On 1 May 1882 a „public administrative statute for the structure and management of the regional library and of the regional museum” was issued and published by the General Governor Alexander Bogoridi on behalf of the East Rumelian government. The library and the museum were set under the guidance of the Director for the national education occupied in those times by Yoakim Gruev. The statute acknowledged the museum and the library as in the judicial sense. Three departments were set at those times within the museum – archaeological, numismatic and related to hand written documents. The latter moved in 1883 as a founding unit into the today’s Plovdiv national library „Ivan Vazov”. The official inauguration of the new office took place on 15 September 1882 and from that date until 1 March 1945 the museum and the library have existed together with a joint management. It is interesting to be noted that on 20 April 1882 for the first time after the name „Regional museum” also the name of the „Library” was used. Starting from 15 June 1882 the information and the announcements were issued on behalf of the „Management of the Regional Library and Museum of Eastern Rumelia”. The first curator of the Plovdiv library and museum was the renown Russian writer and activist Alexander Alexandrovich Bashmakov (1882 - 1883).

In 1901 the museum department was closed due to some difficulties and fraud. On 1 May 1901 Boris Dyakovich was put at the head of the library and of the museum and it lasted until 1931. The Director, Boris Dyakovich, who was an archaeologist, implemented in 1910 his plan to found a new museum with the intention to preserve „ancient objects” from a rich region like Thrace. The museum department that initially had existed as „an archaeological and numismatic office” with the National Library was opened on 1 October 1910. This event marked the beginning of the second period of the development of the museum with the institution. After the second inauguration of the museum six departments were established – archaeological, historic, ethnographic, religious, numismatic and diverse ancient artifacts. Except the official departments as early as 1907 a „pre-historic” department, the department of „ancient art” and others were started.

According to the amendment and the corrigendum to the National Education Act from 1920, the archaeological and the numismatic department with the National Library was renamed Archaeological museum. The aim of the Museum, according to § 166 of the statute of the Plovdiv National Library drafted by the Director B. Dyakovich and approved by the Minister of the national education with order № 1934 from 12 June 1920, was to collect and preserve the monuments from the past of the Bulgarian people and of the other peoples of the Balkans. According to § 167 of the same statute the museum consists of three main departments: archaeological, numismatic and artistic. The museum was legalized by way of order № 145 from 6 June 1921 of His Excellence Tzar Boris III. A collection with prints and engravings was created within the artistic department at the end of 1924, while in 1925 a photographic collection with portraits of notable activists and artists was created.

On 1 December 1930 the office with the National library was opened again and renamed to „People’s archaeological museum”, and despite the claims of the museum workers it was not transformed into an independent institution. On 10. 03. 1945 only, the office was transformed into People’s archaeological museum and an independent institution.

With Ordinance № 80 from 07. 04. 2006 of the Council of Ministers, the Archaeological Museum - Plovdiv was given the statute of a regional museum with territorial scope – the territory of the Plovdiv region.