The precedent for the current museum lies in the Provincial Commission on Monuments, created in 1845, which carried out the first actions to protect the monuments and cultural heritage of Asturias, opening the first museum in 1870 in the Convent of San Francisco, which has since ceased to exist, with pieces collected throughout the Asturian region as well as from private donations.

The current museum dates from 1944, although it was not opened to the public until 1952 in the cloister of the former Monastery of San Vicente.
The collection has since grown due to excavations, donations and purchases of pieces.
Given the condition of the building, in 1998   the Ministry of Culture started the process of refurbishing and expanding the museum.
Works to carry out the project designed by architects Fernando Pardo Calvo and Bernardo García Tapia were begun in 2004.
After an investment of 16 million euros, the remodeling has increased the museum's gross floor area to 5,810 m², of which 2,013 m² are dedicated to its permanent exhibition.

At the same time, these works led to the discovery of a 1.6 m-high bastion from the original 8th-century wall that surrounded Oviedo.
The arcades of the cloister rest on the remains of this city wall.
The initial project for the works had to be modified to leave these parts of the wall exposed as yet another of the museum's treasures.
The find supports historian Juan Uría Ríu's hypothesis regarding the course of this wall, erected in the times of Alfonso II.
The precedent for the current museum lies in the Provincial Commission on Monuments, created in 1845, which carried out the first actions to protect the monuments and cultural heritage of Asturias, opening the first museum in 1870 in the Convent of San Francisco, which has since ceased to exist, with pieces collected throughout the Asturian region as well as from private donations.
The current museum dates from 1944, although it was not opened to the public until 1952 in the cloister of the former Monastery of San Vicente. The collection has since grown due to excavations, donations and purchases of pieces. Given the condition of the building, in 1998   the Ministry of Culture started the process of refurbishing and expanding the museum. Works to carry out the project designed by architects Fernando Pardo Calvo and Bernardo García Tapia were begun in 2004. After an investment of 16 million euros, the remodeling has increased the museum's gross floor area to 5,810 m², of which 2,013 m² are dedicated to its permanent exhibition.
At the same time, these works led to the discovery of a 1.6 m-high bastion from the original 8th-century wall that surrounded Oviedo. The arcades of the cloister rest on the remains of this city wall. The initial project for the works had to be modified to leave these parts of the wall exposed as yet another of the museum's treasures. The find supports historian Juan Uría Ríu's hypothesis regarding the course of this wall, erected in the times of Alfonso II.
Archaeological Museum of Asturias