The Archaeology Department collects relics associated with primeval and early medieval settlements found in south-eastern Poland. The collection includes tens of thousands of exhibits such as tools, weapons, ornaments, and crockery that are diverse in terms of their chronology, materials and function. There is an exceptionally large group of relics documenting the settlements found in these areas from the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age. Characteristic ornaments and various types of pottery, from both settlements and cemeteries, are related primarily to the Lusatian culture of Tarnobrzeg (13th/14th–4th century BC).
Equally worthy of note is the largest collection in the south-eastern Poland of objects from the oldest phase of the Slavic settlements (6th–7th century) as well as relics primarily associated with the settlements from the Roman period, including the famous trove of gold and silver ornaments from the middle of the 5th century found in Świlcza, near Rzeszów.
Inwentarz grobowy (Orliska Sokolnickie, stan. 1, pow. Tarnobrzeg) XVII w. p.n.e., glina, krzemień czekoladowy
Figurka zoomorficzna (Trzcinica, stan. 1, pow. Jasło) XVI-XV w. p.n.e., glina
Skarb przedmiotów brązowych (Załęże, stan. 1, pow. Jasło) XIV/XIII-XIII w. p.n.e., brąz
Skarb ozdób brązowych (Wiśniowa, stan. 1, pow. ropczycko-sędziszowski) XIII/XII-XII w. p.n.e., brąz
Ozdoby i monety z skarbu ze Świlczy (Świlcza, stan. 3, pow. Rzeszów) połowa V w., złoto, srebro
Kafle renesansowe (Będziemyśl, stan. 1, pow. Rzeszów) XVI w., glina