The museum, housed in a former bishop's palace, features a modern and non-chronological layout. Its remarkable archaeological and geological collection chronicles 500,000 years of Charentes history up until the Middle Ages and boasts a masterpiece of Celtic goldwork, the Agris Helmet. The North African, African and Oceanic art gallery showcases objects from one of France's major collections. There is also an ethno-musicology section and one devoted to Fine Art and decorative arts.