The current museum was inaugurated on 24 October 2008, after the building was renovated. The Museum’s collection is made up of collections resulting from underwater archaeological excavations carried out in the seas of the Cape Verde Archipelago by the South African company Afrimar and the Portuguese company Arqueonautas S.A. (most of them), as well as land-based archaeological excavations carried out in Cidade Velha (Ribeira Grande de Santiago).