The Archaeological Collection is one of the first collections formed in the newly established Museum of City of Sarajevo (1949). It originally contained artefacts of medieval and ancient provenance. The archaeology of the modern era, which includes Ottoman, urban, and industrial archaeology, was not initially pursued, as it was believed that this period was adequately covered by ethnology. This view was further reinforced by the general attitude toward the Ottoman period, which was considered regressive, given the national narratives that emerged in the Balkans.
During the aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, among other things around a thousand religious buildings of Islamic provenance were destroyed, most of which were built during the Ottoman period. When the reconstruction of these destroyed buildings began, archaeological research of the sites became part of the preparatory work. This situation created an opportunity to promote the archaeology of the Ottoman period.
In 2007, the Museum of Sarajevo, as the institution of public interest, established the position of "Curator for Ottoman Period Archaeology and Urban Archaeology." This marked the beginning of efforts to form an archaeological collection focused on the Ottoman period and urban archaeology.
The Collection currently, totalling around 900 items contains artefacts from 9 sites.
