The Archaeological Museum of Orihuela came out of, in part, from the old Santo Domingo School Antiques Museum, founded in 1902 by the Jesuit priest Julio Furgús, which is where part of its funding comes from. It was created by the Town council of Orihuela (and granted authorisation by the Ministry of Education and Science, on February 16 1970). It was located in several places (such as the Palacio de Teodomiro, the Hospital, and in the palace Palacio de Rubalcava) before ending up in its current location in the church of San Juan de Dios in 1997, a temple built in the middle of the XVIII century.

The Archaeological Museum houses a variety of objects of interest from different periods of time, from the Palaeolithic era, which would encompass the older items other, more modern ones from the beginning of the XIX century. Most of these objects are from the local or regional areas and were recovered thanks to the work and excavations carried out by the museum itself.

The exhibition hall is in the very same museum and located in what was known as 'The Men's room' in the old hospital. It is a large rectangular area with a tunnel vault. Temporary exhibitions and different cultural events take place here.