The Hermitage collection of ancient cultural artefacts was carefully built up from the mid-19th century onwards based on the holdings of the Imperial Archaeological Commission; it currently comprises around 1,500,000 objects.
- Palaeolithic Age
- Mesolithic and Neolithic Ages
- Cultures of Early Farmers of Europe and Central Asia
- Bronze Age
- Koban and Colchaian Cultures
- Scythians
- Early Nomads of the Altaic Region
- The Siberian Collection of Peter I
- Sarmatians
- Huns
- Bosphorus in the Age of Great Migrations
- Germanic Tribes of Eastern Europe
- Perm “Animal” Style
- Eastern European Nomads in Early Middle Ages
- Slavs and Rus in the 9th-12th Centuries