The museum, was built for Syriac Catholic Patriarchate as a temple in 1895 by the Patriarch of Antakya Ignatios Behnam Banni. Later the building, bought and expropriated by the Ministry of Culture from the Syriac Catholic Foundation, started its activities as the “Mardin Museum” in 2000. Due to the high slope of the land and the depth of the parcel in the area where it is located, the design of the museum was planned as three floors in the form of terraces. The structure eflects all the characteristic features of traditional “Mardin House” architecture with its U-plan and three-storey form facing south (plain).

On the ground floor of the museum, there is the “Arkeopark Museum Education Hall” created according to the understanding of contemporary museology. In the training hall, visitors can participate in a number of workshops such as coin minting, madder printing, marbling and ceramic making. In the courtyard to the south of the building, there is an Archeopark and a 500-seat amphitheater, where museum education for children and various activities for the public are held.

On the first floor, in the hall the artifacts gathered from the archaeological excavations carried out in the region are exhibited. In the open exhibition area mosaics and stone artifacts belonging to the Roman and Akkoyunlu Periods, artifact warehouses, a cinema and a seminar hall are located.

On the second floor, there are four galleries exhibiting the themes of “nutrition, religion, trade, production, coinage, power, war and social life”. One of the most striking elements in the exhibition hall, where the commercial theme is reflected, is the section where the “Sürekli Treasure” which was found during the rescue excavation in Kızıltepe’s Sürekli Village. There are gold and silver artifacts belonging to a number civilizations such as Abbasids, Ilkhanids, Ayyubids, Byzantines, Zengis, Artuks, which are dated between the 9th and 14th centuries.

The administrative building located in the northwest of the museum is a registered building with the traditional 19th century “Mardin house” architectural features.

The building, restored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Mardin Governorate, became operational in 2012. It has two floors, a courtyard, with a L-plan. In the structure, which is connected to the museum building via a suspension bridge; There are specialized library, art gallery, conference hall, archive, expert rooms, prayer room and directorate units.