The paper deals with archaeological findings on the territory of the Penza Governorate in the 19^th – beginning of 20^th centuries based on the materials of the State Archive of the Penza Region. To compare the information obtained with the published data, the study used published sources such as: the «Reports» of the Imperial Archaeological Commission, the description of antiquities of the Governorate (A.A. Spitsyn, 1925) and other sources. The process of archaeological study of the Penza Governorate in the pre-revolutionary period depended on the activities of the provincial statistical committee, the provincial scientific archival commission, independent researchers and the provincial administration. As a result a set of archaeological discoveries made on the territory of the Penza Governorate in the 19^th – beginning 20^th centuries was drawn up. The list of findings includes facts of the discovery revealed in the research of archaeological sites and individual artifacts with indication of detection time, place and composition of the find or treasure. According to the research, in the 19^th – early 20^th centuries, 148 evidence of found antiquities were revealed. Coins, Stone Age tools, jewelry and other items had different destinies: they remained in the hands of the finders, were sold, melted down, settled in scientific organizations and museums of St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Penza. In most cases, the treasures were returned to the finders, and less often they were transferred to the metropolitan museums and given a reward for them. The issues raised in the paper are inextricably linked with the problem of accounting and protection of archaeological monuments and preservation of cultural heritage.