Regional Archaeological Museum on the Schelde

The museum complex is uniquely integrated into the landscape of the Kerkhove-Kouter site, situated at the edge of the current water extraction area of the Flemish Water Supply Company. The facility is divided into three distinct functional parts: an archaeological depot for storage, a study center for research, and the exhibition museum itself. A notable architectural and educational feature was the outdoor site, which provided a physical visualization of the floor plans of Gallo-Roman building complexes unearthed nearby. This outdoor visualization offered visitors spatial insight into the dimensions of Roman architecture in the region, serving as an exceptional example of post-excavation interpretation, although access to this specific outdoor area has been restricted in recent years.

RAMS houses a vast collection of hundreds of archaeological objects, representing the largest assemblage of finds from the West Flemish Schelde valley. The depot contains materials from more than 30 different archaeological sites scattered across the entire province of West Flanders. The museum's permanent exhibition focuses on the narrative of settlement history from the Stone Age through the Roman and Merovingian periods to the early Middle Ages. A central highlight of the collection is the material recovered from the nearby Kerkhove-Kouter site, which functioned as a major Roman road station under state control, located at a strategic intersection of land and water routes. The exhibition includes specific artifacts such as rim fragments with lid grooves and Gallo-Roman ceramics.

The museum plays a critical role in the scientific and cultural landscape of Flanders by serving as both a public exhibition space and a vital research hub. The study center within RAMS maintains the scientific archaeological archives corresponding to the physical collections, alongside a specialized library of publications on archaeology in Belgium and surrounding regions. This facility allows students and researchers to access documentation and study the provenance of objects. The site is particularly significant for its unique approach to displaying the history of the Schelde valley, linking the ancient settlement patterns with the modern history of water management and extraction, thereby illustrating the continuity of human interaction with the landscape.

The museum offers a guided narrative that traces the journey of an artifact from the moment of excavation to its final display, including the processes of field research, processing, and archival storage. Visitors can observe the integration of excavation trenches into the tour, providing a direct connection to the ongoing or recent archaeological work on the site. The institution is open to the public on the second Sunday of every month, typically offering free guided tours at 15:00. Admission to the museum is free of charge, reflecting its status as a publicly supported cultural and educational facility dedicated to regional heritage.