5 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Portugal’s Enigmatic Roman Building “Tower of Centum Cellas”

The Tower of Centum Cellas (also known as the “Tower of St. Cornelius”), located in the Mount of Santo Antão in Belmonte, Castelo Branco District, Portugal, is one of the most enigmatic monuments from the Roman period to be found in the country.

These majestic ruins, built with large ashlar stones, were a Roman structure dating from the 1st century AD, situated on the road that linked Augusta Emerita (Mérida) to Bracara Augusta (Braga).

The IPPAR‘s excavations (Portuguese Institute of Architectural Heritage)  at the Centum Cellas Tower, undertaken between 1993 and 1998, revealed that it was not a single isolated building but part of a larger and more complex group of structures, including rooms, corridors, staircases, cellars, and courtyards.

Made of pink granite blocks, this tower is rectangular and is about 39 feet (12 meters) high, appearing to have three levels with openings of various dimensions. Originally, the tower only had two floors. The tower’s upper story was added during the Middle Ages, it gives the tower a picturesque appearance.

It also appears to have been surrounded by other adjacent structures that have since vanished and an entrance with pillars facing an open courtyard in the front.

It was believed to have once been a temple, a jail with one hundred cells (thus the name), or perhaps a praetorium (the center of a Roman camp) and a structure that was a component of a Roman villa.

There is evidence of extensive mining and processing in the Iberian Peninsula, which suggests that the tower was part of the facilities associated with tin mining and trade. The Iberian Peninsula was rich in minerals during the Roman era, especially tin.

Archaeological excavations in the surrounding area in the 1990s revealed the remains of a villa rustica, of which pars urbana (main dwelling) the tower was a part. According to archaeological evidence, the tower was destroyed in the mid-third century by a great fire and was later rebuilt.

The tower appears to be the best-preserved part of what was the villa of Lucius Caecilius (according to a dedicatory altar found on the site), a wealthy Roman citizen and tin trader who built his villa here at the beginning of the first century AD, under the supervision of a qualified architect who knew Vitruvius‘ building techniques.

The tower was refurbished for use as a watchtower in the 13th or 14th century, according to Pinho Leal, a Portuguese historian who lived in the 19th century.

The tower was declared a National Monument of Portugal in 1927 and is the subject of ongoing archaeological campaigns to clarify its original, still unknown, function and the entire context of the ancient Roman villa.

Related Articles

Was Stavanger Cathedral Built on a Viking Settlement?

4 June 2021

4 June 2021

Archaeologists have discovered animal bones and habitation evidence underneath the northern part of Stavanger cathedral that they believe date from...

Archaeologists discovered a Thracian tomb from the time of the Odrysian kingdom in southern Bulgaria

13 September 2023

13 September 2023

Archaeologists from the Haskovo Regional Museum of History discovered a third Thracian tomb with murals the likes of those in...

Roman-era Pottery Workshop discovered in Alexandria

29 April 2022

29 April 2022

The Egyptian archaeological mission discovered a Roman-era pottery workshop at the site of Tibet Mutawah, west of Alexandria. The researchers...

More than 50 pairs of tweezers found during an excavation of a 2,000-year-old Roman settlement – Romans to blame for no-body-hair trend

31 May 2023

31 May 2023

More than 50 pairs of tweezers were found during the major excavation in Wroxeter City, Shropshire, one of the largest...

A collection of 430 burial objects found in the tomb of a 3000-year-old Noblewoman in China

11 April 2024

11 April 2024

A tomb belonging to a noblewoman dating back about 3,000 years has been unearthed in North China’s Shanxi Province. The...

Archaeologists in the Tangier Peninsula Discovered Three Ancient Cemeteries, Including a Stone Burial Dating to Around 4,000 Years Ago

17 May 2025

17 May 2025

A significant archaeological discovery in northern Morocco’s Tangier Peninsula, situated just south of the Strait of Gibraltar, has led to...

The easternmost Roman aqueduct in Armenia was discovered

19 November 2021

19 November 2021

Archaeologists from the University of Münster and the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia have discovered remains...

Remarkable Roman Villa Full of Strange Artifacts Discovered from a Bronze Age Site in England

3 April 2024

3 April 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered a “richly decorated” remarkable Roman villa complex during excavations at Brookside Meadows in Grove, a village in...

Earthquakes caused slight damage to Hatay Archeology Museum

10 February 2023

10 February 2023

The Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a press release on the latest status of museums and...

Archaeologists Discover Northernmost Hellenistic Elite Residence Featuring Ionic Architecture and Graffito in North Macedonia

2 July 2025

2 July 2025

In a groundbreaking archaeological campaign, the NL Museum of Kumanovo has unearthed a remarkable Hellenistic-era residence near the village of...

Archaeologists Found Evidence of a Lost Temple in Chorazin Linked to Jesus’ Healing Miracles

12 August 2024

12 August 2024

Recent archaeological excavations in Israel may have unearthed the remains of a long-lost temple, believed to be the very site...

The inner wall was reached during the excavations of the tomb of the poet Aratos in the Soli Pompeiopolis Ancient City

13 August 2021

13 August 2021

The inner wall was reached during the excavations of the tomb of Aratos, the famous poet and astronomer of the...

The ruins believed to belong to Noah’s Ark date back to 5500-3000 years BC.

26 October 2023

26 October 2023

Rock and soil samples taken from the area where the ruins of ‘Noah’s Ark‘ are believed to be located in...

Archaeologists Discovered “Temple of the Emperors” in the Agora of the Ancient City of Nikopolis, Greece

30 May 2024

30 May 2024

The Greek Ministry of Culture declared that fresh discoveries had been made during archaeological excavations at the ancient Nikopolis Agora...

An inscription with the name of the ancient city was found at the excavation site in Gordion, the capital of the Phrygians

8 August 2022

8 August 2022

An inscription bearing the name of the ancient city was found at the excavation site in Gordion, the capital of...