Centum Cellas

Belmonte, Portugal, Portugal

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Centum Cellas, also known as the Tower of Centum Cellas or Torre de São Cornélio, is a rare 1st-century Roman tower ruin on Mount Santo Antão near Belmonte, Portugal, part of a larger villa rustica possibly built by tin merchant Lucius Caecilius amid fertile lands by the Zêzere River's metal-rich alluvions.

This enigmatic square ashlar structure, unique in Iberia with its monumental scale, battlements, slits, and two floors plus a later medieval third level, featured nearby a central patio, owner residence, storerooms, and an apsidal room with lararium after 3rd-century fire repairs, though its exact role—watchtower, granary, or elite residence—remains debated.

Documented as Centocelas from the 12th century when Sancho I ceded it to Coimbra's See and granted a charter before shifting the seat to Belmonte in 1199, it served medieval frontier defense before becoming a National Monument in 1927 with ongoing excavations.