 In the excavations, the knowledge about the Preromanesque period widened, namely with the probable narthex of the Preromanesque temple, where a Roman stele was found, this artifact was Christianized in the 6th and 7th centuries and, was after that, reused in the Preromanesque period.Archaeological surveys have revealed vestiges of a Preromanesque church built between the 9th and the 10th centuries under the current building, and it is known that a monastic community existed in Rates at least since the 11th century.However, the history of the current church begins around 1096, when Henry, Count of Portugal, sponsored the rebuilding of the monastery that was in ruins.