Archaeologists Find ‘Frying Pan’ Torture Site

Why this is here: More than 500 people were imprisoned at the Tarrafal camp during two periods—between 1936 and 1954, and again from 1961 to 1974—with 36 ultimately dying there, as listed on a memorial inside the camp.

Archaeologists in Cabo Verde located the “Frying Pan,” a torture site used by the Portuguese dictatorship and later destroyed. The team, led by André Teixeira from Nova University of Lisbon, used testimonies from political prisoners held at the Tarrafal concentration camp to guide their search. They worked 160 meters south of the camp’s main entrance, an area undergoing its first archaeological intervention as part of a UNESCO World Heritage application.

The team uncovered foundations of a concrete structure exposed to the sun, intentionally heated for use in punishing prisoners. The “Frying Pan” measures roughly seven by 3.5 meters and held about 20 people at a time, deprived of food and water. Witnesses like Pedro Soares, author of Tarrafal, Campo da Morte Lenta, and Cândido Oliveira provided valuable details about the site’s location.

The Portuguese regime demolished the “Frying Pan” after World War II to erase evidence of its brutality. Though the exact location was lost, prisoners’ memories preserved the site’s reputation as a key instrument of repression. The Institute of Cultural Heritage of Cabo Verde plans to update the museum’s exhibits with these new findings, and further excavation continues around the camp.