The first known Royal Keeper was João Annes de Almada, called "the Great", appointed by king John I, Ferdinand's successor, who separated the office from the court chancellor's.

Both the offices of Chief Chronicler and Court Chancellor were extinguished in the 19th century, while the job of Royal Keeper was eventually transformed to Director of the National Archives after the establishment of the Portuguese Republic.

At 75 years old, Maia personally led the safe-guarding team to São Jorge Castle, where the archives were located, and saved nearly 90,000 pieces, accumulated between 1161 and 1696.

In 1982, a public tender was issued for the construction of the new Torre do Tombo archive building, and was won by the Ateliers Associados, represented by Arsénio Raposo Cordeiro, with M. Sheppard Cruz and A.N.

[1] The Torre do Tombo safeguards twelve centuries of historical Portuguese guards, including documents that pre-date the Kingdom of Portugal, and others like the bull Manifestis Probatum, considered an important of UNESCO World Heritage.

[2] The upper floors are used to shelter the 140 kilometres (87 mi) shelves for documents, with austere cement walls, with small, square fenestrations, that characterizes a safe-box.

[2] The principal and rear facades (oriented to the south and north respectively) are surmounted by eight gargoyles, sculpted by José Aurélio, representing fundamentals elements from human history or important in the particular mission of the national archive.