In 2011, the excavation at the abbey of S. Lucia at Rocca di Cambio (AQ) continued in the area in front of the church, where differences in soil colour, indicated the presence of walls below. There were no visible structures suggesting the presence of monastery buildings in the church vicinity.

The excavation uncovered a number of rooms, differing in size and construction technique. They were built and rebuilt, sometimes on top of each other, at others brokenup and reshuffled,lt between the first half of the 13th century – dated by a silver coin from the Venice mint, datable to around 1254 and found in the fill of a bell-casting pit that post-dates the monastery’s foundation – and the end of the 14th century, dated by the absence of any pottery later than archaic majolica. The restructuring and rebuilding of these rooms meant that over time they overlapped and changed alignment.

The western side of the complex, datable to the first half of the 13th century, comprised a series of adjoining rooms, probably those used by the monks to the south, kitchens to the north and service rooms and passageways, with the church (the present presbytery of the existing building) situated along the eastern side. Based on typological comparisons with other granges and monasteries in the territory, and allowing for the adjustments for the orography of the terrain, it can be suggested that the northern perimeter was probably occupied by productive structures, storage facilities and refectories, and the southern perimeter by the chapter house and dormitories.

The bell-casting pit found up against the western perimeter produced important evidence (clay moulds, metal waste, kiln fragments etc.) for the reconstruction of the type of casting process used by the artisans (the so-called “Theophilus” technique) and the characteristics of the bell produced: 43 cm in diameter and a maximum height of 50-60 cm.

Following the abandonment and collapse of the monastic complex during the 14th century, perhaps as a result of the earthquake in 1349, and the crisis of the granges in the Abruzzo, the church was consolidated and restored. It was later transformed into the structure with three aisles and large presbytery still standing today. At the same time, the northern part of the complex was used as a cemetery, the collapses being removed from the area and the stone blocks used to delimit the tombs. To date 33 single inhumations of men, women and children, have been investigated.

The substantial collapses, especially in the northern area, and part of the standing ruins, were probably removed and reused as construction material. Finally, the weather and the alluvial layers from the hill to the east have contributed to the sealing and obliteration of the structures, removing all traces of the monastic complex.