A better understanding of the distribution of the rooms on the high ground, enclosed within the fortifications of Byzantine origin, was provided by the discovery of new rooms connected to those discovered in previous campaigns. The excavation reached natural in the sectors abutting the western circuit walls and deepened the investigations in some previously investigated rooms. New discoveries and new types of pottery, metal, glass and coin finds came to light, which together with the botanical remains are in the process of being studied.

The 2012 campaign confirmed the stratigraphy documented in 2003-2004, which included the early to late medieval periods with traces of residual Classical and proto-historic material such as black gloss and impasto pottery.

The excavations mainly involved the highest point of the site (Area I) surrounded by one of the two defensive walls, one inside the other, of which the largest is at a lower level (Area II). In Area I most of the structures relating to the smaller defensive wall, with a watch-tower, were uncovered, including a series of rooms with diverse functions: residential, craft working (attested by evidence for iron working), services, reception, water collection and cult use. The group of adjacent rooms (B-C-D-E) situated in the south-western sector, partially abutting the wall, attested more than one construction phase (it was between the 11th and 12th century that numerous large-scale building interventions took place, probably as a result of the bad earthquake in 1184). Occupation continued into the full 13th century, the period when the site was definitively abandoned, perhaps due to the widespread desertion that was a consequence of the War of the Sicilian Vespers. A series of large adjoining rooms was also present in the northern sector (F-G-H) destined for residential and service purposes. Again, the finds attested the co-existence of certain pottery forms in this phase of the ancient castrum. In the Swabian period, the casale of S. Ananie had to contribute to repairing the neighbouring castle of Rocca Imperialis, as stated in the Swabian statute on the repair of castles. The most substantial material evidence, attesting a well-off and intense lifestyle, found in the by now fortified casale dates to the Federican period. The archeo-zoological data (Univ. of Pisa) confirmed this, providing evidence of an economy based on agriculture and animal husbandry while hunting was very limited. The excavation also uncovered a good quantity of finds that was significant for its great variety of morphology, and therefore of use and function. Bone and botanical remains were also collected.