The excavation aimed to clarify the castle’s plan and brought to light two rooms that had not yet been investigated (rooms 3 and 6).

Room 3, the highest of the complex, was interpreted as the earliest nucleus of the castle, built following the natural slope of the
substratum of flysch that was characterised by a projecting spur upon which the room stood, that was modelled towards the south in order to make space for the rooms which in subsequent building phases would complete the original layout. A clay floor paved with small sandstone slabs and chippings was uncovered. This pavement, still preserved at the north side of the room where it overlay the inner ledge of the northern perimeter wall, probably constituted the room’s original paving. The floor had a make up of sterile clay, brought in from elsewhere, which was used to level the uneven substratum that was modelled and cut in order to allow the construction of the room. In the south-west corner of the room there was a hearth, made in a depression, probably connected to an activity post-dating the residential phase, possibly relating to re-use following the abandonment of the room. The room was joined to the west wall, built up against the terrain with a facing on the south side and a loose filled foundation. It was probably linked to the eastern perimeter wall, but it was not possible to ascertain this as the corner where the two structures would have met was not preserved.

Room 6 was situated on the ground floor, below room 3 to the south. It was characterised by an entrance to the courtyard, to the east, which re-used parts of earlier walls, bonding them with the new structures that have completely different characteristics. These appear in many areas of the complex and the stratigraphy dates to between the 16th-17th century. The floor was constituted by large sandstone slabs in the centre and crushed brick in a make up of mortar rich clayey silt around the sides. This type of pavement corresponds to those in the quadrangular room 11 and in the midden identified in room 7 (1999 campaign) which were attributed to the restructuring in the latest phase of the complex, characterised by the presence of re-used material (bricks, cobbles, slabs, stone architectural elements, a fragment of grindstone). The modest quality of the pavement suggests that the room was probably used for storage, or for a small dwelling below the early nucleus of the castle. The entrance to the east was in direct communication with the cobbled courtyard. It cannot be excluded that this room had an upper floor which communicated with room 3, perhaps still in use when room 6 was built. (MiBAC)