diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 6f3749b..81fcc58 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -3,3 +3,4 @@ arcp==0.2.1
 jinja2
 python-dateutil
 click
+packaging
diff --git a/rocrate/model/metadata.py b/rocrate/model/metadata.py
index 4ebbeb3..9974b30 100644
--- a/rocrate/model/metadata.py
+++ b/rocrate/model/metadata.py
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@
 import json
 from pathlib import Path
 
+from packaging.version import Version
+
 from .file import File
 from .dataset import Dataset
 
@@ -45,6 +47,7 @@ def __init__(self, crate, source=None, dest_path=None, properties=None, version=
         if version not in SUPPORTED_VERSIONS:
             raise ValueError(f"version {version!r} not supported")
         self.version = version
+        self.version_obj = Version(version)
         self.profile = f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{self.version}"
         if source is None and dest_path is None:
             dest_path = LEGACY_BASENAME if version == "1.0" else BASENAME
diff --git a/rocrate/rocrate.py b/rocrate/rocrate.py
index 3467ee9..87b70e5 100644
--- a/rocrate/rocrate.py
+++ b/rocrate/rocrate.py
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from urllib.parse import urljoin
 
+from packaging.version import Version
+
 from .memory_buffer import MemoryBuffer
 from .model import (
     ComputationalWorkflow,
@@ -63,6 +65,15 @@
 from .metadata import read_metadata, find_root_entity_id
 
 
+DATA_ENTITY_TYPES = {"File", "Dataset"}
+
+
+def is_data_entity(entity):
+    if entity["@id"].startswith("#"):
+        return False
+    return DATA_ENTITY_TYPES.intersection(as_list(entity.get("@type", [])))
+
+
 def pick_type(json_entity, type_map, fallback=None):
     try:
         t = json_entity["@type"]
@@ -172,12 +183,14 @@ def __read_data_entities(self, entities, source, gen_preview):
 
     def __add_parts(self, parts, entities, source):
         type_map = OrderedDict((_.__name__, _) for _ in subclasses(FileOrDir))
-        for data_entity_ref in parts:
-            id_ = data_entity_ref['@id']
-            try:
-                entity = entities.pop(id_)
-            except KeyError:
+        for ref in parts:
+            id_ = ref['@id']
+            if id_ not in entities:
                 continue
+            if self.version_obj >= Version("1.2"):
+                if not is_data_entity(entities[id_]):
+                    continue
+            entity = entities.pop(id_)
             assert id_ == entity.pop('@id')
             cls = pick_type(entity, type_map, fallback=DataEntity)
             if cls is DataEntity:
@@ -193,11 +206,13 @@ def __add_parts(self, parts, entities, source):
 
     def __read_contextual_entities(self, entities):
         type_map = {_.__name__: _ for _ in subclasses(ContextEntity)}
-        # types *commonly* used for data entities
-        data_entity_types = {"File", "Dataset"}
         for identifier, entity in entities.items():
-            if data_entity_types.intersection(as_list(entity.get("@type", []))):
-                warnings.warn(f"{entity['@id']} looks like a data entity but it's not listed in the root dataset's hasPart")
+            if is_data_entity(entity):
+                id_ = entity['@id']
+                if self.version_obj >= Version("1.2"):
+                    raise ValueError(f"'{id_}' is a data entity but it's not linked to from the root dataset's hasPart")
+                else:
+                    warnings.warn(f"'{id_}' looks like a data entity but it's not listed in the root dataset's hasPart")
             assert identifier == entity.pop('@id')
             cls = pick_type(entity, type_map, fallback=ContextEntity)
             self.add(cls(self, identifier, entity))
@@ -311,6 +326,10 @@ def mainEntity(self, value):
     def version(self):
         return self.metadata.version
 
+    @property
+    def version_obj(self):
+        return self.metadata.version_obj
+
     @property
     def test_dir(self):
         rval = self.dereference("test")
diff --git a/test/test_metadata.py b/test/test_metadata.py
index 826dece..c57ed18 100644
--- a/test/test_metadata.py
+++ b/test/test_metadata.py
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ def test_find_root(root, basename):
             "@type": "CreativeWork",
             "about": {"@id": root_id},
             "conformsTo": [
-                {"@id": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1"},
+                {"@id": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.2"},
                 {"@id": "https://example.org/fancy-ro-crate/1.0"},
             ]
         },
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ def test_find_root_bad_entities():
             "@id": "ro-crate-metadata.json",
             "@type": "CreativeWork",
             "about": {"@id": "./"},
-            "conformsTo": {"@id": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1"},
+            "conformsTo": {"@id": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.2"},
         },
         "./": {
             "@id": "./",
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ def test_find_root_multiple_entries():
             "@id": "http://example.org/ro-crate-metadata.json",
             "@type": "CreativeWork",
             "about": {"@id": "http://example.org/"},
-            "conformsTo": {"@id": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1"},
+            "conformsTo": {"@id": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.2"},
         },
         "http://example.org/": {
             "@id": "http://example.org/",
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ def test_find_root_multiple_entries():
             "@id": "http://example.com/ro-crate-metadata.json",
             "@type": "CreativeWork",
             "about": {"@id": "http://example.com/"},
-            "conformsTo": {"@id": "https://w3id.com/ro/crate/1.1"},
+            "conformsTo": {"@id": "https://w3id.com/ro/crate/1.2"},
         },
         "http://example.com/": {
             "@id": "http://example.com/",
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ def test_find_root_multiple_types():
             "@id": "ro-crate-metadata.json",
             "@type": "CreativeWork",
             "about": {"@id": "./"},
-            "conformsTo": {"@id": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1"},
+            "conformsTo": {"@id": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.2"},
         },
         {
             "@id": "./",
diff --git a/test/test_model.py b/test/test_model.py
index 1f17f09..2bb15bd 100644
--- a/test/test_model.py
+++ b/test/test_model.py
@@ -315,7 +315,7 @@ def test_self_delete(test_data_dir):
 def test_entity_as_mapping(tmpdir, helpers):
     orcid = "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097"
     metadata = {
-        "@context": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1/context",
+        "@context": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.2/context",
         "@graph": [
             {"@id": "ro-crate-metadata.json",
              "@type": "CreativeWork",
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@ def test_entity_as_mapping(tmpdir, helpers):
                  "application/json",
                  {"@id": "https://www.json.org"},
              ],
-             "conformsTo": {"@id": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1"}},
+             "conformsTo": {"@id": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.2"}},
             {"@id": "./",
              "@type": "Dataset",
              "correction": [
diff --git a/test/test_read.py b/test/test_read.py
index 17194b9..359da13 100644
--- a/test/test_read.py
+++ b/test/test_read.py
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 
 from rocrate.rocrate import ROCrate
-from rocrate.model import DataEntity, File, Dataset
+from rocrate.model import DataEntity, ContextEntity, File, Dataset
 
 _URL = ('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ResearchObject/ro-crate-py/master/'
         'test/test-data/sample_file.txt')
@@ -167,6 +167,7 @@ def test_legacy_crate(test_data_dir, tmpdir, helpers):
     # Remove the metadata file, leaving only the legacy one
     (crate_dir / helpers.METADATA_FILE_NAME).unlink()
     crate = ROCrate(crate_dir)
+    assert crate.version == "1.0"
     md_prop = crate.metadata.properties()
 
     assert crate.dereference(helpers.LEGACY_METADATA_FILE_NAME) is crate.metadata
@@ -377,11 +378,12 @@ def test_missing_file(test_data_dir, tmpdir):
     assert (out_path / name).read_text() == text
 
 
-def test_generic_data_entity(tmpdir):
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("version", ["1.1", "1.2"])
+def test_generic_data_entity(tmpdir, version):
     rc_id = "#collection"
     metadata = {
         "@context": [
-            "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1/context",
+            f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}/context",
             {"@vocab": "http://schema.org/"},
             {"@base": None}
         ],
@@ -389,6 +391,9 @@ def test_generic_data_entity(tmpdir):
             {
                 "@id": "ro-crate-metadata.json",
                 "@type": "CreativeWork",
+                "conformsTo": {
+                    "@id": f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}"
+                },
                 "about": {
                     "@id": "./"
                 },
@@ -416,12 +421,19 @@ def test_generic_data_entity(tmpdir):
     def check_rc():
         rc = crate.dereference(rc_id)
         assert rc is not None
-        assert isinstance(rc, DataEntity)
+        if version == "1.2":
+            assert isinstance(rc, ContextEntity)
+        else:
+            assert isinstance(rc, DataEntity)
         assert rc.id == rc_id
         assert rc.type == "RepositoryCollection"
         assert rc._jsonld["name"] == "Test collection"
-        assert crate.data_entities == [rc]
-        assert not crate.contextual_entities
+        if version == "1.2":
+            assert not crate.data_entities
+            assert crate.contextual_entities == [rc]
+        else:
+            assert crate.data_entities == [rc]
+            assert not crate.contextual_entities
 
     check_rc()
 
@@ -432,14 +444,15 @@ def check_rc():
     check_rc()
 
 
-def test_root_conformsto(tmpdir):
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("version", ["1.1", "1.2"])
+def test_root_conformsto(tmpdir, version):
     # actually not a valid workflow ro-crate, but here it does not matter
     profiles = [
-        "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1",
+        f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}",
         "https://w3id.org/workflowhub/workflow-ro-crate/1.0",
     ]
     metadata = {
-        "@context": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1/context",
+        "@context": f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}/context",
         "@graph": [
             {
                 "@id": "ro-crate-metadata.json",
@@ -461,16 +474,17 @@ def test_root_conformsto(tmpdir):
     assert crate.metadata["conformsTo"] == profiles
 
 
-def test_multi_type_context_entity(tmpdir):
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("version", ["1.1", "1.2"])
+def test_multi_type_context_entity(tmpdir, version):
     id_, type_ = "#xyz", ["Project", "Organization"]
     metadata = {
-        "@context": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1/context",
+        "@context": f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}/context",
         "@graph": [
             {
                 "@id": "ro-crate-metadata.json",
                 "@type": "CreativeWork",
                 "about": {"@id": "./"},
-                "conformsTo": {"@id": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1"}
+                "conformsTo": {"@id": f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}"}
             },
             {
                 "@id": "./",
@@ -492,15 +506,16 @@ def test_multi_type_context_entity(tmpdir):
     assert set(entity.type) == set(type_)
 
 
-def test_indirect_data_entity(tmpdir):
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("version", ["1.1", "1.2"])
+def test_indirect_data_entity(tmpdir, version):
     metadata = {
-        "@context": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1/context",
+        "@context": f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}/context",
         "@graph": [
             {
                 "@id": "ro-crate-metadata.json",
                 "@type": "CreativeWork",
                 "about": {"@id": "./"},
-                "conformsTo": {"@id": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1"}
+                "conformsTo": {"@id": f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}"}
             },
             {
                 "@id": "./",
@@ -546,15 +561,16 @@ def test_indirect_data_entity(tmpdir):
 
 
 @pytest.mark.filterwarnings("ignore")
-def test_from_dict(tmpdir):
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("version", ["1.1", "1.2"])
+def test_from_dict(tmpdir, version):
     metadata = {
-        "@context": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1/context",
+        "@context": f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}/context",
         "@graph": [
             {
                 "@id": "ro-crate-metadata.json",
                 "@type": "CreativeWork",
                 "about": {"@id": "./"},
-                "conformsTo": {"@id": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1"}
+                "conformsTo": {"@id": f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}"}
             },
             {
                 "@id": "./",
@@ -605,15 +621,16 @@ def test_from_dict(tmpdir):
         ROCrate(metadata, init=True)
 
 
-def test_no_data_entity_link_from_file():
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("version", ["1.1", "1.2"])
+def test_no_data_entity_link_from_file(version):
     metadata = {
-        "@context": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1/context",
+        "@context": f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}/context",
         "@graph": [
             {
                 "@id": "ro-crate-metadata.json",
                 "@type": "CreativeWork",
                 "about": {"@id": "./"},
-                "conformsTo": {"@id": "https://w3id.org/ro/crate/1.1"}
+                "conformsTo": {"@id": f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}"}
             },
             {
                 "@id": "./",
@@ -690,3 +707,80 @@ def test_read_version(test_data_dir):
     assert crate.version == "1.0"
     crate = ROCrate(test_data_dir / "crate-1.1")
     assert crate.version == "1.1"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.filterwarnings("ignore")
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("version", ["1.0", "1.1", "1.2"])
+def test_data_entity_not_linked(version):
+    metadata = {
+        "@context": f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}/context",
+        "@graph": [
+            {
+                "@id": "ro-crate-metadata.json",
+                "@type": "CreativeWork",
+                "about": {"@id": "./"},
+                "conformsTo": {"@id": f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}"}
+            },
+            {
+                "@id": "./",
+                "@type": "Dataset",
+                "hasPart": [
+                    {"@id": "d1"}
+                ]
+            },
+            {
+                "@id": "d1",
+                "@type": "Dataset"
+            },
+            {
+                "@id": "f1.txt",
+                "@type": "File"
+            }
+        ]
+    }
+    if version == "1.2":
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="hasPart"):
+            ROCrate(metadata)
+    else:
+        crate = ROCrate(metadata)
+        f1 = crate.get("f1.txt")
+        assert f1 in crate.contextual_entities
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("version", ["1.0", "1.1", "1.2"])
+def test_not_data_entity_linked(version):
+    metadata = {
+        "@context": f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}/context",
+        "@graph": [
+            {
+                "@id": "ro-crate-metadata.json",
+                "@type": "CreativeWork",
+                "about": {"@id": "./"},
+                "conformsTo": {"@id": f"https://w3id.org/ro/crate/{version}"}
+            },
+            {
+                "@id": "./",
+                "@type": "Dataset",
+                "hasPart": [
+                    {"@id": "d1"},
+                    {"@id": "#f1.txt"}
+                ]
+            },
+            {
+                "@id": "d1",
+                "@type": "Dataset"
+            },
+            {
+                "@id": "#f1.txt",
+                "@type": "File"
+            }
+        ]
+    }
+    crate = ROCrate(metadata)
+    d1 = crate.get("d1")
+    assert d1 in crate.data_entities
+    f1 = crate.get("#f1.txt")
+    if version == "1.2":
+        assert f1 in crate.contextual_entities
+    else:
+        assert f1 in crate.data_entities