Abstract:

The Milan site is located in the Ruoqiang County on the southeastern edge of the Tarim Basin. As one of the important sites in the southern section of the Silk Road in Xinjiang, it can be traced from the Han Dynasty to the Tubo occupation period (200 BC-900 AD). Altogether, 15 individual relics such as Buddhist temples, irrigation facilities, beacon tower, garrison and city sites were discovered in the Milan site. The garrison site was excavated in the year of 2012 by the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology. Apart from the various cultural relics, plant remains were unearthed including common millet (Panicum miliaceum), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), naked barley (Hordeum vulgare var. coeleste), wheat (Triticum aestivum), peach (Amygdalus persica), as well as weeds like Echinochloa crusgalli, Aeluropus pungens var. pungens and Sophora alopecuroides. According to results of the plant identification and the relics of irrigation systems, there were farming garrison troops with crop cultivation of different species in the Milan site. Since there were roots, stems, and the other parts of the cereals, all of them should be local cultivated instead of transported from the other areas. Apart from cereal cultivation, there were also peach stones discovered, which suggested local horticultural activities 1200 years before.

Key words: Archaeobotany, the Milan garrison site, cereal remains, Tubo, the Silk Road