Miao Zhong Site

Miao Zhong Site

The Miao Zhong Site is a cultural heritage protection unit of Henan Province.

The Miao Zhong Site is located 1,500 meters northeast of Liduzhuang Village, Huancheng Township, Xiping County, 2,000 meters west of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, and 1,100 meters north of the Niyi River, at an elevation of 56 meters.

Based on the cultural relics collected from the surface of the upper part of the site, there are fragments of daily utensils and building materials from the Neolithic period (Longshan Culture), the Warring States Period, and the Han Dynasty. These findings indicate that the Miao Zhong Site is a large-scale cultural site spanning various periods, from the Neolithic Age to the Han Dynasty.

The site was discovered during a cultural relics survey and only underwent preliminary drilling. The cultural layers are stacked in four distinct strata. The first layer is the plow soil layer, with a grayish-brown color, loose texture, and containing red fired soil particles and ash particles, with a thickness of 10–15 cm; the second layer has a dark gray color, relatively hard texture, and is 37–45 cm thick, containing a large number of pottery fragments, ash particles, and fired soil blocks; the third layer is gray-black in color, loose in texture, 60–75 cm thick, and contains a large number of pottery fragments; the fourth layer is light gray in color, soft in texture, 60–80 cm thick, and contains pottery fragments, ash particles, and fired soil blocks.

Judging from the collected artifact samples from the surface of the site, cultural remains from different periods—from the Neolithic Age to the Warring States Period and the Han Dynasty—can be found from top to bottom. Comparing the geographical location of the Miao Zhong Site with the Shangpo Site, an 8 km northeast provincial-level cultural heritage protection unit, and the Haojiatai Site in Yancheng, 13 km to the northeast, which share similar cultural characteristics, it is concluded that these three sites date back to roughly the same period. The discovery of the Miao Zhong Site provides new material for the study of Neolithic culture in southern Henan and offers scientific evidence for the Xia-Shang chronological project.

The Miao Zhong Site was discovered during the 1984 cultural relics survey. The site is elliptical in shape, slightly raised in the center, with gentle slopes on all sides, and is about 2 meters higher than the surrounding land surface, which is currently used for farming. It was designated as a county-level cultural heritage protection unit in 1985 and was listed as part of the fifth batch of provincial cultural heritage protection units by the Henan Provincial People's Government in 2008.

Baiyuan Subdistrict: Baiyuan Subdistrict…… More details about Baiyuan Subdistrict++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units