Like the Mazar Tagh site, the excavation of the fort at Miran has yielded hundreds of military documents from the 8th and 9th century, which are among the earliest surviving Tibetan manuscripts, and vital sources for understanding the early history of Tibet.

Stein returned on January 22, 1907, and carried out a thorough excavation of the fort, uncovering 44 rooms (site numbers M.I.i - M.I.xliv) discovering many more Tibetan woodslips, as well as other miscellaneous objects.

In 1957-58 Professor Huang Wenbi led a team from the Institute of Archaeology, CASS, spending six days at Miran, and a report was published in 1983 describing the fort and two stupa/temple sites, and a number of finds.

In 1959 a team from Xinjiang Museum spent ten days in Miran examining the fort, temple site and dwelling areas.

In 1973 another team from the Xinjiang Museum visited the site an investigated the fort, temples and irrigation system.