Which noble tomb has the largest scale and the highest level among the tombs excavated so far?
As of 2021, the largest and highest-level tomb of nobles in the Tang Dynasty is the tomb of Prince Yide.
The entire cemetery is 256.6 meters long from north to south and 214.5 meters wide from east to west. There are one rammed earth mound at each corner of the cemetery and a pair of earthen gates in the south. There are a pair of stone lions, two pairs of stone figures (only the base of one pair remains), and a pair of stone flower tables (disabled and buried in the soil after collapse) in the south of Que. There is a wall around it, and there are earthen towers, stone lions, stone figures, Chinese watches, etc. in the south.
The underground consists of a sloping tomb passage, 6 passage holes, 7 patios, four pairs of small niches, front and rear corridors, and square front and rear brick chambers. The total length is 100.8 meters. The burial utensils are placed in the back room, which is a verandah-style stone coffin. The outer wall is decorated with carvings of female officials wearing phoenix crowns. The tomb walls are covered with murals, about 40 of which are preserved.
On the two walls of the tomb passage, with the city wall as the background, there are paintings of the prince's traveling ceremony, and paintings of taming leopards, flying eagles, palace maids, chamberlains, etc. when passing through the cave. The first and second patios are painted with halberds, which were made by the emperor. The corridors and walls of the tomb are painted with scenes of palace life such as palace ladies holding objects and playing music. The top of the tomb is painted with celestial phenomena. The tomb has been robbed, but more than 1,000 cultural relics have been unearthed. There are mourning books for the prince, figurines, three-color wares and gilt-bronze horse ornaments, etc.
Extended information:
The east wall of the back room mural is relatively complete. There are two groups of 19 maids in the painting, holding fruit plates, konghou, harps, harps, pipas, candlesticks, baggage, square boxes, bottles, etc. On the top are celestial bodies, with the Golden Crow (sun) in the east, toads in the west, the Milky Way and stars.
A stone coffin is placed on the west side of the tomb. There are two disturbed human skeletons remaining in the coffin, including a male left humerus, left and right femurs, pelvis, and a female left and right humerus, and left and right radii. After identification, there was an obvious epiphyseal line on the male pelvis, indicating that he was no more than 20 years old, which is consistent with the literature record that Prince Yide died at only 19 years old and that Pei Cui's dead daughter was buried in a ghost marriage.