A Study On Multi-burial Tombs In The Xi’an And Luoyang

“Husband and wife sharing the grave” was a vastly prevailing funeral custom in the Tang society. There were some tombs of this kind discovered in the Xi’an and Luoyang. Based on the unearthed findings, this paper carries out a study on these tombs from an archaeology perspective, aiming to discuss the specific steps and analyze the cultural meaning behind it.This paper is consisted of four chapters.Chapter one is about some definitions, reviews of the past researches, profiles of the archaeology discoveries, research methods and the innovations and shortcomings of this paper.Chapter two will analyze the funeral custom concretely, summarize the specific steps of two major categories and four small categories of burial ways of multi-burial in the same grave and different graves. Also, the author digs into the multi-burial tombs themselves and the characteristics of the burial objects.Chapter three is composed of three sections. Based on the epitaph, the real state of “husband and wife sharing the grave” under the custom of polygamy, the pattern of the multi-burial tombs from epitaphs and the relationship embodied between couples will be discussed. Polygamy was popular in the Tang dynasty, including some remarriages. There appear some arrangements on burial with all the wives, burial with the first wife and burial with the second wife. In the process of multi-burial, there exist two styles: the wife being buried following the husband and the husband being buried following the wife. However, the point lies in the purpose of the custom of being in the same grave instead of the obedience between the couples. As a result of the emphasis on the intimate relationships between the couples, “husband and wife sharing the grave”was a vastly prevailing funeral custom in the Tang society.Chapter four is a comprehensive conclusion drawn from the study out comings revealed above.