Huo Sining also stared intently at the professors; she could only determine from the patterns and styles on the broken ceramic pieces that the ancient tomb belonged to the middle Tang Dynasty, but when it came to further subdividing whether it was for a duke, marquis, chancellor, or a consort or princess, she did not know how to judge.
"That's a good question!"
Professor Xie turned and patiently explained to the students:
"To determine whom a tomb belongs to, besides observing the style of the tomb, one can also consider the ceremonial system of the dynasty, the scale of the burial mound, the layout of the tomb complex, relief carvings on the tomb path, the quantity of burial objects, and so on."
"The hierarchy of the ancient royal family was strict; ranks were divided into levels, from empress to consort to princess to lady-in-waiting, and each level had different burial objects they could use."
