WV23

WV23
Burial site of Ay
Restored sarcophagus with lid in the burial chamber
WV23
Coordinates	25°44′29″N 32°35′31″E / 25.74139°N 32.59194°E / 25.74139; 32.59194
Location	West Valley of the Kings
Discovered	1816
Excavated by	Giovanni Battista Belzoni (1816) Otto Schaden (1972)
Decoration	Four sons of Horus; Ay hunting
Layout	Straight
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Tomb WV23, also known as KV23, was the burial place of Ay, a pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty, in the Western Valley of the Kings near modern-day Luxor. The tomb was discovered in 1816 by Giovanni Belzoni. Its architecture is similar to the royal tomb of Akhenaten at Amarna, with a straight descending corridor leading to a "well chamber" that has no shaft. This leads to the burial chamber, which contains the reconstructed sarcophagus, which was smashed in antiquity. The tomb was anciently desecrated, with many instances of Ay's image or name erased from the wall paintings. Its decoration is similar in content and colour to that of the tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62), with a few differences. On the eastern wall there is a depiction of a fishing and fowling scene, which is not shown in other royal tombs, normally appearing in burials of nobility.