Ay assumed the throne of Egypt in the closing years of the Eighteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom, having previously served as vizier under Tutankhamun. His reign lasted only about four years, and he was already an elderly figure upon becoming king. Ay was interred in WV23, a tomb situated in the Western Valley of the Kings that many scholars believe was initially conceived for Tutankhamun.

The burial of Ay appears to have been notably sparse. Archaeological investigation has revealed no evidence of a canopic chest or its shrine, nor have faience or stone shabti figurines been discovered. Likewise, there is an absence of the gilded wooden shrines that would normally encase a royal sarcophagus. According to the Egyptologist Otto Schaden, these items may never have been placed in the tomb at all. Moreover, the lid of the sarcophagus may never have been set into place; instead, a pall decorated with gilded copper rosettes—similar to that uncovered in Tutankhamun’s burial—may have been draped over the box.

It is likely that Ay’s tomb was subjected to deliberate desecration during the reign of Horemheb or by one of the early Ramesside monarchs, with Horemheb being the most probable orchestrator given his known campaigns against the Amarna legacy. During this period, the sarcophagus was shattered, the names and representations of Ay and his queen Tey were systematically erased, and all valuables were looted. Some scholars, including Nicholas Reeves and Richard Wilkinson, propose that objects bearing Ay’s name retrieved from KV58 probably originated in WV23 and were either dumped by robbers or intentionally moved during the removal of royal burials. They suggest that Ay’s mummy might subsequently have been transferred into Horemheb’s tomb (KV57). Schaden, on the other hand, has posited that the “yellow skeleton,” found rewrapped among other royal mummies in WV25, could in fact be the remains of Ay.

circa 1320 BCE

Tomb WV23 was first identified in 1816 by Giovanni Battista Belzoni while surveying the western branch of the Valley of the Kings. After visiting the nearby tomb of Amenhotep III (WV22), Belzoni investigated an isolated stone cairn and discovered a hidden void. Excavating with workmen the following day, he uncovered the entrance to the tomb, which lay close to the surface. Belzoni characterized it as a modest find, remarking on its painted figures and the fragmentary sarcophagus in the main chamber.

The tomb was subsequently visited by John Gardiner Wilkinson in 1835, who noted the damaged sarcophagus and deteriorated wall paintings. Karl Richard Lepsius documented the tomb in 1845, observing that the king's name and image had been systematically erased from the decoration and sarcophagus. It was not until 1972 that the University of Minnesota Egyptian Expedition (UMEE), directed by Otto Schaden, undertook a systematic excavation. The Umee team removed a dry-stone retaining wall from the entrance, revealing that it had been constructed during the tomb’s original cutting. Excavation of the interior yielded a variety of ancient and intrusive material in all major architectural features of the tomb, including corridors and side chambers.

circa 1320 BCE

This tomb comprises an entrance stairway, two sloping corridors divided by a set of stairs, and three chambers, creating a layout that diverges markedly from most early royal tombs constructed in the Valley of the Kings. The overall plan bears a closer resemblance to the tomb of Akhenaten at Amarna than to any of its Theban predecessors. Indeed, the Entryway A, first Corridor B, Descending Passage C, and Corridor D reflect earlier traditions of royal tomb architecture, yet the subsequent chambers display notable innovations. The Well Chamber E, for example, is reduced to a simple, square chamber at the same level as Gate E rather than cut deeper into the rock. The Pillared Chamber F, which conventionally provides a turn toward the burial apartment, is absent, removing the expected left-hand turn and descent into the Burial Chamber J. Instead, Burial Chamber J lies directly beyond Chamber E along a straight axis, exactly as in Akhenaten’s tomb at Amarna.

Beyond the Burial Chamber J lies a small, undecorated chamber intended for canopic equipment. Throughout the tomb, its relatively large scale is evident, as the corridors and chambers are notably wider than those found in the earlier tomb of Amenhotep III WV22. Furthermore, slots for beams to lower the sarcophagus reappear here for the first time since KV20, underlining the logistical concerns during its construction.

The Burial Chamber J is the only decorated chamber, and its wall paintings share stylistic and thematic parallels with those of Tutankhamun’s tomb KV62, including scenes of the king and his queen engaged in marshland activities imbued with apotropaic significance. However, all images and inscriptions bearing the name of the tomb owner—Ay—as well as those of his queen Tey, were systematically chiseled out after his reign. This defacement, along with the absence of customary funerary equipment and the simplification of its architecture, provides a compelling insight into the tomb’s turbulent post-burial history and underscores its status as a royal monument reappropriated and subjected to erasure under the political climate of the early Ramesside period.

circa 1320 BCE

Entryway A
The tomb of KV23 is accessed by a rock-cut stairway descending into the talus slope at the north side of the wadi’s cliffs. The first section, referred to as Entryway A, measures 2.61 meters in width and 6.12 meters in length. Approaching Gate B, there is a roughly cut overhang. The walls in this area are undecorated, and some modern graffiti is present. Of particular interest is an inscription in a European language reading "Belzoni", left by Giovanni Belzoni at the time of the tomb's rediscovery in 1816.

circa 1320 BCE

Corridor B
Beyond the first gate lies Corridor B, which slopes downward into the tomb. This undecorated corridor measures approximately 2.66 meters in height, 2.64 meters in width, and extends 11.37 meters in length. Near its end are two beam holes positioned to manage the descent of the sarcophagus. One wall features a cut hole with a corresponding slot in the opposite wall; these permitted a beam to be placed across the corridor, allowing ropes to be secured around it. This system enabled the slow and controlled lowering of the heavy sarcophagus into the deeper chambers.

circa 1320 BCE

Stairwell C
Proceeding onward, the tomb continues into Stairwell C. This section is 5.44 meters high, 2.63 meters wide, and 7.95 meters long, characterized by an irregular descent. The stairwell is flanked at its upper end by two trapezoidal recesses (each 1.51 meters high, 5.28 meters wide, and 0.65 meters deep) and passes beneath a projecting overhang at its lower end. The steps themselves show signs of significant damage.

circa 1320 BCE

Corridor D
Corridor D, which follows the stairwell, is 2.64 meters high, 2.63 meters wide, and 13.94 meters long. This undecorated corridor descends moderately in its latter section. The upper part of its front section was left uncut, leaving the ceiling incomplete.

circa 1320 BCE

Chamber E
Chamber E measures 2.98 meters in height, 4.14 meters in width, and 4.01 meters in length. This chamber was originally intended to house a well shaft—a typical feature in many royal tombs—but here the shaft was never excavated. This is a feature also observed in the tomb of Akhenaten. Traces of plaster blocking survive at the entrance, but the chamber itself was left unfinished and undecorated.

circa 1320 BCE

Burial Chamber J
Burial Chamber J, the principal chamber of the tomb, is 3.92 meters high, 8.89 meters wide, and 6.46 meters long. Rectangular niches carved into the center of each wall, approximately one meter above floor level, were intended to hold magical bricks. The center of the chamber floor contains four square depressions that served as supports for limestone blocks beneath the corners of the royal sarcophagus. The sarcophagus, which had been transferred to the Egyptian Museum in the past, was returned to its original chamber in 1993, albeit in a reversed orientation.

Notably, Burial Chamber J is the only decorated chamber in KV23. Its stylistic and thematic decoration parallels that found in KV62 (Tutankhamun’s tomb), with scenes uniquely depicting the king and his wife in marshland engaged in ritualized activities imbued with apotropaic symbolism.

Following the king's death and Horemheb’s succession, all names and images of Ay and his queen Tey were deliberately removed from the tomb’s walls and fixtures. This erasure is thought to reflect political motives, possibly arising from Ay’s close association with the controversial Amarna period or the perception that Ay had usurped the throne. Queen Tey’s body was never conclusively identified, although female skeletal fragments recovered from KV23 have been tentatively attributed to her.

circa 1320 BCE

Side Chamber Ja
Side Chamber Ja, also called "the annex", is 2.12 meters high, 5.44 meters wide, and 4.39 meters long. Likely cut after the tomb’s primary layout was completed, this annex was intended to store canopic equipment and additional funerary goods.

circa 1320 BCE

The Burial Chamber is the only part of the tomb that received decoration, which is consistent with funerary practice of the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The overall decorative programme closely parallels that found in KV62, the tomb of Tutankhamun, and it is highly probable that some of the same royal artists were commissioned for both tombs. Several scenes in the Burial Chamber of WV23 are virtually identical to those in KV62, suggesting a shared workshop tradition or a standard corpus of royal iconography adopted during this period.

Of particular significance is the first appearance of the Four Sons of Horus in a royal tomb, carved and painted above the doorway leading into the small canopic chamber. Their inclusion at this position reflects their traditional role as protective deities for the king’s internal organs, presaging later royal burial practices where their presence becomes a standard motif.

On the west wall of the Burial Chamber, a unique marshland hunting scene is preserved, depicting Ay engaged in fowling accompanied by his queen Tey. The representation of a king and his consort in an idyllic landscape setting is unparalleled in other New Kingdom royal tombs, making this composition one of considerable iconographic interest.

However, in the years following Ay’s reign, all images of the king were systematically defaced and his cartouches, along with those of Tey, were carefully excised. This program of iconoclasm left very little of their royal titulary intact. An intriguing exception is a surviving figure of the king’s ka, which was left undisturbed. The preservation of this particular image may relate to its different titular emphasis or perhaps its more general funerary purpose, suggesting that those responsible for the erasure avoided damaging this representation of the eternal aspect of the king.

circa 1320 BCE

Sarcophagus
The most significant discovery was the damaged red granite sarcophagus. Its lid was found intact and inverted against the east wall of the burial chamber. Vaulted and inscribed, the lid features a central column of text and two pairs of wedjat-eyes, all infilled with green pigment. The alignment of the lid indicated that its head end was oriented to the north, contrary to the surviving fragments of the box which suggested the opposite orientation. This discrepancy implies that the lid may never have been placed on the box. The box itself had been shattered in antiquity, and its fragments were scattered across the chamber floor. Following deliberate defacement after Ay’s death, the sarcophagus was moved to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo in the late nineteenth century.

Other Items
Numerous other artefacts were recovered from the corridors and chambers. Material from the first corridor included fragments of a shrine cornice, a wooden beard, pieces of gold foil, and a fragmentary hieratic ostracon. The second corridor yielded a wooden statuette hand and five crumpled, gilded copper discs bearing rosette and star motifs. Within the well chamber were a further rosette of gilded copper, a partial human pelvis, a wooden statuette leg, and pottery of probable Roman or Coptic origin.

Several pieces associated with royal funerary furniture were also found, notably alabaster couch elements, presumably belonging to a Taweret-shaped bier, and coffin fragments. An inscribed meat jar was also uncovered, recording that it had contained “pressed meat for The Bull,” likely intended as funerary sustenance for Ay. Human bones discovered alongside these items, including additional fragments of the king's skeleton, contribute to the view that the tomb was intentionally disturbed after its sealing.