The tomb of King Ay, Tutankhamun's successor, is found in the Western
Valley which branches off at the entrance to the main Valley of the
Kings. Only two completed king's tombs have been found here to date,
the other being the tomb of Amenhotep III (WV22) which has been
recently undergoing re-excavation and restoration. The burial place of
Ay was discovered in 1816 by Belzoni at which time it appeared to have
been plundered and mutilated in antiquity. The king's mummy has never
been found. |
Ay's tomb is linear in plan and shows more similarity to the Amarna
royal tomb and later Theban tombs than to previous Dynasty XVIII
structures. Like the earlier tombs it is entered via two staircases
and descending corridors which lead to a square vestibule or well
room, undecorated and with no shaft.
Here the post Amarna style is evident in the straight axis of the tomb
where the well-room leads directly into a large rectangular
sarcophagus hall. This may have been originally intended to be a
pillared hall which was hurriedly changed to be the burial chamber at
the king's death. This is the only decorated chamber and in a style
very similar to that in Tutankhamun's tomb, possibly by the same
artists. The background is the now familiar golden yellow with black
hieroglyphs.
On the south wall (to the left of the entrance) we see a barque with
standards of Horus, the goddess Nephthys and the 'Barque of the
Ennead'. Below this in vertical columns of text are passages from the
Amduat (the Book of What is in the Underworld). The king's names have
all been deliberately erased from this text and all other instances in
the tomb.
On the east wall is a scene which is common in private tombs but
unique in a New Kingdom royal burial chamber. Pharaoh is seen here
with his queen, Tiye, spearing hippopotamus and hunting birds in the
marshes in a canoe. Unfortunately the images of the king and queen are
lost, but the marshes and birds are still clear.
The north wall is more conventional, depicting passages from the
Amduat very similar to those in Tutankhamun's tomb with twelve baboons
representing the twelve hours of the night. The top register shows
five deities preceding a barque with Khepri as the rising sun. Ay's
tomb is often called locally the 'Tomb of the Baboons' and the Western
Valley known as the 'Valley of the Monkeys' because of this.
On the west wall, above the entrance to an annex which must have
contained the king's canopic equipment, the 'Four Sons of Horus' are
shown around an offering table. Two wear the red crown of Lower Egypt
and two wear the white crown of Upper Egypt. Further along the west
wall the king is shown being embraced by the goddess Hathor; with his
ka before Nut who is shown making the 'nini' ritual; with his ka
receiving life from Hathor as Goddess of the West and finally being
embraced by Osiris.
The king's red granite sarcophagus can be seen in the burial chamber,
now heavily restored though not in its original orientation. It's
shape and decoration is also similar to Tutankhamun's with the
tutelary deities at the corners. |
