- WV23
EgyptianRoyalTombDetail
Name = WV23
Location = West Valley of the Kings
Date =1816
Owner =Ay
Excavated =Giovanni Battista Belzoni
Prev =WV22
Next =WV24 Tomb WV23, located at the end of the Western
Valley of the Kings near modern-dayLuxor , was the final resting place ofPharaoh Ay of the 18th Dynasty.Discovered by
Giovanni Battista Belzoni in the winter of 1816, its structure is similar to that of the tomb ofAkhenaten , with a straight undecorated, descending corridor, leading to a "well chamber" that has no shaft. This leads to the burial chamber, which currently contains the reconstructedsarcophagus . It had originally been found smashed into numerous fragments. The tomb had also been desecrated in history with many depictions of Ay's image or name erased from the tomb wall paintings.Its decoration is similar in content and colour to that 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 elsewhere in other Royal tombs, being normally shown in burials of nobility. The tomb is also well known for its scenes of a hippopotamus hunt.::J.G. Wilkinson."
References
*Reeves, N & Wilkinson, R.H. The Complete Valley of the Kings, 1996, Thames and Hudson, London.
*Siliotti, A. Guide to the Valley of the Kings and to the Theban Necropolises and Temples, 1996, A.A. Gaddis, Cairo.External links
* [http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/sites/browse_tomb_837.html Theban Mapping Project: KV23] - Includes detailed information about tomb.
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