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Photo: Fabio Achili, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The tomb dates from the very end of the 18th Dynasty and is the burial place of the vizier (chief minister) Ay who gained the throne after the extinction of the line of succession within the ruling 18th Dynasty family of pharaohs. As such, WV23 was the last tomb to be established in the valley. Scenes from the tomb decoration, bearing close resemblance to the style seen in the tomb of Tutankhamun (Ay's predecessor), include a depiction of Ay hunting in the marshes (unique amongst royal depictions in the Theban necropolis) and an assemblage of twelve baboons. The sarcophagus has been restored and re-installed by the Supreme Council of Antiquities from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, though its orientation is now reversed from the original.
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.
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KV8
The son of Ramesses the Great, Merneptah's tomb has suffered greatly from flash flooding of the Valley over the millennia. Those paintings and reliefs that have survived, however, are generally in good condition.
The KV9 tomb was started by Ramesses V, but usurped after his death by his successor Ramesses VI, who enlarged the tomb and had his own image and cartouches carved in over his predecessor's. The tomb is one of the most interesting in the Valley, with one of the most complete and best preserved decorative schemes surviving.
KV62
KV62 may be the most famous of the tombs in the Valley, the scene of Howard Carter's 1922 discovery of the almost intact royal burial of the young king. Compared to most of the other royal tombs, however, the tomb of Tutankhamun is barely worth visiting, being much smaller and with limited decoration. Anyone interested in seeing evidence of the damage to the mummy done during attempts to remove it from the coffin will be disappointed as only the head and shoulders are visible. The fabulous riches of the tomb are no longer in it, but have been removed to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Visitors with limited time would be best to spend their time elsewhere.
KV46
The tomb of Yuya and his wife Tjuyu, the parents of Queen Tiye, the wife of Amenhotep III, and King Ay. It was discovered in February 1905 by James E. Quibell. Until the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, this was the richest and best preserved tomb found in the valley, and the first to be found with major items in situ.
KV34
One of the most remote tombs in the Valley, at the far end of the Valley and up several flights of steps to gain entry. The climb is worth it though. The tomb is of the typical, early curved plan with a large oval burial chamber. The decoration is unique, being in a simple, pleasing style that resembles the cursive writing of the time.
KV43
High in the cliffs above the valley floor, it had been spared the extensive flood-water damage suffered by other tombs, and its wall decorations are consequently very well preserved. The pharaoh's outer stone sarcophagus is also still in place in the burial chamber.