The tomb of Ay, KV25, is the only tomb currently open in the Western Valley, also known as the Valley of the Baboons. Tickets are available separately from the ticket office for the Valley of the Kings for 20LE. As the tomb is at the end of the Western Valley, and it is about 3 km from the Valley car park, it is advisable to take a taxi to get there. The guardian lives a few hundred metres down the track, and if he is not at the tomb, you'll have to give him a lift! On the way to the tomb, he will stop and turn on the generator, as there is no

mains electricity in this valley. The desolation, the solitude of the Western Valley is overwhelming. No tarmac, no tourist coaches - just silence, until the generator starts up. The tomb itself is virtually at the far end of the valley, and is reached by a long flight of stairs.

The walls of the entrance passage are unfinished, and the tomb itself consists of only two rooms, only one of which is decorated. The heavily restored sarcophagus rests in the centre of the decorated chamber.The wall paintings are reminiscent of Tutankhamen's burial chamber - and it is thought that they may have been by the same artist. It is also thought that this tomb was originally intended for Tutankhamen, but on coming to the throne Ay appropriated it for himself.

In this scene, unique for a pharaonic burial, Ay is in the marshes wildfowling, although some writers think there is allegorical significance in the 12 birds rising out of the lotus swamp.