Chancellor Bay publicly boasts that he was instrumental in installing Siptah on the throne in several inscriptions including an Aswan stela set up by Seti, the Viceroy of Kush and at Gebel el-Silsila.
A key graffito located at the entrance to the Speos of Horemheb at Gebel el-Silsila depicts Bay standing in a pose of adoration directly behind Siptah, who is making an offering to Amun; a following inscription in the graffito reads:
"the spirit of the Great Superintendent of the Seal of the entire land, who established the King [Siptah] in the place of his father; beloved of his lord, Bay."

Bay, however, later fell out of favor at court presumably for overreaching himself and last appears in public in a dated Year 4 inscription from Siptah's reign.
He was executed in the fifth year of Siptah's reign, on orders of the king himself.
News of his execution was passed to the Workmen of Deir el-Medina in Ostraca IFAO 1254.
This ostraca was translated and published in 2000 by Pierre Grandet in a French Egyptological journal.
Callendar notes that the reason for the king's message to the workmen was to notify them to cease all work on decorating Bay's tomb since Bay had now been deemed a traitor to the state.

Siptah himself is last attested sometime in his 6th regnal Year on a graffito located at the South Temple of Buhen.
He likely died in the middle of II Akhet—perhaps around II Akhet 12 of his 6th Year.
This assumes a traditional 70-day mummification period if Siptah was buried on IV Akhet 22.

Evidence for his burial on the latter date is recorded in ostracon O. Cairo CG 25792.
This ostraca from Deir el-Medina mentions that the Vizier Hori visited the workmen of Deir el-Medina first on II Akhet 24 and second on IV Akhet 19.
The final line on the ostracon reads as: "IV Akhet 22: Burial took place".
Since this event can only refer to a king's burial, the question here is the identity of this king.

Hori was appointed vizier around Regnal Year 6 II Shemu 6 and I Peret [X] of Seti II's reign and held this office through the reigns of Siptah, Twosret and Setnakht and into that of Ramesses III.
The ostracon could not refer to Setnakht's death because this king died on I Shemu 25 since his son, Ramesses III succeeded him the next day.
Twosret was ousted from power by Setnakht; therefore, the burial does not refer to her either.

Seti II must have died in late IV Akhet or early I Peret—after the 70-day mummification period—since a graffito located above KV14, Twosret's tomb, records his burial on III Peret 11.
Therefore, the IV Akhet 22 burial date likely records the burial of Siptah himself.
Siptah's death would have occurred sometime around II Akhet 12.
Siptah himself would have ruled Egypt for approximately 5 years and 10 months since his predecessor, Seti II, died around the end of IV Akhet and the beginning of I Peret, even if he did not legally assume the throne until the start of II Akhet with the aid of the powerful court official Bay.

After his death, Twosret simply assumed his Regnal Years and ruled Egypt as a queen for a year or two at the most.
Siptah was buried in the Valley of the Kings, in tomb KV47, but his mummy was not found there.
In 1898, it was discovered along with 18 others in a mummy cache within the (KV35) tomb of Amenhotep II.
The study of his tomb shows that it was conceived and planned in the same style as those of Twosret and Bay, clearly part of the same architectural design.
Chancellor Bay publicly boasts that he was instrumental in installing Siptah on the throne in several inscriptions including an Aswan stela set up by Seti, the Viceroy of Kush and at Gebel el-Silsila. A key graffito located at the entrance to the Speos of Horemheb at Gebel el-Silsila depicts Bay standing in a pose of adoration directly behind Siptah, who is making an offering to Amun; a following inscription in the graffito reads:
"the spirit of the Great Superintendent of the Seal of the entire land, who established the King [Siptah] in the place of his father; beloved of his lord, Bay."
Bay, however, later fell out of favor at court presumably for overreaching himself and last appears in public in a dated Year 4 inscription from Siptah's reign. He was executed in the fifth year of Siptah's reign, on orders of the king himself. News of his execution was passed to the Workmen of Deir el-Medina in Ostraca IFAO 1254. This ostraca was translated and published in 2000 by Pierre Grandet in a French Egyptological journal. Callendar notes that the reason for the king's message to the workmen was to notify them to cease all work on decorating Bay's tomb since Bay had now been deemed a traitor to the state.
Siptah himself is last attested sometime in his 6th regnal Year on a graffito located at the South Temple of Buhen. He likely died in the middle of II Akhet—perhaps around II Akhet 12 of his 6th Year. This assumes a traditional 70-day mummification period if Siptah was buried on IV Akhet 22.
Evidence for his burial on the latter date is recorded in ostracon O. Cairo CG 25792. This ostraca from Deir el-Medina mentions that the Vizier Hori visited the workmen of Deir el-Medina first on II Akhet 24 and second on IV Akhet 19. The final line on the ostracon reads as: "IV Akhet 22: Burial took place". Since this event can only refer to a king's burial, the question here is the identity of this king.
Hori was appointed vizier around Regnal Year 6 II Shemu 6 and I Peret [X] of Seti II's reign and held this office through the reigns of Siptah, Twosret and Setnakht and into that of Ramesses III. The ostracon could not refer to Setnakht's death because this king died on I Shemu 25 since his son, Ramesses III succeeded him the next day. Twosret was ousted from power by Setnakht; therefore, the burial does not refer to her either.
Seti II must have died in late IV Akhet or early I Peret—after the 70-day mummification period—since a graffito located above KV14, Twosret's tomb, records his burial on III Peret 11. Therefore, the IV Akhet 22 burial date likely records the burial of Siptah himself. Siptah's death would have occurred sometime around II Akhet 12. Siptah himself would have ruled Egypt for approximately 5 years and 10 months since his predecessor, Seti II, died around the end of IV Akhet and the beginning of I Peret, even if he did not legally assume the throne until the start of II Akhet with the aid of the powerful court official Bay.
After his death, Twosret simply assumed his Regnal Years and ruled Egypt as a queen for a year or two at the most. Siptah was buried in the Valley of the Kings, in tomb KV47, but his mummy was not found there. In 1898, it was discovered along with 18 others in a mummy cache within the (KV35) tomb of Amenhotep II. The study of his tomb shows that it was conceived and planned in the same style as those of Twosret and Bay, clearly part of the same architectural design.
Siptah