Holocene fluvial history of the Nile's west bank at ancient Thebes, Luxor, Egypt, and its relation with cultural dynamics and basin-wide hydroclimatic variability

In the Theban area around modern Luxor (Egypt), the River Nile divides the temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor from New Kingdom royal cult temples on the western desert edge. Few sites have been archaeologically identified in the western flood plain, despite its presumed pivotal role in the ancient ritual landscape as the territory that both physically divided and symbolically connected the areas inhabited by the living and the areas occupied by the dead. Using borehole data and electrical resistivity tomography, the current investigation of subsurface deposits reveals the location of an abandoned channel of the Nile. This river course was positioned in the western, distal part of the Nile flood plain. Over 2100 ceramic fragments recovered from boreholes date the abandonment of the relatively minor river channel to the (late) New Kingdom. This minor river branch could have played an important role in the cultural landscape, as it would have served to connect important localities in the ritual landscape. Changes in the fluvial landscape match with established periods of basin-wide hydroclimatic variability. This links cultural and landscape changes observed on a regional scale to hydroclimatic dynamics in the larger Nile catchment, in one of the focal areas of Ancient Egyptian cultural development

Shift away from Nile incision at Luxor ~4,000 years ago impacted ancient Egyptian landscapes

Although the Nile is one of the largest rivers in the world and played a central role in ancient Egyptian life, little is known about its response to climatic change during the Holocene. Here we present a framework for the evolution of the Egyptian Nile, demonstrating how climatic and environmental changes have shaped the landscape of the Egyptian Nile Valley over the past 11,500 years, including the civilization of ancient Egypt (~5,000 to 2,000 years ago). Using data from over 80 sediment cores drilled in a transect spanning the Nile Valley near Luxor, pinned in time by 48 optically stimulated luminescence ages, we reconstruct the dynamics of the Nile River during the Holocene in the vicinity of UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Karnak and Luxor temples. According to our reconstruction, valley incision occurred from the start of the record until approximately 4,000 years ago and then rapidly shifted to massive floodplain aggradation. We argue that this relatively abrupt change in the riverine landscape near Luxor from the Middle to Late Holocene was linked to a shift towards a drier regional hydroclimate around this time. Such a dramatic change in river sediment dynamics could have had local agro-economic consequences

Shift away from Nile incision at Luxor ~4000 years ago impacted ancient Egyptian landscapes

Although the Nile is one of the largest rivers in the world and played a central role in ancient Egyptian life, little is known about its response to climatic change during the Holocene. Here we present a framework for the evolution of the Egyptian Nile, demonstrating how climatic and environmental changes have shaped the landscape of the Egyptian Nile Valley over the past 11,500 years, including the civilization of ancient Egypt (~5,000 to 2,000 years ago). Using data from over 80 sediment cores drilled in a transect spanning the Nile Valley near Luxor, pinned in time by 48 optically stimulated luminescence ages, we reconstruct the dynamics of the Nile River during the Holocene in the vicinity of UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Karnak and Luxor temples. According to our reconstruction, valley incision occurred from the start of the record until approximately 4,000 years ago and then rapidly shifted to massive floodplain aggradation. We argue that this relatively abrupt change in the riverine landscape near Luxor from the Middle to Late Holocene was linked to a shift towards a drier regional hydroclimate around this time. Such a dramatic change in river sediment dynamics could have had local agro-economic consequences

Amenhotep III's Mansion of Millions of Years in Thebes (Luxor, Egypt): Submergence of high grounds by river floods and Nile sediments

New Kingdom royal cult temples in Thebes (Luxor, Egypt) are all located on the lower desert edge. Kom el-Hettân (Amenhotep III: reign 1391–1353 BCE, 18th Dynasty) is an exception, as it is located in the present Nile floodplain. Its anomalous position has puzzled Egyptologists, as has the termination of its use, which traditionally has been attributed to natural hazards such as flooding or earthquakes. Geoarchaeological analyses of the subsurface shows that Amenhotep III's temple was initially founded on a wadi fan that stood several metres above the contemporary surrounding floodplain landscape. The temple was fronted by a minor branch of the Nile, which connected the temple to the wider region, but the temple itself was relatively safe from the annual flood of the Nile. This geoarchaeological study comprised a coring programme to determine the c. 4000-yr landscape history of the local area. Chronological control was provided by the analysis of ceramic fragments recovered from within the sediments. This study shows that the New Kingdom period was, at least locally, characterised by extremely high sedimentation rates that caused a rapid rise of the floodplain and gradual submergence of the pre-existing high temple grounds. This is, however, not a plausible reason for the destruction of the temple, as frequent inundation did not begin until the temple was already out of use and largely dismantled

Amenhotep III's Mansion of millions of years in Thebes (Luxor, Egypt): submergence of high grounds by river floods and Nile sediments

New Kingdom royal cult temples in Thebes (Luxor, Egypt) are all located on the lower desert edge. Kom el-Hettân (Amenhotep III: reign 1391–1353 BCE, 18th Dynasty) is an exception, as it is located in the present Nile floodplain. Its anomalous position has puzzled Egyptologists, as has the termination of its use, which traditionally has been attributed to natural hazards such as flooding or earthquakes. Geoarchaeological analyses of the subsurface shows that Amenhotep III's temple was initially founded on a wadi fan that stood several metres above the contemporary surrounding floodplain landscape. The temple was fronted by a minor branch of the Nile, which connected the temple to the wider region, but the temple itself was relatively safe from the annual flood of the Nile. This geoarchaeological study comprised a coring programme to determine the c. 4000-yr landscape history of the local area. Chronological control was provided by the analysis of ceramic fragments recovered from within the sediments. This study shows that the New Kingdom period was, at least locally, characterised by extremely high sedimentation rates that caused a rapid rise of the floodplain and gradual submergence of the pre-existing high temple grounds. This is, however, not a plausible reason for the destruction of the temple, as frequent inundation did not begin until the temple was already out of use and largely dismantled.</p

Decitabine Treatment of Glioma-Initiating Cells Enhances Immune Recognition and Killing

Malignant gliomas are aggressive brain tumours with very poor prognosis. The majority of glioma cells are differentiated (glioma-differentiated cells: GDCs), whereas the smaller population (glioma-initiating cells, GICs) is undifferentiated and resistant to conventional therapies. Therefore, to better target this pool of heterogeneous cells, a combination of diverse therapeutic approaches is envisaged. Here we investigated whether the immunosensitising properties of the hypomethylating agent decitabine can be extended to GICs. Using the murine GL261 cell line, we demonstrate that decitabine augments the expression of the death receptor FAS both on GDCs and GICs. Interestingly, it had a higher impact on GICs and correlated with an enhanced sensitivity to FASL-mediated cell death. Moreover, the expression of other critical molecules involved in cognate recognition by cytotoxic T lymphocytes, MHCI and ICAM-1, was upregulated by decitabine treatment. Consequently, T-cell mediated killing of both GDCs and GICs was enhanced, as was T cell proliferation after reactivation. Overall, although GICs are described to resist classical therapies, our study shows that hypomethylating agents have the potential to enhance glioma cell recognition and subsequent destruction by immune cells, regardless of their differentiation status. These results support the development of combinatorial treatment modalities including epigenetic modulation together with immunotherapy in order to treat heterogenous malignancies such as glioblastoma