Four centuries of cooking wares at Priene: Tracing transformation in supply and trade patterns in western Asia minor (Turkey)

This paper presents the results of a diachronic and multidisciplinary investigation into the production and consumption of cooking ware in the ancient city of Priene (Turkey). Three major chronological horizons are considered, covering the fourth to the first century BCE: the late Classical/early Hellenistic period, the middle Hellenistic period, and the late Hellenistic/early Roman Imperial period. Following a thorough typological and macroscopic study of fabrics, an integrated analytical approach combining petrography and elemental analysis (wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence) was applied to investigate the main macroscopic types and fabrics that characterised cooking wares. Integration of the results from the typological study with the subsequent analyses of 90 representative samples has provided high-resolution insights into cooking ware production and consumption at Priene over the study period. In addition to tracing transformations in local and regional manufacture over time, the results show that cooking wares were imported to the city from several places and, moreover, at a scale at least equivalent to that for other categories of ceramic vessels at that time. Changes in the manufacturing technology of local and regional products and the origin of imports are discussed in the context of significant historical developments that took place in this region over the period covered by the study

Piranesis Antike. Befund und Polemik

Der wissenschaftliche Katalog erschien anlässlich der Ausstellung „Piranesis Antike – Befund und Polemik“ im Walraf-Richartz-Museum in Köln (25. Okt. 2013 – 26. Januar 2014). Er thematisiert anhand der Auswahl von 17 Radierungen den sogenannten Griechen-Streit, bei dem Piranesi in teils polemisch geführten Debatten mit seinen Zeitgenossen die kulturelle Überlegenheit der altrömischen Kunst und Architektur gegenüber der griechischen verteidigte. Nicht nur mit seiner ihm unverwechselbaren künstlerischen Manier mittels dramatisierender Perspektiven, Lichteffekten und Monumentalisierungen, sondern auch durch die sorgfältige Dokumentation archäologischer und bautechnischer Details arbeitete er die Größe und Originalität der Denkmäler noch in ihrem Verfall heraus. Zu den mit äußerster Akribie wiedergegebenen und mit Legenden und erläuternden Texten versehenen Denkmälern zählen Brücken (Ponte Lugano bei Tivoli), Triumphbögen (Titusbogen und Septimius-Severus-Bogen), Tempel (sog. Sibyllentempel in Tivoli), aber auch Ansichten von Fassaden oder grottenartig düsteren Innenräumen (sog. Villa des Maecenas). Ein zusätzlich ausgestelltes Korkmodell des Konstantinsbogens als Leihgabe aus dem Ungers Archiv für Architekturwissenschaft zeigt, wie sich Radierungen und Modelle in der Vermittlung antiker Architektur im späten 18. Jahrhundert ergänzten und beeinflussten

Liver X receptors are required for thymic resilience and T cell output

The thymus is a primary lymphoid organ necessary for optimal T cell development. Here, we show that liver X receptors (LXRs)-a class of nuclear receptors and transcription factors with diverse functions in metabolism and immunity-critically contribute to thymic integrity and function. LXRαβ-deficient mice develop a fatty, rapidly involuting thymus and acquire a shrunken and prematurely immunoinhibitory peripheral T cell repertoire. LXRαβ's functions are cell specific, and the resulting phenotypes are mutually independent. Although thymic macrophages require LXRαβ for cholesterol efflux, thymic epithelial cells (TECs) use LXRαβ for self-renewal and thymocytes for negative selection. Consequently, TEC-derived LXRαβ protects against homeostatic premature involution and orchestrates thymic regeneration following stress, while thymocyte-derived LXRαβ limits cell disposal during negative selection and confers heightened sensitivity to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. These results identify three distinct but complementary mechanisms by which LXRαβ governs T lymphocyte education and illuminate LXRαβ's indispensable roles in adaptive immunity

On-demand erythrocyte disposal and iron recycling requires transient macrophages in the liver

Iron is an essential component of the erythrocyte protein hemoglobin and is crucial to oxygen transport in vertebrates. In the steady state, erythrocyte production is in equilibrium with erythrocyte removal1. In various pathophysiological conditions, however, erythrocyte life span is severely compromised, which threatens the organism with anemia and iron toxicity2,3. Here we identify an on-demand mechanism that clears erythrocytes and recycles iron. We show that Ly-6Chigh monocytes ingest stressed and senescent erythrocytes, accumulate in the liver via coordinated chemotactic cues, and differentiate to ferroportin 1 (FPN1)-expressing macrophages that can deliver iron to hepatocytes. Monocyte-derived FPN1+ Tim-4neg macrophages are transient, reside alongside embryonically-derived Tim-4high Kupffer cells, and depend on Csf1 and Nrf2. The spleen likewise recruits iron-loaded Ly-6Chigh monocytes, but these do not differentiate into iron-recycling macrophages due to the suppressive action of Csf2. Inhibiting monocyte recruitment to the liver leads to kidney and liver damage. These observations identify the liver as the primary organ supporting rapid erythrocyte removal and iron recycling and uncover a mechanism by which the body adapts to fluctuations in erythrocyte integrity

Cooking pottery in Priene : imports and local/regional production from late Classical to late Hellenistic times

It has become increasingly apparent over the last decades that cooking pottery played a considerable role as a trade commodity in ancient times, yet relatively little research has yet been done on this topic for its own sake. By taking a closer look at the cooking pottery found in Priene, a small city in southern Ionia re-founded in the middle of the 4th century BCE, we want to trace some of the broader developments within the cooking wares that were used over a period of roughly 300 years. The aim is not only to outline the general shapes that were in use over this period of time, but also to register if and how these shapes correlate with the different fabrics observed in Priene so far