Webinars

Ancient Origins’ Dr Micki Pistorius takes you on a virtual preview of the sites of Iraq. Starting at the ancient Marshland settlements in the south where the Euphrates and the Tigris fused , bordering the Persian gulf, we travel up along the two rivers, crisscrossing the Fertile Crescent, until we reach the citadel of Erbil in the north, incorporating several epochs dating from 8,000 years ago, up to modern Baghdad.

Between the Tigris and the Euphrates, memories of mysterious Mesopotamia, envelop the sun-baked ruins of ziggurats, temples, palaces, cities, and irrigation canals, where gods took the hands of kings, to rule, to make war, to worship, to love and eventually to ruin.  Called the Cradle of Civilization, this is the land of the Sumerians, the Akkadians and the Babylonians, which today is called Iraq. The Ubaid period, starting around 5000 BC, marked the earliest known settlements in the region, characterized by villages and the development of agriculture and draining of marshes in the fertile crescent.

The Sumerian civilization emerged around 3500 BC and brought significant advancements in agriculture, governance, urbanization, and the creation of the world's first writing system, cuneiform. They built ziggurats as dwellings for their tutelary gods and elaborate palaces. This era is renowned for city-states such as Eridu, Larsa, Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Nippur, Nimrud and Kish.

The Old Akkadian Empire, led by Sargon the Great during the 24th century BC, united Mesopotamia under one rule, subjugating the entire Fertile Crescent, marking a critical shift in the region's history. It laid the foundation for the Akkadian language's dominance and the spread of cuneiform script. He is regarded as the first Emperor and was succeeded by his grandson Naram Sin. We visit Ashur and Nineveh, two of the Old Akkadian cities.

Then there was a Sumerian revival period of the Third Dynasty of Ur and the Isin-Larsa Period, whilst Babylon was on the rise.

The Old Babylonian Empire, existing from the 18th to 16th centuries BC, was a significant Mesopotamian civilization centered in Babylon. It was known for its code of laws, the famous Code of Hammurabi, and advancements in mathematics, astronomy, and literature.

The Neo-Assyrian Empire was founded around 911 BC and the most significant expansion and consolidation of the empire occurred under Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 BC) and later rulers such as Tiglath-Pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal who were some of the prominent Neo-Assyrian monarchs.

The Neo-Babylonian Empire was founded in 626 BC by Nabopolassar, who led a successful rebellion against the crumbling Neo-Assyrian Empire and he eventually established an independent Babylonian state. The most famous ruler of the Neo-Babylonian Empire was Nebuchadnezzar II, who reigned from 605 to 562 BC. The Neo-Babylonian Empire is known for its cultural achievements, including the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Persian era, initiated by Cyrus the Great's conquest in the 6th century BC, saw the integration of Mesopotamia into the Achaemenid Empire. It brought a new level of administrative sophistication to the region.

Then the region was conquered by Alexander the Great, divided by the Diadochi, introducing the Seleucid period, and Seleucia on the bank of the Tigris. This period was followed by the conversion to Islam and the first century Caliphates. The Al Ukaider Fortress is a massive monument to the Abbasid dynasty. Ctesiphon was the capital of the Parthian empire and Wasit dates to the Umayyad period.

These historical epochs collectively shaped Mesopotamia into a dynamic and influential region in the ancient world, with contributions that resonate through the annals of human history.

In Baghdad we visit the National Museum of Iraq, and marvel at the collection of priceless artifacts, many being recovered after looting during the Iraqi war. We stroll through Baghdad’s famous copper markets for old fashioned bartering. We also visit an Abassid palace, and the Abu Dulaf Mosque in Samarra,

We end in the north, strolling through the old markets of the ancient citadel of Erbil.

Dr. Micki Pistorius editor of the Premium Ancient-Origins has doctorate’s degree in Psychology and an honors degree in Biblical Archaeology. She is an Ancient Origins tour leader where she blends mythology and history into a rich tapestry and bring the stones to life!

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Was King Arthur a real historical figure or a mythological figure, conjured in the mists of Avalon, swathed in legends of magicians and magical swords?

Author Tony Sullivan takes us on a journey to find the real King Arthur. His investigation of the evidence is based on the earliest written sources rather than later myths and legends. The evidence is laid out in a chronological order starting from Roman Britain and shows how the legend evolved and at what point concepts such as Camelot, Excalibur and Merlin were added. It covers the historical records from the end of Roman Britain using contemporary sources such as they are, from 400-800, including Gallic Chronicles, Gildas and Bede. He details the first written reference to Arthur in the ninth century Historia Brittonum c.800 and the later Annales Cambriae in the tenth century showing the evolution of the legend in in later Welsh and French stories.

Tony Sullivan compares the possibility of Arthur being purely fictional with a historical figure alongside a list of possible suspects.

The ninth century Historia Brittonum is the first source that mentions Arthur and lists twelve battles, including the famous Badon Hill. Some of these battles can indeed be located with some confidence. Additionally, Tony places the battles in the fragmenting provincial, political and military context of the late fifth and early sixth century Britain, a time of rapid changes in cultural identity and a significant increase in Germanic material culture and migration.

The conclusion gives the reader a new insight into what sort of man Arthur was and the nature of the battles he fought.

Tony Sullivan lives in South East London with his wife and three children. His first book, King Arthur, Man or Myth was published in 2020. Three further books followed in 2022: The Battles of King Arthur investigating the famous battle list from the Historia Brittonum; The Real Gladiator, looking at the historical reality behind the 2000 film; and The Roman King Arthur? Lucius Artorius Castus, which dismantles the Artorius-Arthur theory and places this historical Roman officer in the reigns of Severus and Caracalla. His latest book is: The Early Anglo-Saxon Kings

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In 1888 Whitechapel and Spitalfields in London were gripped in horror and fear when five women were brutally slaughtered, all within just over two months. Much has been speculated about the identity of the elusive killer dubbed Jack the Ripper, but not so much has been written about the real lives of those women who were the victims of this notorious serial killer.

The so-called “canonical five” victims were Mary Ann Nichols (whose body was found on August 31), Annie Chapman (found September 8), Elizabeth Stride (found September 30), Catherine (Kate) Eddowes (found September 30), and Mary Jane Kelly (found November 9). It has been assumed that all these women were prostitutes, soliciting on the streets of Whitechapel. All, but Mary Jane Kelly, were butchered on the street and Kelly was killed in her room.  Curiously, recent research reveals that Nichols, Chapman, and Eddowes were not full-time prostitutes; that Stride had resorted to soliciting only occasionally, during periods of desperate poverty, and that the only verifiable prostitute among the five was Kelly. Were these women also victims of class-based Victorian prejudice and moral self-righteousness?

Mary Ann Nichols, also known as Polly had separated from her husband, with him taking four of their five children. He claimed she had deserted the family and resorted to prostitution, but there was no evidence of this. Polly Nichols’ life circumstances deteriorated, as she had a drinking problem, and she often frequented workhouses. On the night of her death, Polly bragged about her new black velvet bonnet to her lodgings housekeeper.  At 2h30 she was seen staggering towards Buck’s Row, and the last time she was seen alive was 05:30 in the morning.

Annie Chapman began her life in relative affluence, and married a private coachman to wealthy families. She was the mother of eight children, but only three survived beyond a few months.  It was later realized that she had been drinking during her pregnancies, and her children suffered from foetal alcohol syndrome disorders. After the death of their eldest daughter Emily from meningitis (she was only 12), both Annie and her husband succumbed to alcohol abuse. The couple separated with the husband taking custody of their remaining daughter. Annie paid 8d a night for her double bed in the Dorsett street lodging house. At 1h35 am she was seen walking towards Spitalfields Market…

Long Liz Stride was originally a Swede who located to London in 1866. She was married to a man 22 years her senior and had no children. Her husband passed away and from 1885 until her death Long Liz lived much of the time with local dock labourer Michael Kidney, who resided in Devonshire Street. They would often fight and separate, when Liz would frequent the lodging houses. She earned her lodgings by cleaning the premises.

On 30 September 1888  at 12h35 am ‘Long Liz’ Stride was last seen alive. When her body was found her throat was slit but she was not eviscerated, probably because the killer was disturbed but he moved on that same night to kill Catherine Eddowes.

Catherine Eddowes was described as a very jolly woman, always singing and an "intelligent and scholarly person, but possessed of a fierce temper”. She was last seen alive in a narrow walkway named Church Passage at 1:35 am, an hour after Long Liz was last seen.

Mary Jane Kelly alias Fair Emma, Ginger, Dark Mary and Black Mary, was probably of Irish descent although little is known about her. She found work in a high-class brothel in the more affluent West End of London. She became one of the brothel's most popular girls and spent her earnings on expensive clothing and hiring a carriage. She was last seen alive at 2h35 on 8 November with a man walking towards her lodgings. Mary Jane was murdered within the sparsely furnished single room she rented at 13 Miller's Court, affording her murderer an extensive period of time to eviscerate and mutilate her body.

The inscription upon Mary Jane Kelly's grave marker reads: “In loving memory of Marie Jeanette Kelly. None but the lonely hearts can know my sadness. Love lives forever.”

Author Jonathon Perrin introduces us to each of these unique women, telling the stories of their lives, how they unravelled, and their deaths - all set against the backdrop of East End London during the Victorian Age. It was a horrific period for the lower classes, when judgment ran high, knowledge of addiction was limited and treatment difficult to access, and a bed for the night in a workhouse lodging could be had for 4d – a British fourpence coin, valued at about a third of a shilling. 

Based on the Sunday Times Bestseller, “The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper” by Hallie Rubenhold, the webinar will also include an exclusive look inside London’s own “Jack the Ripper Museum” (https://www.jacktherippermuseum.com/), which the author recently visited.

Jonathon Perrin is a geologist who has explored for oil and gas, rare earth elements, and gold deposits in Canada. He also has an archaeology degree and spent five years excavating prehistoric Native sites in Canada. His recent passion is writing about ancient mysteries and uncovering the subverted truths of history. His first book, Moses Restored, is currently on Amazon, and he has contributed several articles to Atlantis Rising magazine under Editor J. Douglas Kenyon. He is the author of Moses Restored: The Oldest Religious Secret Never Told

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The Star Maps of Gwynedd, covers the entire north-west quarter of Wales, and is considered the largest distinct ancient site on Earth, with over 2,000 square miles incorporating thousands of named stone circles, cairns, standing stones, mountains, rivers, sacred sites, holy springs, churches, towns and even public houses. In comparison, the greater Stonehenge area covers 200 square miles, and the ancient Egyptian sites including Giza, Saqqara, Dendera, Abydos and Luxor cover about 400 square miles, as does a square area from Gōbekli Tepe to Karahan Tepe to the ancient star city Harran.

British mythology recounts that the stars were mapped from the top of the central, sacred mountain Cadair Idris in Northern Wales, by the Great Astronomer Idrisi. Idris was also known as Enoch, and he was the great grandfather of Noah, dating the star maps to approximately 4500 BC.

At Gōbekli Tepe – and many other megalithic sites - archaeo-astrologists are discovering that the ancients demonstrated their knowledge of astrology by aligning structures with the stars and leaving cryptic messages in the reliefs. Gōbekli Tepe has been radiocarbon-14- dated from 9500 BC (enclosure D) to 7500 BC (enclosure C). If Pillar 43 of Enclosure D is a representation of the constellations and the constellations were fixed in Gwynedd, then the Star Maps of Gwynedd may be much older than Gōbekli Tepe.

Hugh Evans indicates how the Zodiac constellations could have been mapped out during the antediluvian era as certain megalithic sites in north-west Wales seem to correspond with the 12 constellations and ancient Welsh explains key elements.

Hugh Evans studied Astrophysics at university, graduated in aeronautical engineering, subsequently qualifying as a Chartered Accountant. He now applies his scientific interest, engineering rigour and professional scrutiny to a lifelong passion for history and the stars; offering a new perspective and rediscovering the story of the ancients.

Hugh has invested thousands of hours of painstaking research, site visits, hieroglyph interpretation and language translation to identify all the features of the present zodiac and circumpolar constellations across the land features of Gwynedd, North Wales. Thousands of years older than the Babylonian and Egyptian zodiacs, perhaps even older than Gōbekli Tepe, the features on the ground in North Wales actually determined the choice of stars for the constellations in the heavens above. He is the author of The Origins of the Zodiac, Cadair Idris and the Star Maps of Gwynedd.

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