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Joanna Gillan's picture

Joanna Gillan

Joanna Gillan is a Co-Owner, Editor and Writer of Ancient Origins. 

Joanna completed a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) degree in Australia and published research in the field of Educational Psychology. She has a rich and varied career, ranging from teaching children with autism in an early intervention program, owning and operating an online English teaching business, working as a research and project officer in the office of TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall and assistant in the office of Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as co-owning a website design and development company.

Joanna co-founded Ancient Origins with Dr Ioannis Syrigos. Together they immersed themselves in their personal passion for ancient history, mythology and human origins.  She loves learning about and experiencing other cultures and has spent time living in Australia, UK, Greece, Ecuador and Ireland and travelling to hundreds of historic sites around the world.

Joanna has written over 1,000 articles for Ancient Origins, some of which have been mentioned in the New York Times, CNN, Fox News, The Guardian, Peru Weekly, International Business Times, Spiegel and The Daily Mail. She has contributed as a guest writer for other media organizations, including The Epoch Times and iSpectrum Magazine, and has been interviewed on historical subjects on ten radio shows, including the BBC in the UK, and Newstalk in Ireland. She has also appeared on Ireland’s national TV channel, RTE, on the Today Show

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Medieval executioner. Source: Nomad_Soul / Adobe Stock

16th Century Executioners Sold Human Fat for Medicinal Ointments

In 16th century Europe, anyone suffering from arthritis, bone pain, toothache or gout could trot down to their local pharmacy and pick themselves up a bottle of Axungia hominis ( human fat ). Known...
A honey collecting honey hunter in Nepal. Source: Andrew Newey

The Ancient Art of Honey Collecting on the Himalayan Cliffs of Nepal

The Gurung tribespeople of Nepal have been collecting honey from Himalayan cliffs for centuries, risking their lives in an ancient tradition that has been passed down over many generations. But now...
Russian with a beard. 	Source: venerala / Adobe Stock

Peter the Great Ordered a Beard Tax to Discourage Russian Facial Hair!

Peter the Great (1672 – 1725 AD), ruler of the Tsardom of Russia, was so hellbent on modernizing Russia according to European standards that he ordered all men to ditch their long overcoats and shave...
Naked Warriors: Celtic Mercenaries Went to War in the Buff

Naked Warriors: Celtic Mercenaries Went to War in the Buff

It would take a lot of confidence and courage to face up to a heavily-armored Roman army with neither armor nor clothing. But this is precisely what a band of Celtic mercenaries known as the Gaesatae...
The palace at Zanzibar Town after the Anglo-Zanzibar war. Source: Public domain

The Anglo-Zanzibar War: The Shortest War in History Lasted Just 38 Minutes!

The shortest war in recorded history began at 9 am on August 27, 1896. It was over in less than three-quarters of an hour, with a shocking toll of 501 killed or wounded soldiers. This is the story of...
Medieval lovers. Source: guruXOX / Adobe Stock

Pope Pius II Wrote a Bestselling Erotic Novel Before Turning to the Cloth

Pope Pius II was an unconventional Pope. Before turning to priesthood, he bore children out of wedlock, enjoyed the flames of love, and wrote of adultery, scandal and fiery passion in his erotic...
Modern depiction (1876) by Jean Léon Gérôme of a chariot race in Rome's Circus Maximus (Public Domain)

Top Roman Charioteer Was Worth More than Cristiano Ronaldo!

In 2020, Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time FIFA player of the year became the first team-sport athlete to surpass $1 billion in career earnings. It is hard to imagine anyone topping that, but in the...
The body of the Thai Buddhist monk Luang Pho Daeng at Wat Khunaram, Ko Samui, Thailand (Source: escape.com.au)

Buddhist Monks Self-Mummified Their Bodies While Still Alive

Over 1,000 years ago, an esoteric sect known as Shingon – which combined elements from Buddhism, Old Shinto, Taoism, and other religions – developed a horrifying practice of self-mummification of the...
Egyptian limestone figures depicting stone pillows in the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. 	Source: The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC. / Glencairn Museum

Ancient Egyptians Slept on Pillows Made of Stone

Human beings have been enjoying the soft comfort of pillows for the last 2,000 years. But before this feather-filled luxury, people were accustomed to resting their heads on pillow-like headrests...
Skeleton in mass grave Durham, England

Mysterious Mass Graves Contained Oliver Cromwell's Prisoners

In November 2013 archaeologists from the University of Durham in northern England found two mass graves near Durham Cathedral. At first the archaeologists thought the bodies belonged to the Cathedral...
Portrait of Aristocrat Pug Dog. By viconda@gmail.com / Adobe Stock

Order of the Pug: Catholic Secret Society Initiates Wore Dog Collars

Secret societies are characterized by rituals, customs, and teachings that are concealed from the general public. It is no wonder the 18th century secret society known as The Order of the Pug kept...
Cleopatra. Source: Lumixera / Adobe Stock

Not Just a Pretty Face: Cleopatra Was a Genius Who Spoke 9 Languages

Cleopatra VII (69 – 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt and its last active ruler. Most famous for her love affairs with Mark Antony and Julius Caesar, Roman propaganda was quick to...
Artist’s photograph of Isaiah, 2014, as part of the photography series ‘Preservation’.  © Blake Little 2018. Photo prints can be purchased on the Blake Little website.

Egyptian Pharoah Pepi II Coated His Slaves in Honey to Use as Fly Traps

Pepi II was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom who succeeded to the throne at the tender age of six. Perhaps it was this privileged upbringing which ultimately resulted in him being one of Egypt’...
An artist's illustration depicting Xerxes' alleged "punishment" of the Hellespont: Xerxes lash sea (Public Domain)

Persian King Xerxes Ordered the Sea to be Whipped as Punishment

Xerxes I, also known as Xerxes the Great, was a 5th century Achaemenid king of the Persian empire. He is best known for leading the massive invasion of Greece, marked by the battles of Thermopylae,...
Pen with blood ink. Source: VJP / Adobe Stock

Blood Quran: Ancient Holy Text Written in the Blood of Saddam Hussein

The Qur’an is the Islamic Holy text written approximately 1400 years ago, originally memorized and recited orally, and believed to contain the words of archangel Gabriel revealed to the Prophet...
Plastered skull, c. 9000 BC, found at Kfar HaHoresh in northern Israel and now at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Source: Gary Todd / CC0

Bizarre Mortuary Practices and the Jericho Plastered Skulls

Jericho (also called Tell es-Sultan ) is a city with an incredibly rich history located in the Palestinian West Bank, near the Jordan River, some 55 kilometers (34 mi) from Jerusalem. Besides being...

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