In this online lecture Prof. Robert Temple will explain what the Sphinx was for, and what it really is. It’s body is not a lion, but another creature and the head was re-carved, with the Pharaoh’s face now identified. There is also a burial chamber with 280 years’ worth of published accounts of eyewitnesses who saw it. The story of the Middle Kingdom pharaoh who uncovered the Sphinx was still being told by the locals in 1482, the longest recorded survival of folklore in world history. The Sphinx also appears to be part of a unified design with the three pyramids conceived as a single complex, but was originally a crouching figure of the dog god Anubis.

Prof. Temple is author of a dozen challenging and provocative books including The Sirius Mystery, The Sphinx Mystery, Netherworld, The Crystal Sun, and The Genius of China. He is visiting Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and previously held a similar position at an American university. He has done archaeometric dating work and exploration of closed sites in Egypt and his research into historical accounts of the Sphinx is the first comprehensive survey ever undertaken. www.robert-temple.com

The Stonehenge landscape is one of the most famous prehistoric places in the world, but much about its origins remains a mystery and little attention has been paid to what preceded, and may have influenced, its later ritual character. The discovery of a uniquely long-lived Mesolithic site at Blick Mead, 3km from Stonehenge, is set to transform the situation. Blick Mead, the oldest occupation site in the Stonehenge area, was the likely place where the communities who built the first monuments at Stonehenge lived. The discoveries made there in recent years have contributed significantly to a new understanding of the initial settlement patterns and practices in the Stonehenge landscape.

Since 2005, David has been the Project Director of the Blick Mead archaeological site. In 2013 he was elected a Fellow of the Society of the Antiquaries (FSA) in recognition of the importance of the Blick Mead discoveries. In 2010, he won an Open University Teaching Prize for his work and his project at Stonehenge won Current Archaeology Magazine ‘Research Project of the Year 2018’. In 2023 he was awarded ‘Archaeologist of the Year’ by the same publication. He continues to explore and excavate the Stonehenge and Blick Mead area and will be revealing his latest excavation results at Origins 2025.

Andrew Collins will look at the different origin stories from ancient Egypt that speak of Zep Tepi, the age of the gods, and provides ample evidence from Ta? Tepeler sites in southeastern Turkey that deep underground structures were indeed being built as early as 9000 BC. Cross cultural contact with the Giza area at this time shows that similar structures almost certainly existed there. What is more, they are likely linked to the cave underworld beneath the pyramids that Andrew and his team were responsible for exploring and mapping in 2008. This is the story as told in Andrew’s book Beneath the Pyramids, the new revised edition of which will be launched at Origins 2025.

Andrew Collins is a prolific author and the co-discoverer, along with Egyptological researcher Nigel Skinner Simpson, of a huge cave complex located within the shadow of the Great Pyramid in Egypt and known today as Collins’ Cave. He co-founded the Origins Conference in 2013 and is hosting a tour to Egypt with Megalithomania in February 2026. www.andrewcollins.com

Hugh will uncover the secrets of Karahan Tepe and other sites in southeast Turkey c.9500 BC, exploring how they reveal a sophisticated understanding of the Solstices. He will also explore how early civilizations meticulously aligned their monumental structures with the sun and moon, focussed mainly on the winter solstice, and how a remarkable legacy from Palaeolithic times to the Mesolithic era may have influenced the Ta? Tepeler culture, which in-turn influenced later megalithic civilizations around the world.

Hugh is an explorer, megalithomaniac and author of several books including Göbekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe: The World’s First Megaliths. www.megalithomania.co.uk/hughnewman.html

JJ is a researcher and explorer from the US, who is an expert on ancient symbolism and connections between sites worldwide. She has featured on numerous TV shows and podcasts, has published articles on ancient-origins.net, grahamhancock.com and presented at conferences in the UK and US.

Debbie will be crossing over to the ‘Dark Side’ to uncover the creationism and origin stories of the Ta? Tepeler culture revealing an astonishing perspective on the creation of the Universe, the force of chaos and the ontology of death. This perspective may seem alien and dark to modern minds, but it may allow us to get closer to gaining true knowledge of what the ancients were up to.

Deborah has worked with Andrew Collins on various quests and is a key figure in the psychic questing community, providing inspiration for several of Andrew’s books. She obtained an honours degree in Modern Continental Philosophy and studied esoteric psychology at the Theosophical Society. It was these studies that led to her non-fiction book, The Inward Revolution, co-authored with Storm Constantine. She is also a landscape photographer. www.earthquestphotography.com

SPECIAL GUESTS FROM ITALY - The Khafre Research Project Team

Dr. Filippo Biondi is an aerospace engineer and specialist at remote sensing as well as being a geospatial analyst, who, along with the Khafre Research Project Team, used Synthetic Aperture Radar Doppler Tomography and discovered mega-structures under Khafre’s Pyramid and across the Giza Plateau using satellite scanning technology. In this online lecture he will present the latest findings from his research and how this could rewrite the history of Giza.

In 2018, Filippo completed a master’s degree in Space Engineering and International Space Law at the University of Tor Vergata (Italy). In 2024, he obtained a master’s degree in Quantum Optics and Information from the Faculty of Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome (Italy). With extensive experience in advanced radar processing and satellite-based sensing systems, he applies aerospace technologies to terrestrial analysis—leading to discoveries previously invisible to archaeology.

Armando will explore the mythological and symbolic background of the so-called ‘War of the Gods’, as preserved in selected passages of the Book of the Dead. Central to this narrative is the struggle for the ‘Shafts’ (or Pillars) of Horus, a cosmic contest that reflects not only divine succession but also the order and balance of creation itself. Drawing on John O’Neil’s pioneering studies and modern interpretations of ancient Egyptian texts, he examines how these myths reveal encoded knowledge of cosmic cycles, astronomical alignments, and sacred geography. By re-reading these sources through the lens of comparative mythology and archaeoastronomy, we may uncover new insights into the relationship between divine conflict, kingship, and the enduring quest for immortality.

Armando is an independent researcher, historian, and author specializing in the origins of ancient civilizations and the mysteries of Egypt. He is a core member of the Khafre Research Project - SAR Technology, an international team employing advanced satellite imaging and remote sensing to investigate the Giza Plateau and surrounding areas. He is the author of several books, including 36,400 BCE: The Secrets of the Gods, and has been a frequent guest at international conferences, documentaries, and media programs worldwide. https://armandomei.blogspot.com