1 00:00:05,048 --> 00:00:06,223 >> NARRATOR: A temple of the 2 00:00:06,223 --> 00:00:10,445 dead in the Yucatán... an 3 00:00:10,445 --> 00:00:14,318 underground city in Turkey... 4 00:00:14,318 --> 00:00:17,191 and a South American cave said 5 00:00:17,191 --> 00:00:18,931 to contain a treasure from 6 00:00:18,931 --> 00:00:21,369 to contain a treasure from beyond the stars. 7 00:00:21,369 --> 00:00:24,459 beyond the stars. 8 00:00:24,459 --> 00:00:26,635 For centuries, people have told 9 00:00:26,635 --> 00:00:29,290 tales of caves and tunnels deep 10 00:00:29,290 --> 00:00:31,248 inside the Earth. 11 00:00:31,248 --> 00:00:33,424 Subterranean passageways that 12 00:00:33,424 --> 00:00:36,036 lead to lands of gods and 13 00:00:36,036 --> 00:00:37,559 monsters. 14 00:00:37,559 --> 00:00:40,040 But is there a surprising truth 15 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:42,346 behind these legends? 16 00:00:42,346 --> 00:00:43,391 >> LINDA HOWE: I have stood in 17 00:00:43,391 --> 00:00:45,349 front of drawings on the rocks 18 00:00:45,349 --> 00:00:48,091 and wondered, "Am I looking at a 19 00:00:48,091 --> 00:00:49,484 extra-terrestrial biological 20 00:00:49,484 --> 00:00:50,615 entity?" 21 00:00:50,615 --> 00:00:51,573 >> NARRATOR: Could there really 22 00:00:51,573 --> 00:00:54,271 be mysterious places far 23 00:00:54,271 --> 00:00:56,491 beneath our feet? 24 00:00:56,491 --> 00:00:58,580 Places whose origins might not 25 00:00:58,580 --> 00:01:00,147 be of this Earth? 26 00:01:00,147 --> 00:01:01,365 >> PHILIP COPPENS: There were 27 00:01:01,365 --> 00:01:03,585 certain aspects of the caves for 28 00:01:03,585 --> 00:01:05,195 which geology could not provide 29 00:01:05,195 --> 00:01:07,284 an answer. 30 00:01:07,284 --> 00:01:08,459 >> NARRATOR: Millions of people 31 00:01:08,459 --> 00:01:11,201 around the world believe we 32 00:01:11,201 --> 00:01:12,420 have been visited in the past 33 00:01:12,420 --> 00:01:15,510 by extraterrestrial beings. 34 00:01:15,510 --> 00:01:18,382 What if it were true? 35 00:01:18,382 --> 00:01:20,602 Did ancient aliens really help 36 00:01:20,602 --> 00:01:23,344 to shape our history? 37 00:01:23,344 --> 00:01:25,911 And if so, should we be looking 38 00:01:25,911 --> 00:01:27,391 for proof of their existence 39 00:01:27,391 --> 00:01:30,002 not in the heavens above but in 40 00:01:30,002 --> 00:01:32,048 mysterious worlds deep beneath 41 00:01:32,048 --> 00:01:33,354 mysterious worlds deep beneath the surface? 42 00:01:33,354 --> 00:02:04,428 the surface? 43 00:02:04,428 --> 00:02:06,126 Bordered on the north by the 44 00:02:06,126 --> 00:02:08,258 Black Sea, and by the Taurus 45 00:02:08,258 --> 00:02:11,392 Mountains to the south, lies 46 00:02:11,392 --> 00:02:15,135 Cappadocia in central Turkey. 47 00:02:15,135 --> 00:02:17,354 Here, wind and water have 48 00:02:17,354 --> 00:02:19,269 sculpted strange shapes out of 49 00:02:19,269 --> 00:02:22,403 the soft volcanic rock-- rock 50 00:02:22,403 --> 00:02:24,013 which ancient peoples once 51 00:02:24,013 --> 00:02:25,580 turned into small, primitive 52 00:02:25,580 --> 00:02:27,451 dwellings. 53 00:02:27,451 --> 00:02:29,540 In more recent years, the site 54 00:02:29,540 --> 00:02:31,151 has seen the construction of 55 00:02:31,151 --> 00:02:33,501 has seen the construction of more modern structures. 56 00:02:33,501 --> 00:02:36,068 more modern structures. 57 00:02:36,068 --> 00:02:39,420 But in 1963, a simple home 58 00:02:39,420 --> 00:02:40,899 renovation in the town of 59 00:02:40,899 --> 00:02:42,945 Derinkuyu led to an 60 00:02:42,945 --> 00:02:45,252 extraordinary discovery when a 61 00:02:45,252 --> 00:02:47,950 cave wall was opened, revealing 62 00:02:47,950 --> 00:02:50,082 a passageway to an underground 63 00:02:50,082 --> 00:02:53,564 city thousands of years old and 64 00:02:53,564 --> 00:02:56,959 more than 280 feet deep. 65 00:02:56,959 --> 00:02:57,916 >> GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: I've been 66 00:02:57,916 --> 00:02:59,440 there on multiple occasions, and 67 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:01,920 it's incredible because there's 68 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:04,401 13 stories that go deep into 69 00:03:04,401 --> 00:03:06,447 the ground, with ventilation 70 00:03:06,447 --> 00:03:10,538 shafts and 15,000 little shafts 71 00:03:10,538 --> 00:03:12,540 that bring air to even the 72 00:03:12,540 --> 00:03:16,370 deepest of levels. 73 00:03:16,370 --> 00:03:18,154 >> NARRATOR: Incredibly, the 74 00:03:18,154 --> 00:03:19,590 number of rock rooms that were 75 00:03:19,590 --> 00:03:21,462 found could hold an estimated 76 00:03:21,462 --> 00:03:24,900 20,000 men, women and children. 77 00:03:24,900 --> 00:03:26,467 There was even evidence of 78 00:03:26,467 --> 00:03:30,166 religious centers, storerooms, 79 00:03:30,166 --> 00:03:32,995 winepresses and stables for 80 00:03:32,995 --> 00:03:34,170 livestock. 81 00:03:34,170 --> 00:03:35,563 >> JOHN BRANDENBURG: Oh, 82 00:03:35,563 --> 00:03:36,564 Derinkuyu would've been a 83 00:03:36,564 --> 00:03:38,566 massive undertaking for anyone, 84 00:03:38,566 --> 00:03:41,003 even in modern times with modern 85 00:03:41,003 --> 00:03:42,222 equipment. 86 00:03:42,222 --> 00:03:43,527 But in those days, it would've 87 00:03:43,527 --> 00:03:47,357 been, um... stupendous. 88 00:03:47,357 --> 00:03:50,534 Equal to the pyramids. 89 00:03:50,534 --> 00:03:53,189 At Derinkuyu, because of the 90 00:03:53,189 --> 00:03:54,886 softness of the stone, you had 91 00:03:54,886 --> 00:03:57,237 to be very careful that you 92 00:03:57,237 --> 00:03:59,282 provided enough pillar strength 93 00:03:59,282 --> 00:04:00,936 to support the floors above, 94 00:04:00,936 --> 00:04:01,893 otherwise you'd have 95 00:04:01,893 --> 00:04:03,808 catastrophic cave-ins. 96 00:04:03,808 --> 00:04:05,245 Surprisingly, there's no 97 00:04:05,245 --> 00:04:06,985 evidence of any catastrophic 98 00:04:06,985 --> 00:04:08,204 cave-ins, so they were 99 00:04:08,204 --> 00:04:10,946 apparently extremely clever and 100 00:04:10,946 --> 00:04:12,469 knew their material. 101 00:04:12,469 --> 00:04:14,384 We're talking deep antiquity. 102 00:04:14,384 --> 00:04:16,647 It is mind boggling to 103 00:04:16,647 --> 00:04:17,518 understand how they could've 104 00:04:17,518 --> 00:04:18,954 done this. 105 00:04:18,954 --> 00:04:20,260 Perhaps they had help from some 106 00:04:20,260 --> 00:04:22,914 other civilization. 107 00:04:22,914 --> 00:04:24,264 >> NARRATOR: But just who built 108 00:04:24,264 --> 00:04:27,267 this massive underground city? 109 00:04:27,267 --> 00:04:29,443 And what mysterious force drove 110 00:04:29,443 --> 00:04:32,359 them to live underground? 111 00:04:32,359 --> 00:04:34,012 >> DAVID CHILDRESS: Why would 112 00:04:34,012 --> 00:04:35,710 people want to live deep 113 00:04:35,710 --> 00:04:38,103 underground in these weird 114 00:04:38,103 --> 00:04:39,844 caverns like that? 115 00:04:39,844 --> 00:04:43,500 It seems kind of scary, really. 116 00:04:43,500 --> 00:04:45,459 >> NARRATOR: According to many 117 00:04:45,459 --> 00:04:47,983 archaeologists and scholars, 118 00:04:47,983 --> 00:04:50,246 Derinkuyu was most likely 119 00:04:50,246 --> 00:04:51,595 intended to serve as a 120 00:04:51,595 --> 00:04:52,553 temporary shelter from 121 00:04:52,553 --> 00:04:55,991 invasion-- built around 800 B.C. 122 00:04:55,991 --> 00:04:58,733 by the Phrygians, a Bronze Age 123 00:04:58,733 --> 00:05:01,562 people related to the Trojans. 124 00:05:01,562 --> 00:05:03,303 Others believe it was built by 125 00:05:03,303 --> 00:05:05,522 the Hittites, a warrior people 126 00:05:05,522 --> 00:05:07,132 mentioned in the Bible who 127 00:05:07,132 --> 00:05:08,569 flourished hundreds of years 128 00:05:08,569 --> 00:05:10,135 earlier. 129 00:05:10,135 --> 00:05:11,963 But could the underground city 130 00:05:11,963 --> 00:05:13,748 be even older? 131 00:05:13,748 --> 00:05:15,315 According to ancient astronaut 132 00:05:15,315 --> 00:05:19,144 theorists, it is, perhaps by 133 00:05:19,144 --> 00:05:21,277 many thousands of years. 134 00:05:21,277 --> 00:05:22,452 >> DAVID WILCOCK: The 135 00:05:22,452 --> 00:05:23,888 Cappadocia region of Turkey 136 00:05:23,888 --> 00:05:25,455 was part of the Zoroastrian 137 00:05:25,455 --> 00:05:27,762 Empire, which was Persian in 138 00:05:27,762 --> 00:05:28,850 nature. 139 00:05:28,850 --> 00:05:30,330 And it's one of the oldest 140 00:05:30,330 --> 00:05:32,767 religious traditions on the face 141 00:05:32,767 --> 00:05:35,726 of the Earth. 142 00:05:35,726 --> 00:05:36,901 >> NARRATOR: The Zoroastrian 143 00:05:36,901 --> 00:05:39,208 religion-- an ancient faith 144 00:05:39,208 --> 00:05:40,992 based on opposing forces of 145 00:05:40,992 --> 00:05:43,255 good and evil-- is widely 146 00:05:43,255 --> 00:05:44,518 believed to have influenced 147 00:05:44,518 --> 00:05:46,520 both Hinduism and 148 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:48,826 Judeo-Christianity. 149 00:05:48,826 --> 00:05:50,001 >> NARRATOR: Founded sometime 150 00:05:50,001 --> 00:05:52,439 before the sixth century B.C., 151 00:05:52,439 --> 00:05:54,484 its chief god is the creator, 152 00:05:54,484 --> 00:05:57,182 Ahura Mazda. 153 00:05:57,182 --> 00:05:58,749 And in the second chapter of 154 00:05:58,749 --> 00:06:00,795 the Zoroastrian sacred text, 155 00:06:00,795 --> 00:06:03,624 the Vendidad, Ahura Mazda saves 156 00:06:03,624 --> 00:06:05,452 mankind from a worldwide 157 00:06:05,452 --> 00:06:08,629 environmental disaster-- much 158 00:06:08,629 --> 00:06:10,718 like the story of Noah in the 159 00:06:10,718 --> 00:06:12,110 Hebrew Testament. 160 00:06:12,110 --> 00:06:13,198 >> TSOUKALOS: The great prophet 161 00:06:13,198 --> 00:06:15,810 Yima was instructed to build a 162 00:06:15,810 --> 00:06:18,247 kind of underground refuge 163 00:06:18,247 --> 00:06:21,206 similar to Derinkuyu by the sky 164 00:06:21,206 --> 00:06:23,295 similar to Derinkuyu by the sky god Ahura Mazda. 165 00:06:23,295 --> 00:06:25,733 god Ahura Mazda. 166 00:06:25,733 --> 00:06:26,995 >> NARRATOR: According to the 167 00:06:26,995 --> 00:06:29,389 sacred texts, Yima built a 168 00:06:29,389 --> 00:06:31,478 multilevel underground city to 169 00:06:31,478 --> 00:06:33,001 protect a select group of 170 00:06:33,001 --> 00:06:35,656 people and animals, not from a 171 00:06:35,656 --> 00:06:39,660 flood but from a global Ice Age. 172 00:06:39,660 --> 00:06:41,662 The Vendidad calls this "the 173 00:06:41,662 --> 00:06:44,316 evil winters." 174 00:06:44,316 --> 00:06:45,883 According to many mainstream 175 00:06:45,883 --> 00:06:48,364 climatologists, the last Ice 176 00:06:48,364 --> 00:06:50,671 Age peaked around 18,000 years 177 00:06:50,671 --> 00:06:54,675 ago and ended around 10,000 B.C. 178 00:06:54,675 --> 00:06:57,373 Is it possible that Derinkuyu 179 00:06:57,373 --> 00:06:59,506 was built as a refuge from a 180 00:06:59,506 --> 00:07:01,421 was built as a refuge from a devastating global winter? 181 00:07:01,421 --> 00:07:04,554 devastating global winter? 182 00:07:04,554 --> 00:07:05,860 >> TSOUKALOS: Since you cannot 183 00:07:05,860 --> 00:07:08,428 carbon date stone, it's 184 00:07:08,428 --> 00:07:10,255 anybody's guess how old 185 00:07:10,255 --> 00:07:12,127 Derinkuyu really is. 186 00:07:12,127 --> 00:07:15,435 And my question is: if we have 187 00:07:15,435 --> 00:07:17,698 a Zoroastrian story that's very 188 00:07:17,698 --> 00:07:20,352 similar, could it be that both 189 00:07:20,352 --> 00:07:23,443 that place and Derinkuyu are 190 00:07:23,443 --> 00:07:26,271 much, much older than what 191 00:07:26,271 --> 00:07:28,622 we've believed so far? 192 00:07:28,622 --> 00:07:30,145 >> NARRATOR: But if Derinkuyu 193 00:07:30,145 --> 00:07:32,408 is in fact the underground 194 00:07:32,408 --> 00:07:34,105 city that Ahura Mazda told his 195 00:07:34,105 --> 00:07:36,586 followers to build, could there 196 00:07:36,586 --> 00:07:38,545 be a stunning truth behind the 197 00:07:38,545 --> 00:07:40,068 legend? 198 00:07:40,068 --> 00:07:43,724 If so, who or what was the god 199 00:07:43,724 --> 00:07:46,117 Ahura Mazda? 200 00:07:46,117 --> 00:07:47,510 >> WILCOCK: Ahura Mazda does 201 00:07:47,510 --> 00:07:49,338 appear to be responsible for 202 00:07:49,338 --> 00:07:50,687 the management of whatever is 203 00:07:50,687 --> 00:07:53,647 happening here on Earth. 204 00:07:53,647 --> 00:07:55,213 There are various ways to read 205 00:07:55,213 --> 00:07:56,388 this, one of which is that it 206 00:07:56,388 --> 00:07:57,738 does represent some sort of 207 00:07:57,738 --> 00:07:59,479 higher universal form of 208 00:07:59,479 --> 00:08:00,567 consciousness. 209 00:08:00,567 --> 00:08:01,785 But another is that it would 210 00:08:01,785 --> 00:08:03,265 represent an overseeing 211 00:08:03,265 --> 00:08:05,572 represent an overseeing extraterrestrial intelligence. 212 00:08:05,572 --> 00:08:08,749 extraterrestrial intelligence. 213 00:08:08,749 --> 00:08:10,315 >> JASON MARTELL: Several 214 00:08:10,315 --> 00:08:12,274 sacred texts from antiquity 215 00:08:12,274 --> 00:08:13,536 speak of knowledge given to 216 00:08:13,536 --> 00:08:15,799 mankind from extraterrestrials, 217 00:08:15,799 --> 00:08:17,758 but also known as gods from 218 00:08:17,758 --> 00:08:19,542 antiquity. 219 00:08:19,542 --> 00:08:20,674 >> NARRATOR: Could the sky god 220 00:08:20,674 --> 00:08:23,198 Ahura Mazda really have been an 221 00:08:23,198 --> 00:08:24,591 advanced being from another 222 00:08:24,591 --> 00:08:26,506 world? 223 00:08:26,506 --> 00:08:28,595 If so, did he provide the 224 00:08:28,595 --> 00:08:30,118 technology needed for his 225 00:08:30,118 --> 00:08:31,815 followers to build this complex 226 00:08:31,815 --> 00:08:33,687 labyrinth as protection from 227 00:08:33,687 --> 00:08:36,472 environmental disaster? 228 00:08:36,472 --> 00:08:38,343 Or is there possibly a more 229 00:08:38,343 --> 00:08:40,824 ominous reason for Derinkuyu's 230 00:08:40,824 --> 00:08:44,436 existence? 231 00:08:44,436 --> 00:08:46,395 Some say a clue lies in the 232 00:08:46,395 --> 00:08:48,092 underground city's unusual 233 00:08:48,092 --> 00:08:51,139 security system: 1,000-pound 234 00:08:51,139 --> 00:08:53,358 doors on rollers that allow 235 00:08:53,358 --> 00:08:54,795 them to be moved by a single 236 00:08:54,795 --> 00:08:58,538 person, but only from one side. 237 00:08:58,538 --> 00:08:59,539 >> BRANDENBURG: The Derinkuyu 238 00:08:59,539 --> 00:09:00,888 doors-- they're very cleverly 239 00:09:00,888 --> 00:09:02,411 constructed. 240 00:09:02,411 --> 00:09:04,108 You can basically only open it 241 00:09:04,108 --> 00:09:06,589 and leverage it from the inside. 242 00:09:06,589 --> 00:09:07,895 >> TSOUKALOS: So obviously, 243 00:09:07,895 --> 00:09:11,202 whoever inhabited Derinkuyu was 244 00:09:11,202 --> 00:09:12,769 hiding from someone or 245 00:09:12,769 --> 00:09:16,207 something. 246 00:09:16,207 --> 00:09:17,165 >> NARRATOR: According to the 247 00:09:17,165 --> 00:09:19,123 ancient Zoroastrian texts, 248 00:09:19,123 --> 00:09:20,864 Ahura Mazda soared through the 249 00:09:20,864 --> 00:09:24,128 sky in a divine chariot and 250 00:09:24,128 --> 00:09:25,782 waged war against his eternal 251 00:09:25,782 --> 00:09:28,916 enemy, Angra Mainyu, the demon 252 00:09:28,916 --> 00:09:31,005 of destruction. 253 00:09:31,005 --> 00:09:33,007 But could this really be-- as 254 00:09:33,007 --> 00:09:33,921 many ancient astronaut 255 00:09:33,921 --> 00:09:36,576 theorists believe-- a depiction 256 00:09:36,576 --> 00:09:38,665 of two extraterrestrial forces 257 00:09:38,665 --> 00:09:40,275 battling over control of the 258 00:09:40,275 --> 00:09:42,582 Earth and its resources? 259 00:09:42,582 --> 00:09:43,626 >> TSOUKALOS: The aerial 260 00:09:43,626 --> 00:09:46,150 enemies were extraterrestrials, 261 00:09:46,150 --> 00:09:48,022 because they were the ones who 262 00:09:48,022 --> 00:09:51,373 had the capability of flight. 263 00:09:51,373 --> 00:09:54,028 They had access to those types 264 00:09:54,028 --> 00:09:56,204 of machines that we can read 265 00:09:56,204 --> 00:09:59,511 about in every single ancient 266 00:09:59,511 --> 00:10:01,601 culture around the world. 267 00:10:01,601 --> 00:10:02,863 >> WILCOCK: When you look at 268 00:10:02,863 --> 00:10:04,691 the Zoroastrian tradition, you 269 00:10:04,691 --> 00:10:05,692 also see clear evidence that 270 00:10:05,692 --> 00:10:06,823 there was some sort of 271 00:10:06,823 --> 00:10:08,129 extraterrestrial battle going 272 00:10:08,129 --> 00:10:10,914 extraterrestrial battle going on between warring factions. 273 00:10:10,914 --> 00:10:13,656 on between warring factions. 274 00:10:13,656 --> 00:10:14,701 Therefore, it is certainly 275 00:10:14,701 --> 00:10:16,616 possible that the original 276 00:10:16,616 --> 00:10:19,053 caves may have been used as 277 00:10:19,053 --> 00:10:20,663 shelters against possible 278 00:10:20,663 --> 00:10:21,925 aerial bombardment from 279 00:10:21,925 --> 00:10:23,623 extraterrestrials that were 280 00:10:23,623 --> 00:10:25,059 warring with each other during 281 00:10:25,059 --> 00:10:26,626 that time. 282 00:10:26,626 --> 00:10:27,583 >> TSOUKALOS: Derinkuyu was 283 00:10:27,583 --> 00:10:30,455 built out of fear of an aerial 284 00:10:30,455 --> 00:10:33,154 enemy, because if something 285 00:10:33,154 --> 00:10:35,635 flies over you very, very fast, 286 00:10:35,635 --> 00:10:37,158 you can't see the ventilation 287 00:10:37,158 --> 00:10:38,376 shafts. 288 00:10:38,376 --> 00:10:41,031 Some suggest 30,000 people used 289 00:10:41,031 --> 00:10:43,077 to live underground at 290 00:10:43,077 --> 00:10:44,992 to live underground at Derinkuyu. 291 00:10:44,992 --> 00:10:47,211 Derinkuyu. 292 00:10:47,211 --> 00:10:48,212 >> NARRATOR: During recorded 293 00:10:48,212 --> 00:10:50,127 history, many different peoples 294 00:10:50,127 --> 00:10:52,216 did in fact hide in the 295 00:10:52,216 --> 00:10:54,218 underground city of Derinkuyu 296 00:10:54,218 --> 00:10:55,698 to escape everything from 297 00:10:55,698 --> 00:10:59,484 desert raiders to Roman legions. 298 00:10:59,484 --> 00:11:02,052 But some experts wonder whether 299 00:11:02,052 --> 00:11:04,054 such conventional attacks can 300 00:11:04,054 --> 00:11:05,621 really explain why Derinkuyu 301 00:11:05,621 --> 00:11:07,405 was built in the first place. 302 00:11:07,405 --> 00:11:08,406 >> TSOUKALOS: If it were an 303 00:11:08,406 --> 00:11:11,583 enemy that was on horseback, 304 00:11:11,583 --> 00:11:13,455 it would be easy for them to 305 00:11:13,455 --> 00:11:16,588 just smother everyone inside by 306 00:11:16,588 --> 00:11:18,025 just closing all the 307 00:11:18,025 --> 00:11:20,070 ventilation shafts. 308 00:11:20,070 --> 00:11:21,463 >> BRANDENBURG: We had the 309 00:11:21,463 --> 00:11:22,638 phrase in the Defense 310 00:11:22,638 --> 00:11:23,683 Department studies that I 311 00:11:23,683 --> 00:11:25,380 participated in: "the cave is a 312 00:11:25,380 --> 00:11:27,251 grave to a well-prepared 313 00:11:27,251 --> 00:11:28,688 adversary." 314 00:11:28,688 --> 00:11:30,994 Once you find it, it is highly 315 00:11:30,994 --> 00:11:32,082 vulnerable. 316 00:11:32,082 --> 00:11:34,694 >> NARRATOR: But did the people 317 00:11:34,694 --> 00:11:36,086 of Derinkuyu really go 318 00:11:36,086 --> 00:11:37,435 underground to avoid becoming 319 00:11:37,435 --> 00:11:39,089 casualties in an 320 00:11:39,089 --> 00:11:40,612 extraterrestrial battle in the 321 00:11:40,612 --> 00:11:42,223 skies? 322 00:11:42,223 --> 00:11:44,399 And, if so, might there 323 00:11:44,399 --> 00:11:46,053 be other such cities from the 324 00:11:46,053 --> 00:11:48,011 distant past? 325 00:11:48,011 --> 00:11:49,578 According to ancient astronaut 326 00:11:49,578 --> 00:11:52,015 theorists, there are. 327 00:11:52,015 --> 00:11:54,235 And they can be found much 328 00:11:54,235 --> 00:11:57,064 nearer to home-- deep in the 329 00:11:57,064 --> 00:12:01,024 nearer to home-- deep in the caves of the American Southwest. 330 00:12:01,024 --> 00:12:09,163 caves of the American Southwest. 331 00:12:09,163 --> 00:12:11,034 >> NARRATOR: The majestic mesas 332 00:12:11,034 --> 00:12:12,122 and rugged mountains of the 333 00:12:12,122 --> 00:12:14,255 American Southwest are home to 334 00:12:14,255 --> 00:12:17,998 many native peoples, including 335 00:12:17,998 --> 00:12:24,918 the Navajo, Zuni, Pueblo, Hopi 336 00:12:24,918 --> 00:12:27,398 and Apache. 337 00:12:27,398 --> 00:12:29,400 These tribes have many 338 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:31,141 different beliefs, but their 339 00:12:31,141 --> 00:12:33,187 creation myths all share 340 00:12:33,187 --> 00:12:36,451 something quite remarkable. 341 00:12:36,451 --> 00:12:38,018 >> JAY VIGIL: When we talk about 342 00:12:38,018 --> 00:12:39,149 our origin, you know, you hear 343 00:12:39,149 --> 00:12:40,672 the stories about us coming down 344 00:12:40,672 --> 00:12:42,762 from Alaska through the Bering 345 00:12:42,762 --> 00:12:44,154 Strait. 346 00:12:44,154 --> 00:12:46,026 But what we believe is we 347 00:12:46,026 --> 00:12:48,942 came up from the ground. 348 00:12:48,942 --> 00:12:50,204 >> CHILDRESS: The Apaches and 349 00:12:50,204 --> 00:12:52,032 other Pueblo Indians, such as 350 00:12:52,032 --> 00:12:54,077 the Zunis and the Hopi Indians, 351 00:12:54,077 --> 00:12:57,820 all have this legend that they 352 00:12:57,820 --> 00:13:01,171 emerged from some underground 353 00:13:01,171 --> 00:13:05,088 emerged from some underground world into today's world. 354 00:13:05,088 --> 00:13:08,265 world into today's world. 355 00:13:08,265 --> 00:13:10,267 >> NARRATOR: In some legends, 356 00:13:10,267 --> 00:13:12,182 the Southwestern peoples went 357 00:13:12,182 --> 00:13:16,143 back underground for safety. 358 00:13:16,143 --> 00:13:19,973 The Hopi of Arizona say their 359 00:13:19,973 --> 00:13:21,844 ancestors escaped a deadly 360 00:13:21,844 --> 00:13:26,327 storm of falling stars with the 361 00:13:26,327 --> 00:13:28,982 help of the Snake People, who 362 00:13:28,982 --> 00:13:30,853 took them to shelters deep in 363 00:13:30,853 --> 00:13:33,116 the Earth. 364 00:13:33,116 --> 00:13:36,250 Another Hopi legend speaks of 365 00:13:36,250 --> 00:13:38,818 the Ant People who protected 366 00:13:38,818 --> 00:13:40,863 them from storms of fire and 367 00:13:40,863 --> 00:13:43,213 ice. 368 00:13:43,213 --> 00:13:45,085 >> CHILDRESS: The Hopi Indians 369 00:13:45,085 --> 00:13:47,914 survived cataclysms by living 370 00:13:47,914 --> 00:13:49,785 in this underground world with 371 00:13:49,785 --> 00:13:52,048 the Ant People for a certain 372 00:13:52,048 --> 00:13:54,007 period of time, and then 373 00:13:54,007 --> 00:13:55,747 eventually they emerged from 374 00:13:55,747 --> 00:13:57,140 the underground world back into 375 00:13:57,140 --> 00:13:59,186 the surface world. 376 00:13:59,186 --> 00:14:02,102 >> NARRATOR: Ant People? 377 00:14:02,102 --> 00:14:04,104 Snake People? 378 00:14:04,104 --> 00:14:06,149 Could these stories be based on 379 00:14:06,149 --> 00:14:07,847 ancestral tales of people 380 00:14:07,847 --> 00:14:10,066 actually living underground-- 381 00:14:10,066 --> 00:14:12,068 possibly during the last Ice 382 00:14:12,068 --> 00:14:14,854 Age? 383 00:14:14,854 --> 00:14:16,246 Or could the ancestors of 384 00:14:16,246 --> 00:14:18,074 today's Southwestern tribes 385 00:14:18,074 --> 00:14:20,033 have taken refuge in 386 00:14:20,033 --> 00:14:21,773 sub-surface dwellings similar 387 00:14:21,773 --> 00:14:23,166 to the underground city of 388 00:14:23,166 --> 00:14:25,865 Derinkuyu in Turkey? 389 00:14:25,865 --> 00:14:28,998 If so, over the centuries, 390 00:14:28,998 --> 00:14:30,217 might they have developed 391 00:14:30,217 --> 00:14:32,262 physical traits-- like large 392 00:14:32,262 --> 00:14:34,221 eyes and fingers-- that made 393 00:14:34,221 --> 00:14:36,179 them more closely resemble 394 00:14:36,179 --> 00:14:41,010 actual Earth-dwelling creatures? 395 00:14:41,010 --> 00:14:42,272 >> TSOUKALOS: The shamans, and 396 00:14:42,272 --> 00:14:44,318 the elders of Native Americans, 397 00:14:44,318 --> 00:14:47,190 they will tell you that before 398 00:14:47,190 --> 00:14:48,148 these people were able to 399 00:14:48,148 --> 00:14:50,890 emerge out of Planet Earth, 400 00:14:50,890 --> 00:14:53,153 they were brought here by the 401 00:14:53,153 --> 00:14:56,939 star-people, the star-gods, 402 00:14:56,939 --> 00:15:01,117 which arrived from outer space. 403 00:15:01,117 --> 00:15:03,032 >> HOWE: I have stood in front 404 00:15:03,032 --> 00:15:05,295 of what are called the Ant 405 00:15:05,295 --> 00:15:06,775 People and some of the very 406 00:15:06,775 --> 00:15:09,212 strange, large-eyed drawings on 407 00:15:09,212 --> 00:15:11,954 the rocks and wondered, "Am I 408 00:15:11,954 --> 00:15:14,087 looking at Native American 409 00:15:14,087 --> 00:15:16,959 interpretation of what today is 410 00:15:16,959 --> 00:15:18,918 called a extraterrestrial 411 00:15:18,918 --> 00:15:21,703 called a extraterrestrial biological entity?" 412 00:15:21,703 --> 00:15:24,967 biological entity?" 413 00:15:24,967 --> 00:15:26,708 >> TSOUKALOS: If 414 00:15:26,708 --> 00:15:28,144 extraterrestrials were here in 415 00:15:28,144 --> 00:15:30,016 the remote past, there are 416 00:15:30,016 --> 00:15:32,018 multiple species out there, is 417 00:15:32,018 --> 00:15:33,845 it possible that they might've 418 00:15:33,845 --> 00:15:37,849 looked lizard-like and ant-like? 419 00:15:37,849 --> 00:15:41,070 And the answer is yes. 420 00:15:41,070 --> 00:15:43,246 >> NARRATOR: Is it possible that 421 00:15:43,246 --> 00:15:44,944 these underground creatures of 422 00:15:44,944 --> 00:15:46,597 Native American legend were 423 00:15:46,597 --> 00:15:49,165 actually alien visitors? 424 00:15:49,165 --> 00:15:51,951 If so, could some of them still 425 00:15:51,951 --> 00:15:53,865 be living beneath the surface 426 00:15:53,865 --> 00:15:57,304 of the Southwestern desert? 427 00:15:57,304 --> 00:15:59,871 For decades, stories of 428 00:15:59,871 --> 00:16:01,308 encounters with UFOs and alien 429 00:16:01,308 --> 00:16:04,833 beings have been told among the 430 00:16:04,833 --> 00:16:07,096 people of New Mexico's 431 00:16:07,096 --> 00:16:10,708 Jicarilla Apache Reservation. 432 00:16:10,708 --> 00:16:12,232 Some of the aliens in these 433 00:16:12,232 --> 00:16:14,103 stories bear a strange 434 00:16:14,103 --> 00:16:15,626 resemblance to the ancient 435 00:16:15,626 --> 00:16:17,977 tales of the ant-like and 436 00:16:17,977 --> 00:16:19,630 snake-like beings from the Hopi 437 00:16:19,630 --> 00:16:21,981 legends. 438 00:16:21,981 --> 00:16:23,156 >> RICHARD VIGIL: There is 439 00:16:23,156 --> 00:16:24,896 things up here that no one can 440 00:16:24,896 --> 00:16:27,203 explain. 441 00:16:27,203 --> 00:16:28,204 >> NARRATOR: The Jicarilla 442 00:16:28,204 --> 00:16:30,337 Apache Reservation is located 443 00:16:30,337 --> 00:16:32,904 next to the small town of Dulce, 444 00:16:32,904 --> 00:16:35,298 nestled in the shadow of the 445 00:16:35,298 --> 00:16:37,039 over 9,000-foot-high Archuleta 446 00:16:37,039 --> 00:16:39,868 Mesa. 447 00:16:39,868 --> 00:16:41,087 >> CHILDRESS: It is from 448 00:16:41,087 --> 00:16:44,090 this mesa and mountain that 449 00:16:44,090 --> 00:16:46,266 people claim they have seen 450 00:16:46,266 --> 00:16:50,661 UFOs flying out of the mountain. 451 00:16:50,661 --> 00:16:53,360 >> GERALDINE JULIAN: It was a 452 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:55,275 spaceship we saw right there. 453 00:16:55,275 --> 00:17:00,280 And it was big-- like maybe the 454 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:02,630 size of a football field. 455 00:17:02,630 --> 00:17:04,588 And then we seen this dome on 456 00:17:04,588 --> 00:17:07,461 top that was all glassed in. 457 00:17:07,461 --> 00:17:09,941 And then my husband was looking 458 00:17:09,941 --> 00:17:12,335 at it with the binoculars and 459 00:17:12,335 --> 00:17:15,469 he saw two small people. 460 00:17:15,469 --> 00:17:17,645 Well, we don't know what it is. 461 00:17:17,645 --> 00:17:19,299 If we stayed here and they came 462 00:17:19,299 --> 00:17:20,822 down I don't know what they 463 00:17:20,822 --> 00:17:23,042 down I don't know what they would have done to us. 464 00:17:23,042 --> 00:17:25,653 would have done to us. 465 00:17:25,653 --> 00:17:27,307 >> NARRATOR: Could the native 466 00:17:27,307 --> 00:17:29,613 tales of spaceships and strange 467 00:17:29,613 --> 00:17:31,963 creatures be true? 468 00:17:31,963 --> 00:17:33,922 Some UFO researchers and 469 00:17:33,922 --> 00:17:36,316 conspiracy theorists believe 470 00:17:36,316 --> 00:17:37,621 that these eyewitness accounts 471 00:17:37,621 --> 00:17:40,189 are not only true, but are 472 00:17:40,189 --> 00:17:41,538 evidence of a secret 473 00:17:41,538 --> 00:17:42,931 collaboration between 474 00:17:42,931 --> 00:17:44,715 underground aliens and the U.S. 475 00:17:44,715 --> 00:17:47,588 military. 476 00:17:47,588 --> 00:17:48,806 >> BILL BIRNES: The amount of 477 00:17:48,806 --> 00:17:50,895 military traffic over Dulce, the 478 00:17:50,895 --> 00:17:52,419 unmarked helicopters, the black 479 00:17:52,419 --> 00:17:53,550 helicopters, the heavy-duty 480 00:17:53,550 --> 00:17:55,944 Chinooks. 481 00:17:55,944 --> 00:17:57,293 All these helicopters spend a 482 00:17:57,293 --> 00:17:58,816 lot more time in Dulce than 483 00:17:58,816 --> 00:18:00,340 they should if nothing were 484 00:18:00,340 --> 00:18:04,300 going on here. 485 00:18:04,300 --> 00:18:05,606 Among the stories that we've 486 00:18:05,606 --> 00:18:08,565 heard from the Jicarilla Apache 487 00:18:08,565 --> 00:18:10,567 is that they discovered vents, 488 00:18:10,567 --> 00:18:14,093 is that they discovered vents, actually right here on the Mesa. 489 00:18:14,093 --> 00:18:16,573 actually right here on the Mesa. 490 00:18:16,573 --> 00:18:18,445 >> JAY VIGIL: Awhile back, when 491 00:18:18,445 --> 00:18:19,750 my brother was still alive we 492 00:18:19,750 --> 00:18:21,100 used to come up here in the 493 00:18:21,100 --> 00:18:22,840 back, and he showed us this 494 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:24,451 shaft and that thing was bigger 495 00:18:24,451 --> 00:18:25,539 than... bigger than me. 496 00:18:25,539 --> 00:18:27,323 But we walked in, and I didn't 497 00:18:27,323 --> 00:18:30,544 want to go any further. 498 00:18:30,544 --> 00:18:31,762 >> BIRNES: The vents were here 499 00:18:31,762 --> 00:18:33,286 maybe 25 years ago. 500 00:18:33,286 --> 00:18:35,418 You'd hear strange noises. 501 00:18:35,418 --> 00:18:37,246 Groans. 502 00:18:37,246 --> 00:18:39,379 Sighs. 503 00:18:39,379 --> 00:18:41,685 Human groans. 504 00:18:41,685 --> 00:18:44,253 And this lent a lot of credence 505 00:18:44,253 --> 00:18:46,212 to stories that human beings 506 00:18:46,212 --> 00:18:47,778 were being vivisected, 507 00:18:47,778 --> 00:18:50,477 experimented on. 508 00:18:50,477 --> 00:18:52,131 And thus the legend of strange 509 00:18:52,131 --> 00:18:54,263 creatures and strange noises 510 00:18:54,263 --> 00:18:56,526 coming out of this mesa grew 511 00:18:56,526 --> 00:18:59,877 and expanded. 512 00:18:59,877 --> 00:19:01,531 >> NARRATOR: Aliens living 513 00:19:01,531 --> 00:19:03,707 underground. 514 00:19:03,707 --> 00:19:05,666 Strange, secret government 515 00:19:05,666 --> 00:19:07,755 cover-ups. 516 00:19:07,755 --> 00:19:09,757 Could Native American legends 517 00:19:09,757 --> 00:19:11,846 of underground beings help 518 00:19:11,846 --> 00:19:13,456 unearth the truth behind these 519 00:19:13,456 --> 00:19:15,763 incredible stories? 520 00:19:15,763 --> 00:19:18,461 Some think the answer might be 521 00:19:18,461 --> 00:19:20,246 found deep beneath the surface 522 00:19:20,246 --> 00:19:23,510 of North America, but others 523 00:19:23,510 --> 00:19:24,728 believe the truth lies hidden 524 00:19:24,728 --> 00:19:27,427 in a mysterious cave-- 525 00:19:27,427 --> 00:19:30,343 thousands of miles to the south. 526 00:19:30,343 --> 00:19:32,258 A cave that hides proof of 527 00:19:32,258 --> 00:19:34,651 alien visitors who journeyed 528 00:19:34,651 --> 00:19:37,959 alien visitors who journeyed beyond the stars. 529 00:19:37,959 --> 00:19:44,531 beyond the stars. 530 00:19:44,531 --> 00:19:46,620 >> NARRATOR: South America. 531 00:19:46,620 --> 00:19:49,188 The Andes Mountain range in 532 00:19:49,188 --> 00:19:51,494 Ecuador. 533 00:19:51,494 --> 00:19:54,193 For thousands of years, this 534 00:19:54,193 --> 00:19:55,585 rain forest-- high on the 535 00:19:55,585 --> 00:19:57,631 eastern slopes-- has been the 536 00:19:57,631 --> 00:20:02,113 land of the Shuar, headhunters 537 00:20:02,113 --> 00:20:03,985 who are fiercely protective of 538 00:20:03,985 --> 00:20:05,987 their homeland, and its 539 00:20:05,987 --> 00:20:07,989 their homeland, and its secrets. 540 00:20:07,989 --> 00:20:10,644 secrets. 541 00:20:10,644 --> 00:20:12,602 And of all the Shuar's secrets, 542 00:20:12,602 --> 00:20:13,908 perhaps none has been so 543 00:20:13,908 --> 00:20:15,649 carefully guarded as the 544 00:20:15,649 --> 00:20:17,172 location and entrance of the 545 00:20:17,172 --> 00:20:19,653 cave of Tayos. 546 00:20:19,653 --> 00:20:21,829 cave of Tayos. But why? 547 00:20:21,829 --> 00:20:25,485 But why? 548 00:20:25,485 --> 00:20:27,835 Perhaps the answer can be found 549 00:20:27,835 --> 00:20:29,576 in the story of an Italian 550 00:20:29,576 --> 00:20:31,055 Catholic missionary named 551 00:20:31,055 --> 00:20:33,493 Father Crespi, who lived in the 552 00:20:33,493 --> 00:20:35,016 region in the middle of the 553 00:20:35,016 --> 00:20:36,887 last century. 554 00:20:36,887 --> 00:20:38,106 >> ERICH VON DANIKEN: Father 555 00:20:38,106 --> 00:20:39,673 Paolo Carlo Crespi. 556 00:20:39,673 --> 00:20:41,457 He was loved by the Indians. 557 00:20:41,457 --> 00:20:42,937 He helped them without, uh, 558 00:20:42,937 --> 00:20:44,765 asking for money. 559 00:20:44,765 --> 00:20:46,157 And the Indians made him some 560 00:20:46,157 --> 00:20:49,552 presents. 561 00:20:49,552 --> 00:20:51,162 >> NARRATOR: But what was unique 562 00:20:51,162 --> 00:20:52,642 about the "presents" or gifts 563 00:20:52,642 --> 00:20:54,470 given to Father Crespi was that 564 00:20:54,470 --> 00:20:55,776 they often took the forms of 565 00:20:55,776 --> 00:20:59,127 elaborately-carved artifacts-- 566 00:20:59,127 --> 00:21:01,129 some made of gold or other 567 00:21:01,129 --> 00:21:04,045 precious metals. 568 00:21:04,045 --> 00:21:05,699 Often these objects featured 569 00:21:05,699 --> 00:21:07,135 elaborate carvings and 570 00:21:07,135 --> 00:21:08,876 symbols-- not known to be 571 00:21:08,876 --> 00:21:10,138 associated with the Shuar 572 00:21:10,138 --> 00:21:12,749 culture. 573 00:21:12,749 --> 00:21:16,013 In his 1973 book, Gold of the 574 00:21:16,013 --> 00:21:18,451 Gods,ancient astronaut 575 00:21:18,451 --> 00:21:20,061 theorist Erich Von Daniken 576 00:21:20,061 --> 00:21:21,454 wrote of Father Crespi's 577 00:21:21,454 --> 00:21:23,673 incredible collection-- which 578 00:21:23,673 --> 00:21:25,458 he believed to come from the 579 00:21:25,458 --> 00:21:27,503 cave of Tayos and which were, 580 00:21:27,503 --> 00:21:29,592 in his opinion, treasures from 581 00:21:29,592 --> 00:21:31,638 an unknown and highly-advanced 582 00:21:31,638 --> 00:21:34,641 culture. 583 00:21:34,641 --> 00:21:36,599 The startling questions posed 584 00:21:36,599 --> 00:21:38,079 in Von Daniken's book soon 585 00:21:38,079 --> 00:21:39,994 inspired Scottish explorer 586 00:21:39,994 --> 00:21:41,735 Stanley Hall to try and solve 587 00:21:41,735 --> 00:21:46,479 the mystery himself. 588 00:21:46,479 --> 00:21:48,785 In 1975, Hall traveled to 589 00:21:48,785 --> 00:21:50,570 Cuenca to see Father Crespi's 590 00:21:50,570 --> 00:21:53,790 collection with his own eyes. 591 00:21:53,790 --> 00:21:55,836 >> STANLEY HALL: I had for years 592 00:21:55,836 --> 00:21:57,707 been researching South America 593 00:21:57,707 --> 00:21:58,926 as the missing page of 594 00:21:58,926 --> 00:22:00,971 pre-history. 595 00:22:00,971 --> 00:22:03,060 I first heard of the Tayos 596 00:22:03,060 --> 00:22:04,627 Caves in Erich von Daniken's 597 00:22:04,627 --> 00:22:05,802 book and followed it through 598 00:22:05,802 --> 00:22:08,544 from there. 599 00:22:08,544 --> 00:22:09,545 >> VON DANIKEN: And one of 600 00:22:09,545 --> 00:22:10,720 the presents which the old 601 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:12,592 priest received is a tablet 602 00:22:12,592 --> 00:22:14,985 with 36 writings. 603 00:22:14,985 --> 00:22:16,770 It's metallic tablet. 604 00:22:16,770 --> 00:22:18,511 No one until today was able to 605 00:22:18,511 --> 00:22:21,514 No one until today was able to translate these writings. 606 00:22:21,514 --> 00:22:23,820 translate these writings. 607 00:22:23,820 --> 00:22:26,780 >> NARRATOR: In 1976, Stanley 608 00:22:26,780 --> 00:22:29,696 Hall mounted an expedition 609 00:22:29,696 --> 00:22:31,524 of more than 100 people to 610 00:22:31,524 --> 00:22:35,789 explore Tayos. 611 00:22:35,789 --> 00:22:37,704 Among them was American 612 00:22:37,704 --> 00:22:39,880 astronaut Neil Armstrong, the 613 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:44,667 first man to walk on the Moon. 614 00:22:44,667 --> 00:22:46,887 Entering the cave through a 615 00:22:46,887 --> 00:22:48,715 jungle entrance known to the 616 00:22:48,715 --> 00:22:52,588 Ecuadorian Army, the explorers 617 00:22:52,588 --> 00:22:54,808 were fascinated by what they 618 00:22:54,808 --> 00:22:56,549 encountered-- especially large 619 00:22:56,549 --> 00:22:57,941 areas that appeared to have 620 00:22:57,941 --> 00:23:00,596 been excavated by someone... 621 00:23:00,596 --> 00:23:03,599 been excavated by someone... or something. 622 00:23:03,599 --> 00:23:07,647 or something. 623 00:23:07,647 --> 00:23:08,648 >> STANLEY HALL: The head of the 624 00:23:08,648 --> 00:23:10,693 British geological group, Dr. 625 00:23:10,693 --> 00:23:13,174 Brian Kelly, in 1976, he 626 00:23:13,174 --> 00:23:16,003 admitted that it was difficult 627 00:23:16,003 --> 00:23:18,092 for him to explain the actual 628 00:23:18,092 --> 00:23:20,399 large doorways that you see in 629 00:23:20,399 --> 00:23:23,750 large doorways that you see in these caves. 630 00:23:23,750 --> 00:23:25,839 these caves. 631 00:23:25,839 --> 00:23:27,406 >> NARRATOR: Although Stan 632 00:23:27,406 --> 00:23:29,756 Hall's expedition did find a 633 00:23:29,756 --> 00:23:31,671 tomb chamber with items dating 634 00:23:31,671 --> 00:23:33,760 to 1500 BC... 635 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:36,719 >> MAN: A ring! A stone ring! 636 00:23:36,719 --> 00:23:37,851 >> NARRATOR: ...the expedition 637 00:23:37,851 --> 00:23:39,983 found no treasure and no trace 638 00:23:39,983 --> 00:23:41,811 of anything that looked like 639 00:23:41,811 --> 00:23:43,030 the artifacts in Father Crespi's 640 00:23:43,030 --> 00:23:45,641 collection. 641 00:23:45,641 --> 00:23:48,122 But if Tayos was not the secret 642 00:23:48,122 --> 00:23:49,950 origin of Father Crespi's 643 00:23:49,950 --> 00:23:52,431 amazing collection, where did 644 00:23:52,431 --> 00:23:54,694 it come from? 645 00:23:54,694 --> 00:23:57,653 Undaunted, Hall didn't give up 646 00:23:57,653 --> 00:23:59,699 his search. 647 00:23:59,699 --> 00:24:03,006 15 years later, in 1991, the 648 00:24:03,006 --> 00:24:05,444 explorer tracked down an 649 00:24:05,444 --> 00:24:06,662 Ecuadorian named Petronio 650 00:24:06,662 --> 00:24:08,664 Jaramillo who claimed to have 651 00:24:08,664 --> 00:24:10,144 entered the cave of Tayos 652 00:24:10,144 --> 00:24:11,754 through a secret entrance back 653 00:24:11,754 --> 00:24:13,843 in 1946. 654 00:24:13,843 --> 00:24:15,454 >> STANLEY HALL: And apparently, 655 00:24:15,454 --> 00:24:16,846 Petronio had visited this cave 656 00:24:16,846 --> 00:24:18,718 for the very first time when he 657 00:24:18,718 --> 00:24:19,849 was very young. 658 00:24:19,849 --> 00:24:21,851 When he was in his teens. 659 00:24:21,851 --> 00:24:24,593 He said that he had to dive 660 00:24:24,593 --> 00:24:27,378 underwater, go in... in this 661 00:24:27,378 --> 00:24:28,945 underwater tunnel, and then 662 00:24:28,945 --> 00:24:30,077 come up. 663 00:24:30,077 --> 00:24:31,861 >> NARRATOR: Jaramillo told Hall 664 00:24:31,861 --> 00:24:33,820 he wandered through chamber 665 00:24:33,820 --> 00:24:35,691 after chamber of ancient relics, 666 00:24:35,691 --> 00:24:38,041 including a vast room of books 667 00:24:38,041 --> 00:24:39,826 made from gold and other 668 00:24:39,826 --> 00:24:42,481 metals-- books with 669 00:24:42,481 --> 00:24:45,832 unrecognizable writing... 670 00:24:45,832 --> 00:24:47,834 possibly like that on one of the 671 00:24:47,834 --> 00:24:49,836 metal tablets in Father Crespi's 672 00:24:49,836 --> 00:24:51,011 collection. 673 00:24:51,011 --> 00:24:52,621 >> STANLEY HALL: The other 674 00:24:52,621 --> 00:24:54,014 things looked like formulas, 675 00:24:54,014 --> 00:24:55,711 and so on, and so on. 676 00:24:55,711 --> 00:24:57,931 So it was one spectacular 677 00:24:57,931 --> 00:25:00,803 statement after another. 678 00:25:00,803 --> 00:25:01,761 [bats squeaking] 679 00:25:01,761 --> 00:25:03,806 >> COPPENS: Some argue whether 680 00:25:03,806 --> 00:25:05,852 or not an ancient civilization 681 00:25:05,852 --> 00:25:07,462 had come down to Earth and had 682 00:25:07,462 --> 00:25:09,812 used this cave system to leave 683 00:25:09,812 --> 00:25:11,466 certain artifacts of their 684 00:25:11,466 --> 00:25:12,859 civilization behind for us 685 00:25:12,859 --> 00:25:14,991 to recover. 686 00:25:14,991 --> 00:25:17,385 >> NARRATOR: Unfortunately, 687 00:25:17,385 --> 00:25:18,952 before he could guide Stanley 688 00:25:18,952 --> 00:25:20,780 Hall to the underwater cave 689 00:25:20,780 --> 00:25:22,956 entrance, Petronio Jaramillo 690 00:25:22,956 --> 00:25:25,436 died, taking the secret to 691 00:25:25,436 --> 00:25:30,877 his grave. 692 00:25:30,877 --> 00:25:33,532 Stanley Hall himself died in 693 00:25:33,532 --> 00:25:35,838 2008 before he was able to renew 694 00:25:35,838 --> 00:25:37,492 his search for the so-called 695 00:25:37,492 --> 00:25:41,540 metal library. 696 00:25:41,540 --> 00:25:43,890 Fortunately, Stanley Hall's 697 00:25:43,890 --> 00:25:45,848 daughter Eileen has decided to 698 00:25:45,848 --> 00:25:47,937 continue her father's work. 699 00:25:47,937 --> 00:25:49,896 >> EILEEN HALL: Unless we find 700 00:25:49,896 --> 00:25:50,810 this treasure, unless we can 701 00:25:50,810 --> 00:25:52,812 see, translate the writing, it's 702 00:25:52,812 --> 00:25:54,596 still a big question mark over 703 00:25:54,596 --> 00:25:55,815 who wrote it, why they put it 704 00:25:55,815 --> 00:25:58,948 there and who put it there. 705 00:25:58,948 --> 00:26:00,602 >> NARRATOR: But when Eileen 706 00:26:00,602 --> 00:26:01,864 Hall began to look for the 707 00:26:01,864 --> 00:26:03,736 location of Father Crespi's 708 00:26:03,736 --> 00:26:05,825 original artifacts, she learned 709 00:26:05,825 --> 00:26:07,566 that much of the priest's 710 00:26:07,566 --> 00:26:09,437 collection had mysteriously 711 00:26:09,437 --> 00:26:11,526 vanished shortly before his 712 00:26:11,526 --> 00:26:14,703 death in 1982. 713 00:26:14,703 --> 00:26:16,444 But why? 714 00:26:16,444 --> 00:26:18,533 Had Crespi's artifacts fallen 715 00:26:18,533 --> 00:26:19,882 prey to thieves? 716 00:26:19,882 --> 00:26:21,797 Or might the Shuar have taken 717 00:26:21,797 --> 00:26:23,494 their treasure back into the 718 00:26:23,494 --> 00:26:25,627 cave where they found them? 719 00:26:25,627 --> 00:26:27,890 Whatever the answer, Eileen 720 00:26:27,890 --> 00:26:30,371 Hall has continued to research 721 00:26:30,371 --> 00:26:32,373 other artifacts from elsewhere 722 00:26:32,373 --> 00:26:33,940 in Ecuador. 723 00:26:33,940 --> 00:26:36,029 And like Father Crespi's 724 00:26:36,029 --> 00:26:37,987 objects, some seem to have 725 00:26:37,987 --> 00:26:39,946 uncanny resemblances to other 726 00:26:39,946 --> 00:26:42,426 cultures that, according to 727 00:26:42,426 --> 00:26:44,341 mainstream archaeology, ancient 728 00:26:44,341 --> 00:26:46,474 Ecuadorians could not have had 729 00:26:46,474 --> 00:26:48,519 any knowledge of. 730 00:26:48,519 --> 00:26:50,565 >> EILEEN HALL: This collection 731 00:26:50,565 --> 00:26:52,480 is made up of what my father 732 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:53,829 believed to be the formative 733 00:26:53,829 --> 00:26:55,875 cultures of Ecuador. 734 00:26:55,875 --> 00:26:58,617 This is from the coastal culture 735 00:26:58,617 --> 00:27:02,446 from 600 BC to 1600 AD, and this 736 00:27:02,446 --> 00:27:04,666 is very humanlike, but at the 737 00:27:04,666 --> 00:27:06,015 same time, some features have 738 00:27:06,015 --> 00:27:06,886 been exaggerated. 739 00:27:06,886 --> 00:27:08,975 Here, you've got the smaller 740 00:27:08,975 --> 00:27:10,846 face with the kind of bigger 741 00:27:10,846 --> 00:27:13,370 ears, and the elongated skull 742 00:27:13,370 --> 00:27:15,546 shape on the head. 743 00:27:15,546 --> 00:27:17,592 >> TSOUKALOS: The top of this 744 00:27:17,592 --> 00:27:19,768 head looks like an elongated 745 00:27:19,768 --> 00:27:22,771 cranium, an elongated skull, 746 00:27:22,771 --> 00:27:25,644 and it is identical to this 747 00:27:25,644 --> 00:27:28,908 Egyptian statue that we find 748 00:27:28,908 --> 00:27:30,997 all over Egypt. 749 00:27:30,997 --> 00:27:34,000 To see this picture right here 750 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,611 and compare it to the Egyptian 751 00:27:36,611 --> 00:27:38,657 bust we see right here, it's 752 00:27:38,657 --> 00:27:41,007 uncanny-- the head shape is 753 00:27:41,007 --> 00:27:43,966 identical. 754 00:27:43,966 --> 00:27:46,403 >> NARRATOR: Do Stanley Hall's 755 00:27:46,403 --> 00:27:48,318 artifacts show evidence that 756 00:27:48,318 --> 00:27:50,538 Egyptian cultures could have 757 00:27:50,538 --> 00:27:52,322 crossed the oceans to influence 758 00:27:52,322 --> 00:27:56,022 South American culture? 759 00:27:56,022 --> 00:27:57,980 Or is it possible that both were 760 00:27:57,980 --> 00:28:01,331 influenced by another culture-- 761 00:28:01,331 --> 00:28:04,465 one from beyond our world? 762 00:28:04,465 --> 00:28:07,686 If so, were the strange writings 763 00:28:07,686 --> 00:28:09,513 inscribed on Father Crespi's now 764 00:28:09,513 --> 00:28:11,690 missing metal tablets actual 765 00:28:11,690 --> 00:28:16,390 messages from an alien world? 766 00:28:16,390 --> 00:28:18,435 >> EILEEN HALL: My father went 767 00:28:18,435 --> 00:28:20,133 as far as saying it was possibly 768 00:28:20,133 --> 00:28:21,700 an advanced civilization, but 769 00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:23,963 we can't know for certain until 770 00:28:23,963 --> 00:28:27,967 this library is found. 771 00:28:27,967 --> 00:28:29,577 >> VON DANIKEN: So this metallic 772 00:28:29,577 --> 00:28:32,014 library is still there in 773 00:28:32,014 --> 00:28:35,365 Ecuador in a subterranean cave. 774 00:28:35,365 --> 00:28:38,455 There are still Indian tribes 775 00:28:38,455 --> 00:28:39,935 living there. 776 00:28:39,935 --> 00:28:41,371 They are still protecting the 777 00:28:41,371 --> 00:28:44,940 old treasure. 778 00:28:44,940 --> 00:28:46,681 >> COPPENS: So it's going to 779 00:28:46,681 --> 00:28:48,465 push the boundaries of academia 780 00:28:48,465 --> 00:28:50,076 once this cave system has 781 00:28:50,076 --> 00:28:51,381 been found. 782 00:28:51,381 --> 00:28:53,383 And whether it is Inca or 783 00:28:53,383 --> 00:28:54,994 extraterrestrial, it doesn't 784 00:28:54,994 --> 00:28:55,995 really matter at this moment 785 00:28:55,995 --> 00:28:57,431 in time. 786 00:28:57,431 --> 00:28:58,737 Let's get to this cave and see 787 00:28:58,737 --> 00:29:00,390 what is in there. 788 00:29:00,390 --> 00:29:02,479 >> NARRATOR: Perhaps Tayos has 789 00:29:02,479 --> 00:29:04,133 yet to reveal all of its 790 00:29:04,133 --> 00:29:06,875 secrets, but more than 700 miles 791 00:29:06,875 --> 00:29:08,834 to the north, there is another 792 00:29:08,834 --> 00:29:11,140 cave-- one that may prove that 793 00:29:11,140 --> 00:29:13,316 the Mayan underworld and the 794 00:29:13,316 --> 00:29:15,014 terrifying gods who ruled it 795 00:29:15,014 --> 00:29:17,973 were not only very real, but 796 00:29:17,973 --> 00:29:21,020 were not only very real, but thirsty for human blood. 797 00:29:21,020 --> 00:29:27,330 thirsty for human blood. 798 00:29:27,330 --> 00:29:28,549 >> NARRATOR: The Yucatán 799 00:29:28,549 --> 00:29:31,160 Peninsula... 800 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:33,119 one of Mexico's premier 801 00:29:33,119 --> 00:29:37,166 tourist destinations. 802 00:29:37,166 --> 00:29:40,169 Besides scenic beaches, the area 803 00:29:40,169 --> 00:29:42,171 is covered by thick jungle and 804 00:29:42,171 --> 00:29:44,434 pockmarked by massive sinkholes 805 00:29:44,434 --> 00:29:48,177 known as cenotes. 806 00:29:48,177 --> 00:29:50,832 The ground beneath the jungle is 807 00:29:50,832 --> 00:29:54,967 also honeycombed with caves. 808 00:29:54,967 --> 00:29:58,274 But here, in 2007, Mexican 809 00:29:58,274 --> 00:30:00,973 archaeologist Guillermo de Anda 810 00:30:00,973 --> 00:30:03,889 found a cave like no other. 811 00:30:03,889 --> 00:30:06,152 Following clues in the records 812 00:30:06,152 --> 00:30:08,154 of 17th-century Spanish priests 813 00:30:08,154 --> 00:30:10,243 that hinted at the existence of 814 00:30:10,243 --> 00:30:12,375 a mysterious underground Mayan 815 00:30:12,375 --> 00:30:16,945 temple deep in the jungle, 816 00:30:16,945 --> 00:30:19,208 de Anda found a series of caves 817 00:30:19,208 --> 00:30:20,601 near the village of 818 00:30:20,601 --> 00:30:23,865 Tahtzibichen... 819 00:30:23,865 --> 00:30:26,128 caves not seen for hundreds of 820 00:30:26,128 --> 00:30:28,870 years, and with entrances 821 00:30:28,870 --> 00:30:30,480 submerged beneath centuries 822 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:32,831 submerged beneath centuries of floodwater. 823 00:30:32,831 --> 00:30:34,920 of floodwater. 824 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:36,530 >> GUILLERMO DE ANDA: Sometimes 825 00:30:36,530 --> 00:30:38,010 we have to dive into these 826 00:30:38,010 --> 00:30:39,272 caves. 827 00:30:39,272 --> 00:30:42,144 Sometimes they go very deep. 828 00:30:42,144 --> 00:30:44,494 The average depth of our 829 00:30:44,494 --> 00:30:47,889 research is about 140, 150 feet, 830 00:30:47,889 --> 00:30:49,891 but we know of caves much deeper 831 00:30:49,891 --> 00:30:51,937 than that. 832 00:30:51,937 --> 00:30:53,852 >> NARRATOR: At first, de Anda 833 00:30:53,852 --> 00:30:55,505 and his team found carved stone 834 00:30:55,505 --> 00:30:57,464 heads and broken pillars with 835 00:30:57,464 --> 00:30:59,292 1,900-year-old Mayan 836 00:30:59,292 --> 00:31:02,164 inscriptions. 837 00:31:02,164 --> 00:31:04,253 >> DE ANDA: We have found 838 00:31:04,253 --> 00:31:06,299 columns under the water, and 839 00:31:06,299 --> 00:31:09,215 these columns are amazing 840 00:31:09,215 --> 00:31:10,869 because some of them are five 841 00:31:10,869 --> 00:31:13,088 feet high and at least ten 842 00:31:13,088 --> 00:31:16,396 feet wide. 843 00:31:16,396 --> 00:31:18,137 >> NARRATOR: But as de Anda 844 00:31:18,137 --> 00:31:20,008 surfaced in the dry areas of the 845 00:31:20,008 --> 00:31:22,097 cave, he found what he believed 846 00:31:22,097 --> 00:31:23,969 to be the remains of a massive 847 00:31:23,969 --> 00:31:26,536 underground temple complex, 848 00:31:26,536 --> 00:31:30,018 including a concrete road, 849 00:31:30,018 --> 00:31:35,023 a crumbled pyramid and bones. 850 00:31:35,023 --> 00:31:38,070 But why was it here? 851 00:31:38,070 --> 00:31:40,028 >> CHILDRESS: The Mayans 852 00:31:40,028 --> 00:31:42,030 themselves have, uh, very 853 00:31:42,030 --> 00:31:43,553 intriguing legends of an 854 00:31:43,553 --> 00:31:45,599 underground world called 855 00:31:45,599 --> 00:31:48,210 Xibalba. 856 00:31:48,210 --> 00:31:49,385 And it's believed now by 857 00:31:49,385 --> 00:31:51,344 archaeologists that what they 858 00:31:51,344 --> 00:31:53,824 found is what the Mayans thought 859 00:31:53,824 --> 00:31:56,871 was the entrance to this 860 00:31:56,871 --> 00:31:59,482 legendary underground world 861 00:31:59,482 --> 00:32:01,484 that features prominently in 862 00:32:01,484 --> 00:32:03,530 the Popol Vuh. 863 00:32:03,530 --> 00:32:05,140 >> NARRATOR: Could this dark and 864 00:32:05,140 --> 00:32:07,447 mysterious cave really be the 865 00:32:07,447 --> 00:32:09,318 underground world mentioned 866 00:32:09,318 --> 00:32:13,409 in the Mayan legends? 867 00:32:13,409 --> 00:32:16,151 According to the Popol Vuh, the 868 00:32:16,151 --> 00:32:17,457 written record of Mayan 869 00:32:17,457 --> 00:32:19,546 mythology, the underworld 870 00:32:19,546 --> 00:32:21,374 kingdom of Xibalba, meaning 871 00:32:21,374 --> 00:32:23,898 "the place of fear," was ruled 872 00:32:23,898 --> 00:32:26,335 by the cruel Lords of the Dead, 873 00:32:26,335 --> 00:32:28,207 who made those who entered their 874 00:32:28,207 --> 00:32:30,035 realm pass through a series 875 00:32:30,035 --> 00:32:32,211 of torture chambers, involving 876 00:32:32,211 --> 00:32:36,258 blood, darkness, cold, knives, 877 00:32:36,258 --> 00:32:39,261 bats and jaguars. 878 00:32:39,261 --> 00:32:42,438 [snarling] 879 00:32:42,438 --> 00:32:44,571 >> MARTELL: We see here in this 880 00:32:44,571 --> 00:32:46,399 one archaeological spot an 881 00:32:46,399 --> 00:32:48,444 actual physical representation 882 00:32:48,444 --> 00:32:50,446 of what the Mayans felt the soul 883 00:32:50,446 --> 00:32:52,492 had to go through. 884 00:32:52,492 --> 00:32:54,102 >> NARRATOR: Might, perhaps, 885 00:32:54,102 --> 00:32:55,930 this cave of stalactites, sharp 886 00:32:55,930 --> 00:32:57,453 enough to pierce flesh, 887 00:32:57,453 --> 00:32:59,238 represent the "room of knives" 888 00:32:59,238 --> 00:33:01,327 in the Popol Vuh? 889 00:33:01,327 --> 00:33:03,372 There is also, arguably, a 890 00:33:03,372 --> 00:33:05,331 "room of bats," and a trench 891 00:33:05,331 --> 00:33:06,462 that might once have been 892 00:33:06,462 --> 00:33:08,247 filled with blood, like the 893 00:33:08,247 --> 00:33:09,988 river of blood in the story 894 00:33:09,988 --> 00:33:11,424 that Mayan pilgrims had to 895 00:33:11,424 --> 00:33:13,078 cross over. 896 00:33:13,078 --> 00:33:14,514 There are places of cold and 897 00:33:14,514 --> 00:33:17,256 darkness-- and even a room with 898 00:33:17,256 --> 00:33:19,780 darkness-- and even a room with carvings of jaguars. 899 00:33:19,780 --> 00:33:22,130 carvings of jaguars. 900 00:33:22,130 --> 00:33:23,218 >> MARTELL: These caves were 901 00:33:23,218 --> 00:33:25,090 littered with large patches of 902 00:33:25,090 --> 00:33:26,526 spiders and reptiles and all 903 00:33:26,526 --> 00:33:29,007 types of tumultuous things that 904 00:33:29,007 --> 00:33:30,399 a human really wouldn't want to 905 00:33:30,399 --> 00:33:32,358 be exposed to. 906 00:33:32,358 --> 00:33:34,403 >> NARRATOR: Although some 907 00:33:34,403 --> 00:33:35,970 archaeologists claim this 908 00:33:35,970 --> 00:33:37,450 unique site was simply modeled 909 00:33:37,450 --> 00:33:39,321 after the description of 910 00:33:39,321 --> 00:33:41,367 Xibalba in the Popol Vuh, De 911 00:33:41,367 --> 00:33:43,108 Anda insists that items from 912 00:33:43,108 --> 00:33:45,066 the cave date back to a time 913 00:33:45,066 --> 00:33:47,025 centuries before the Mayan holy 914 00:33:47,025 --> 00:33:49,897 book was written. 915 00:33:49,897 --> 00:33:51,377 >> DE ANDA: It's not that there 916 00:33:51,377 --> 00:33:52,769 was this document and 917 00:33:52,769 --> 00:33:55,294 they, uh, tried to, uh, imitate 918 00:33:55,294 --> 00:33:56,773 what the document said. 919 00:33:56,773 --> 00:33:58,253 I think it's all the other way 920 00:33:58,253 --> 00:34:00,168 around. 921 00:34:00,168 --> 00:34:02,779 We believe that we have found 922 00:34:02,779 --> 00:34:04,216 the particular Xibalba of the 923 00:34:04,216 --> 00:34:06,261 central part of the Yucatán. 924 00:34:06,261 --> 00:34:08,002 This is why we do believe it was 925 00:34:08,002 --> 00:34:10,961 a real place. 926 00:34:10,961 --> 00:34:12,441 >> NARRATOR: But if Xibalba is 927 00:34:12,441 --> 00:34:13,834 real, were the Lords of the 928 00:34:13,834 --> 00:34:17,316 Dead also real? 929 00:34:17,316 --> 00:34:19,318 And if so, who or what were 930 00:34:19,318 --> 00:34:22,016 they? 931 00:34:22,016 --> 00:34:24,410 >> TSOUKALOS: According to the 932 00:34:24,410 --> 00:34:26,281 Chilam Balambook, which is the 933 00:34:26,281 --> 00:34:28,457 Book of the Jaguar Priests, it 934 00:34:28,457 --> 00:34:30,024 says in there, that at that 935 00:34:30,024 --> 00:34:34,246 time "The road to the stars 936 00:34:34,246 --> 00:34:36,813 descended from the sky, and the 937 00:34:36,813 --> 00:34:42,471 13 and nine gods came to Earth." 938 00:34:42,471 --> 00:34:43,298 I'm sorry. 939 00:34:43,298 --> 00:34:45,039 "Road to the stars," "descended 940 00:34:45,039 --> 00:34:46,040 from the sky." 941 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:47,302 Can it be more clear? 942 00:34:47,302 --> 00:34:48,303 I don't think so. 943 00:34:48,303 --> 00:34:49,913 Right there we have a direct 944 00:34:49,913 --> 00:34:51,785 reference to someone that has 945 00:34:51,785 --> 00:34:54,440 arrived from outer space, and 946 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:55,919 we have a written record about 947 00:34:55,919 --> 00:34:57,399 this. 948 00:34:57,399 --> 00:34:59,488 >> NARRATOR: Could the "lords of 949 00:34:59,488 --> 00:35:02,100 Xibalba" and other Mayan gods 950 00:35:02,100 --> 00:35:03,492 really have been 951 00:35:03,492 --> 00:35:07,235 extraterrestrial travelers? 952 00:35:07,235 --> 00:35:09,933 If so, why did they display 953 00:35:09,933 --> 00:35:11,370 such a thirst for blood and 954 00:35:11,370 --> 00:35:13,850 torture? 955 00:35:13,850 --> 00:35:14,938 >> WILCOCK: I do not believe 956 00:35:14,938 --> 00:35:15,983 human sacrifice was 957 00:35:15,983 --> 00:35:17,985 originally taught by the ETs. 958 00:35:17,985 --> 00:35:19,465 I believe it came in the 959 00:35:19,465 --> 00:35:21,119 aftermath of when the original 960 00:35:21,119 --> 00:35:22,772 teachers of humankind had 961 00:35:22,772 --> 00:35:25,471 arrived. 962 00:35:25,471 --> 00:35:27,821 The ancient gods, which were 963 00:35:27,821 --> 00:35:29,170 really just humans from 964 00:35:29,170 --> 00:35:31,390 another world, withdrew from the 965 00:35:31,390 --> 00:35:33,392 area, and the people became 966 00:35:33,392 --> 00:35:34,915 distraught. 967 00:35:34,915 --> 00:35:36,308 The more they became 968 00:35:36,308 --> 00:35:38,788 distraught, the more they took 969 00:35:38,788 --> 00:35:40,442 the original mythology and 970 00:35:40,442 --> 00:35:42,140 interpreted it in a much more 971 00:35:42,140 --> 00:35:43,445 literal way. 972 00:35:43,445 --> 00:35:45,143 So what might have started out 973 00:35:45,143 --> 00:35:46,883 as the myth about the Sun dying 974 00:35:46,883 --> 00:35:48,842 and being reborn when it sinks 975 00:35:48,842 --> 00:35:50,583 below the horizon, becomes 976 00:35:50,583 --> 00:35:52,454 literally the idea of killing 977 00:35:52,454 --> 00:35:54,195 people to make sure that the 978 00:35:54,195 --> 00:35:57,372 Sun is gonna come back up. 979 00:35:57,372 --> 00:35:58,808 >> NARRATOR: As archaeologists 980 00:35:58,808 --> 00:36:00,375 and explorers continue to 981 00:36:00,375 --> 00:36:02,769 uncover sites where legend and 982 00:36:02,769 --> 00:36:05,293 reality meet, could there be 983 00:36:05,293 --> 00:36:07,469 even more evidence that 984 00:36:07,469 --> 00:36:09,471 mankind's history on this planet 985 00:36:09,471 --> 00:36:11,386 is much more profound than what 986 00:36:11,386 --> 00:36:14,128 we currently understand? 987 00:36:14,128 --> 00:36:15,390 There are those who believe 988 00:36:15,390 --> 00:36:17,349 the secret lies even deeper 989 00:36:17,349 --> 00:36:19,264 within the Earth... 990 00:36:19,264 --> 00:36:22,702 within the Earth... as deep as its very core. 991 00:36:22,702 --> 00:36:31,754 as deep as its very core. 992 00:36:31,754 --> 00:36:34,627 >> NARRATOR: The North Pole-- 993 00:36:34,627 --> 00:36:36,063 a seemingly endless wasteland of 994 00:36:36,063 --> 00:36:38,805 Arctic ice, shrouded in darkness 995 00:36:38,805 --> 00:36:42,200 for six months of every year. 996 00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:44,419 Here, there is no food, no 997 00:36:44,419 --> 00:36:46,726 shelter, not even a cave to 998 00:36:46,726 --> 00:36:48,641 hide from the slashing winds 999 00:36:48,641 --> 00:36:50,208 and temperatures that can dive 1000 00:36:50,208 --> 00:36:53,776 to 90 degrees below zero. 1001 00:36:53,776 --> 00:36:55,648 But according to mainstream 1002 00:36:55,648 --> 00:36:57,998 geology, beneath the Pole and 1003 00:36:57,998 --> 00:36:59,739 the Arctic Ocean lies the 1004 00:36:59,739 --> 00:37:02,350 Earth's mostly rocky crust, up 1005 00:37:02,350 --> 00:37:05,266 to 30 miles thick. 1006 00:37:05,266 --> 00:37:07,225 Below this is molten rock, 1007 00:37:07,225 --> 00:37:08,748 heated by the planet's spinning 1008 00:37:08,748 --> 00:37:11,011 core, with a solid center of 1009 00:37:11,011 --> 00:37:12,708 iron and nickel the size of the 1010 00:37:12,708 --> 00:37:15,102 Moon. 1011 00:37:15,102 --> 00:37:16,712 Scientists have deduced this 1012 00:37:16,712 --> 00:37:18,061 information from measurements 1013 00:37:18,061 --> 00:37:21,282 of Earth's gravity, magnetism 1014 00:37:21,282 --> 00:37:23,676 and seismic waves. 1015 00:37:23,676 --> 00:37:26,200 But no one has ever seen these 1016 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:28,202 areas. 1017 00:37:28,202 --> 00:37:29,943 Could the frozen surface of the 1018 00:37:29,943 --> 00:37:32,685 Pole be hiding a gateway to a 1019 00:37:32,685 --> 00:37:37,472 world within our surface world? 1020 00:37:37,472 --> 00:37:40,258 There are those who believe the 1021 00:37:40,258 --> 00:37:42,477 There are those who believe the answer is, "yes." 1022 00:37:42,477 --> 00:37:44,610 answer is, "yes." 1023 00:37:44,610 --> 00:37:46,873 And what they believe is known 1024 00:37:46,873 --> 00:37:49,919 as the hollow Earth theory. 1025 00:37:49,919 --> 00:37:51,617 >> RODNEY CLUFF: The hollow 1026 00:37:51,617 --> 00:37:53,793 Earth theory is that, this Earth 1027 00:37:53,793 --> 00:37:57,013 is not molten inside. 1028 00:37:57,013 --> 00:37:59,233 It is actually hollow, and that 1029 00:37:59,233 --> 00:38:00,321 suspended in the hollow of the 1030 00:38:00,321 --> 00:38:02,758 suspended in the hollow of the Earth is an inner sun. 1031 00:38:02,758 --> 00:38:04,673 Earth is an inner sun. 1032 00:38:04,673 --> 00:38:06,066 >> NARRATOR: Surprisingly, the 1033 00:38:06,066 --> 00:38:07,937 notion of a hollow Earth was 1034 00:38:07,937 --> 00:38:10,288 first given scientific credence 1035 00:38:10,288 --> 00:38:11,637 by one of the founders of 1036 00:38:11,637 --> 00:38:14,204 modern astronomy. 1037 00:38:14,204 --> 00:38:15,684 >> DAVID STANDISH: The idea that 1038 00:38:15,684 --> 00:38:17,817 the Earth might be hollow, as a 1039 00:38:17,817 --> 00:38:19,906 scientific notion, dates back 1040 00:38:19,906 --> 00:38:21,951 to the astronomer Edmund Halley 1041 00:38:21,951 --> 00:38:26,260 who is best known for his comet. 1042 00:38:26,260 --> 00:38:29,742 In 1691 he presented to the 1043 00:38:29,742 --> 00:38:32,005 London Royal Society his 1044 00:38:32,005 --> 00:38:34,703 hypothesis that the Earth is 1045 00:38:34,703 --> 00:38:37,315 hollow and contains several 1046 00:38:37,315 --> 00:38:39,839 little spheres inside. 1047 00:38:39,839 --> 00:38:41,841 Sort of like those Russian 1048 00:38:41,841 --> 00:38:43,930 Matryoshska dolls. 1049 00:38:43,930 --> 00:38:45,888 He was hypothesizing this for a 1050 00:38:45,888 --> 00:38:48,238 very practical reason. 1051 00:38:48,238 --> 00:38:50,937 The Earth's magnetic pole moved 1052 00:38:50,937 --> 00:38:52,852 a little bit every year to the 1053 00:38:52,852 --> 00:38:56,334 west, and his idea was that our 1054 00:38:56,334 --> 00:38:59,162 outer sphere had inner spheres 1055 00:38:59,162 --> 00:39:00,816 that turned independently of 1056 00:39:00,816 --> 00:39:03,210 the outer one. 1057 00:39:03,210 --> 00:39:05,125 He also suggested that these 1058 00:39:05,125 --> 00:39:06,953 interior spheres would also be 1059 00:39:06,953 --> 00:39:10,826 able to support life. 1060 00:39:10,826 --> 00:39:12,915 >> NARRATOR: In 1818, former 1061 00:39:12,915 --> 00:39:15,396 U.S. Army Captain John Cleves 1062 00:39:15,396 --> 00:39:18,704 Symmes, Jr., announced that 1063 00:39:18,704 --> 00:39:19,922 there were vast openings at each 1064 00:39:19,922 --> 00:39:22,360 pole where we could enter 1065 00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:24,057 Inner Earth. 1066 00:39:24,057 --> 00:39:26,581 >> STANDISH: With Symmes, the 1067 00:39:26,581 --> 00:39:28,148 idea of a hollow Earth gets tied 1068 00:39:28,148 --> 00:39:30,933 into exploring for the pole. 1069 00:39:30,933 --> 00:39:32,108 At this point, nobody had 1070 00:39:32,108 --> 00:39:33,283 actually seen Antarctica, for 1071 00:39:33,283 --> 00:39:34,894 instance. 1072 00:39:34,894 --> 00:39:37,636 >> NARRATOR: The hollow Earth 1073 00:39:37,636 --> 00:39:39,246 theory again captured the 1074 00:39:39,246 --> 00:39:42,118 public's imagination in 1864 1075 00:39:42,118 --> 00:39:44,251 with the release of Jules 1076 00:39:44,251 --> 00:39:46,209 Verne's second novel, A Journey 1077 00:39:46,209 --> 00:39:49,038 to the Center of the Earth. 1078 00:39:49,038 --> 00:39:51,040 >> STANDISH: The novel takes an 1079 00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:53,739 Icelandic guide and a professor 1080 00:39:53,739 --> 00:39:56,045 and a young man down into the 1081 00:39:56,045 --> 00:39:58,178 center of the Earth. 1082 00:39:58,178 --> 00:39:59,222 Journey to the Center of the 1083 00:39:59,222 --> 00:40:00,789 Earthcould really have been 1084 00:40:00,789 --> 00:40:01,921 called A Journey to the Center 1085 00:40:01,921 --> 00:40:03,662 of Geology. 1086 00:40:03,662 --> 00:40:05,272 Geology and Paleontology were a 1087 00:40:05,272 --> 00:40:06,882 very hot topic in the early 1088 00:40:06,882 --> 00:40:09,319 1860's and there's a lot of 1089 00:40:09,319 --> 00:40:11,191 discussion of that in Journey 1090 00:40:11,191 --> 00:40:13,759 to the Center of the Earth. 1091 00:40:13,759 --> 00:40:15,151 >> NARRATOR But while Verne 1092 00:40:15,151 --> 00:40:16,849 popularized the idea that 1093 00:40:16,849 --> 00:40:17,937 extinct life forms might still 1094 00:40:17,937 --> 00:40:20,287 exist inside the Earth, others 1095 00:40:20,287 --> 00:40:21,941 envisioned that the Earth 1096 00:40:21,941 --> 00:40:23,769 contained advanced underground 1097 00:40:23,769 --> 00:40:25,858 civilizations. 1098 00:40:25,858 --> 00:40:27,250 >> CHILDRESS: Supposedly, they 1099 00:40:27,250 --> 00:40:30,123 have advanced technology. 1100 00:40:30,123 --> 00:40:31,777 They've got ray guns and 1101 00:40:31,777 --> 00:40:33,082 special weapons. 1102 00:40:33,082 --> 00:40:35,824 And even they have flying 1103 00:40:35,824 --> 00:40:38,653 saucers, other craft like that. 1104 00:40:38,653 --> 00:40:40,655 >> NARRATOR: But is there any 1105 00:40:40,655 --> 00:40:42,614 evidence that such fantastic 1106 00:40:42,614 --> 00:40:44,311 claims could be true? 1107 00:40:44,311 --> 00:40:46,313 And has anyone actually been to 1108 00:40:46,313 --> 00:40:49,011 the world within our Earth? 1109 00:40:49,011 --> 00:40:50,230 Proponents of the hollow Earth 1110 00:40:50,230 --> 00:40:52,014 theory say, "yes," and that 1111 00:40:52,014 --> 00:40:53,668 one of the explorers was no 1112 00:40:53,668 --> 00:40:55,888 less a luminary than famed 1113 00:40:55,888 --> 00:40:57,803 polar pioneer Admiral Richard E. 1114 00:40:57,803 --> 00:40:59,718 Byrd. 1115 00:40:59,718 --> 00:41:01,807 In the 1920s, Byrd made world 1116 00:41:01,807 --> 00:41:03,852 headlines by flying over the 1117 00:41:03,852 --> 00:41:05,680 North Pole, and by becoming the 1118 00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:07,813 first man to fly solo over the 1119 00:41:07,813 --> 00:41:10,119 South Pole. 1120 00:41:10,119 --> 00:41:12,861 But hollow Earth theorists 1121 00:41:12,861 --> 00:41:14,036 believe that the famous 1122 00:41:14,036 --> 00:41:16,822 explorer went even farther, and 1123 00:41:16,822 --> 00:41:21,130 that, on February 19, 1947, 1124 00:41:21,130 --> 00:41:23,002 Admiral Byrd piloted a plane 1125 00:41:23,002 --> 00:41:24,133 through a hole near the North 1126 00:41:24,133 --> 00:41:26,266 Pole into the interior of the 1127 00:41:26,266 --> 00:41:28,094 Earth. 1128 00:41:28,094 --> 00:41:29,791 >> CLUFF: A flying saucer type 1129 00:41:29,791 --> 00:41:31,227 craft took control of his 1130 00:41:31,227 --> 00:41:32,968 airplane, with some kind of 1131 00:41:32,968 --> 00:41:37,799 tractor beam... and they landed 1132 00:41:37,799 --> 00:41:39,888 him near an Inner Earth city. 1133 00:41:39,888 --> 00:41:41,107 And the message that they had 1134 00:41:41,107 --> 00:41:43,065 for us was that they consider 1135 00:41:43,065 --> 00:41:45,154 themselves the guardians of 1136 00:41:45,154 --> 00:41:47,766 this planet, okay? 1137 00:41:47,766 --> 00:41:49,158 He says, "We don't approve of 1138 00:41:49,158 --> 00:41:51,160 you people using nuclear 1139 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:52,335 weapons." 1140 00:41:52,335 --> 00:41:53,772 We had just blown up a couple 1141 00:41:53,772 --> 00:41:56,209 of cities in Japan a couple of 1142 00:41:56,209 --> 00:41:59,908 years before, so this was the 1143 00:41:59,908 --> 00:42:02,258 message that he was given. 1144 00:42:02,258 --> 00:42:04,696 But when he got to Washington, 1145 00:42:04,696 --> 00:42:06,132 they put a lid of secrecy on 1146 00:42:06,132 --> 00:42:07,960 this, that this was not to go 1147 00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:10,832 out. 1148 00:42:10,832 --> 00:42:12,704 >> NARRATOR: Some say Admiral 1149 00:42:12,704 --> 00:42:13,966 Byrd's own account of this 1150 00:42:13,966 --> 00:42:16,316 flight into the hollow Earth is 1151 00:42:16,316 --> 00:42:18,318 detailed in his secret diary, 1152 00:42:18,318 --> 00:42:20,973 published in the 1990s, almost 1153 00:42:20,973 --> 00:42:23,628 four decades after his death. 1154 00:42:23,628 --> 00:42:25,804 But skeptics claim the diary is 1155 00:42:25,804 --> 00:42:28,546 a forgery and point out that in 1156 00:42:28,546 --> 00:42:31,070 February 1947, at the time 1157 00:42:31,070 --> 00:42:32,854 Admiral Byrd was supposedly 1158 00:42:32,854 --> 00:42:34,552 visiting this other world 1159 00:42:34,552 --> 00:42:37,119 underneath the North Pole, he 1160 00:42:37,119 --> 00:42:38,947 was actually part of a vast 1161 00:42:38,947 --> 00:42:41,994 4,700-man Naval exploration 1162 00:42:41,994 --> 00:42:44,300 called "Operation High Jump," 1163 00:42:44,300 --> 00:42:46,781 12,000 miles away, near the 1164 00:42:46,781 --> 00:42:49,218 South Pole. 1165 00:42:49,218 --> 00:42:51,699 But could Byrd's inclusion in 1166 00:42:51,699 --> 00:42:53,266 this large military operation 1167 00:42:53,266 --> 00:42:55,790 at the South Pole have been 1168 00:42:55,790 --> 00:42:57,923 merely a cover story? 1169 00:42:57,923 --> 00:43:00,882 Some people claim it was, and 1170 00:43:00,882 --> 00:43:02,841 this allowed him to slip away 1171 00:43:02,841 --> 00:43:04,843 to the other end of the planet, 1172 00:43:04,843 --> 00:43:07,715 unnoticed by the media. 1173 00:43:07,715 --> 00:43:08,716 >> GEORGE NOORY: Admiral 1174 00:43:08,716 --> 00:43:10,109 Byrd, the rumor was, found a 1175 00:43:10,109 --> 00:43:12,111 world of flying machines, and 1176 00:43:12,111 --> 00:43:13,852 people, and... more advanced 1177 00:43:13,852 --> 00:43:14,983 than us... 1178 00:43:14,983 --> 00:43:15,941 and that they helped him, and 1179 00:43:15,941 --> 00:43:18,334 then he left again. 1180 00:43:18,334 --> 00:43:20,119 It's a myth. 1181 00:43:20,119 --> 00:43:21,642 Nobody's really been able to 1182 00:43:21,642 --> 00:43:24,602 prove it, but it's a great myth. 1183 00:43:24,602 --> 00:43:26,081 >> NARRATOR: Could there really 1184 00:43:26,081 --> 00:43:27,866 be vast, open spaces within the 1185 00:43:27,866 --> 00:43:29,607 Earth where advanced 1186 00:43:29,607 --> 00:43:32,218 civilizations live? 1187 00:43:32,218 --> 00:43:34,133 Could extraterrestrial gods 1188 00:43:34,133 --> 00:43:37,223 really have come to Earth, 1189 00:43:37,223 --> 00:43:38,877 centuries ago, and hidden the 1190 00:43:38,877 --> 00:43:40,226 evidence of their journeys deep 1191 00:43:40,226 --> 00:43:42,924 within caves and tunnels? 1192 00:43:42,924 --> 00:43:44,578 Perhaps we have only just 1193 00:43:44,578 --> 00:43:45,884 scratched the surface of our 1194 00:43:45,884 --> 00:43:48,843 planet's underground mysteries. 1195 00:43:48,843 --> 00:43:51,193 If so, what clues to our 1196 00:43:51,193 --> 00:43:52,891 distant past might still be 1197 00:43:52,891 --> 00:43:54,806 waiting to be found, and 1198 00:43:54,806 --> 00:43:56,982 waiting to be found, and hiding in the darkness?