All language subtitles for 779247c71d644741bec40a6fd6a7cc12.eng

NARRATOR: It is a book
that caused a global sensation.

WILLIAM A book
that says aliens visited Earth

and then helped build
the pyramids

influences the whole world.

NARRATOR: It challenged
everything we thought we knew

about humanity's past.

Mamma mia!

It 100% questioned

orthodox ideas of archaeology.

A lot of people
violently disagree with you...

ERICH VON DANIKEN:
It's absolutely normal

in our society
that I am attacked.

NARRATOR:
But after five decades

of scrutiny and investigation,

how has Erich von Daniken's
controversial theory held up?

MEGAN FOX: We've had people
that have worked at NASA

go on the record saying
that of course they believe

extraterrestrial life exists.

NARRATOR:
Join the world's prominent

ancient astronaut theorists...

- Wow.
- As they separate fact...

NICK POPE:
Researchers have a whole arsenal

of tools at their disposal.

NARRATOR:
from fiction...

WILLIAM HENRY:
We've seen this new generation

of ancient astronaut theorists
bringing new facts

that were
previously unavailable.

NARRATOR:
and explore what has become

a worldwide phenomenon.

ANNOUNCER:
Erich von Daniken.

DAVID CHILDRESS:
At no time has there ever been

such a big wave
of people believing

in alien life.

NARRATOR:
It's a special

two-hour Ancient Aliens event.

Von Daniken's theory
is mesmerizing,

because nobody knows anything.

♪ ♪

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*ANCIENT ALIENS*
Season 13 Episode 14

*ANCIENT ALIENS*
Episode Title: "The Alien Phenomenon"

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
1968.

It was a year of civil unrest,

colossal
scientific achievement...

and of violent opposition
to a war that seemed

to have no end in sight.

It was a time
when everything was questioned,

and people over 30 were
no longer being trusted.

You had a sociocultural
revolution taking place

during this decade.

Vietnam...

women's lib...

civil rights...

and political assassinations.

This was the time
of terrible world tensions.

Nuclear annihilation was
on everyone's minds.

The Soviets had nuclear weapons
and missiles; so did we.

There was tremendous
social and academic change

all over the world,
and particularly in the West.

Young people
were getting their voice.

The status quo that
had come out of World War II,

the controlling of us,

people were rebelling
against that.

So things were
very much changing.

(people whistling)

NARRATOR: In 1962,
America's 35th president,

John F. Kennedy, announced
his nation's ambitious goal

of putting a man on the Moon.

We choose to go to the Moon
in this decade

and do the other things,
not because they are easy,

but because they are hard.

NARRATOR:
Less than six years

after Kennedy's
audacious proclamation,

a book appeared
on store shelves.

Entitled Chariots of the Gods?,

it threatened to push
the already stretched boundaries

of America's most established
understandings of history...

archaeology...

science...

and religion.

The title... complete with
its enigmatic question mark...

Was as compelling
as its inquisitive premise:

Did aliens come to Earth
centuries ago?

Did they leave behind evidence
in the form of pyramids...

monolithic structures...

strange carvings...

and even stranger markings
in the sands?

And, if so, could this notion
help to explain everything

from mankind's origins
to the unsolved mysteries

of the world's
most sacred religions?

GRAHAM: Chariots of the Gods?
Reinterpreted

ancient historical texts,

religious texts, as evidence
of ancient alien visitation.

It reinterpreted these

as being something that
was not necessarily divine,

but rather something
that was extraterrestrial

nuts-and-bolts technology
from another star system.

NARRATOR: The author
of Chariots of the Gods?

Appeared to be
as unthreatening and unlikely

as the book's title...
A Swiss hotel manager

by the name
of Erich von Daniken.

VON DANIKEN: When I wrote
Chariots of the Gods?,

I was still
the managing director

of a first-class hotel
in Switzerland.

I wrote about my ideas.

This was this
burning fire in me.

I had to write the book.

And now all of a sudden,
the people look

to this hotel manager
completely different.

In the newspaper, for weeks,
they saw my face every day.

Many of the people said,
"I had similar ideas,

but you are the first one
which comes out to public."

NARRATOR: Having already
been published in Germany,

the book caused an instant
sensation in the United States.

Almost overnight,
Erich von Daniken rocketed

from obscurity
to international fame,

and what later became known
as ancient astronaut theory

was officially
on everyone's radar

and in their living rooms.

(audience laughter)

People find this fascinating,
as you know,

and a lot of people, uh...

probably violently
disagree with you

and think this is all
a lot of hogwash

and it sounds good and
it's interesting to talk about,

but there's really no, uh,

what they call hard-core...

As you know,
I have presented my books

in a very provocative,
in a very explosive way,

and, uh, so it's
absolutely normal in our society

that I am attacked.

Why should it not be like this?

- So, but it...
- Any new... any new theories

usually are, are they not,
if they're far out

- and far-reaching?
- Yeah.

People immediately say, "No way."

It's impossible, it's crazy,"
and so forth.

- You know Schopenhauer?
- Not personally.

- But I... But yes. The philosopher?
- Yeah.

- Yes.
- He said something. Each new theory

who finally has bloomed
has three stages to run.

The first stage,
everybody laughs.

It's nonsense, crackpot,
forget about it.

In the second stage, uh,

people don't want to speak
about it anymore.

And in the third stage,
the whole world says, "Oh, that?"

We always said it."

POPE:
Chariots of the Gods? led

to a fundamental rethink
about our history,

our origins and, indeed,
our place in the cosmos.

The idea that our ancient Gods

might not be deities at all,

but extraterrestrial visitors,
was a game changer.

I mean, it absolutely turned
the orthodoxy on its head

and opened people up
to whole new ways of thinking.

RAMY ROMANY: I believe
that Chariots of the Gods?

Was one of the most impactful

and most intriguing publications
in the modern history.

It was full of questions,

and that was the big difference.

The questions
made people seek an answer.

My dad was a machinist

on the Saturn Vs
that went to the Moon.

And when he read
Chariots of the Gods?,

I think it excited him,

and he knew that it
might also spark something in me

to do my own type of thinking,
my own investigation.

And my dad always wanted me
to not take people's word

for things,
to go figure it out for myself.

And it is one of the reasons
I became a scientist.

MICHAEL DENNIN: It was able
to take stories and myths

and suggest that there was
something real behind it.

I found that fascinating.
And thinking this way back in the '70s

helped motivate
and push science a little bit

to think about things
differently.

I would think
that von Daniken's theory

of ancient aliens

appeals to our sense of mystery.

Because we're curious.
What's out there?

What's under there?
What's next?

NARRATOR: But as popular
as Chariots of the Gods?

Proved to be
with the book-buying public,

it was also...
Perhaps not surprisingly...

Almost entirely dismissed

by members
of the academic community.

CHILDRESS:
The early reaction

to Chariots of the Gods?,

especially from the academics,
was one of disgust.

In the late '60s and early '70s,

it was a time when everyone
just listened to the experts.

And Erich was

really just torn to bits.

People attacked his character.

They attacked
his research and methods.

They just didn't like
what was in that book.

Of course I was attacked.

After Chariots of the Gods?
First I was crushed down,

more or less by
the whole scientific community.

Everyone said, "He's crazy.
What is he talking about?"

And then
some other critics said,

"Well, he's just a waiter,"

because I came
from the hotel business,

so, "How can he come up
with these kind of ideas?"

"Don't believe him.

He's just
a science fiction author."

NARRATOR: What was lost
on many of the book's critics

was the fact
that von Daniken never claimed

to be an archaeologist
or historian.

Instead, he wrote
Chariots of the Gods?

From the perspective
of a curious citizen,

one who posed
compelling questions,

but did not presume
to supply the answers.

VON DANIKEN: In the book,
I had 238 questions.

Now, I was not absolutely sure
that in every point,

in every object, I was correct.

I could have been wrong,

and there could be
other possible answers.

But I was sure
I am on the right track.

NARRATOR: But while those in the
mainstream academic community

were busily trying to tear
von Daniken's book apart,

the general public found
that they could not put it down.

CHILDRESS: To lay people
who were buying his books,

they were interested
in what his questions were,

and things changed after that.

ROMANY:
Everyone needed an answer

to all the questions
that the book was giving,

and everyone became involved.

Everyone became a part
of the search.

And that opened up
modern science,

and that opened up
modern archeology,

because as a young Egyptologist,

as a young archeologist,
having a book like that

made me think not everything
has to be set in stone.

I can think outside of the box.

What I think
von Daniken's thesis has done

is add imagination and wonder
to the world,

given the mystery of space,

that everything is possible.

TSOUKALOS: It was
the first book that challenged

the orthodox ideas
of archaeology

that actually caught traction.

And it became one
of the most popular books

in the history of publishing.

I mean, that first run,

six million copies was sold out
in three weeks

or something crazy like this.

NARRATOR: For a culture
at war with itself,

Chariots of the Gods?
Posed the questions

that most people were thinking
but too afraid to ask.

Questions that seemed well-timed
for a world

that was about to land a man
on the Moon.

NARRATOR:
In April 2018,

editor and ancient astronaut
theorist Giorgio Tsoukalos

joined his longtime friend
and mentor, Erich von Daniken,

in Fribourg, Switzerland.

They came to visit
the Collège Saint-Michel,

the Jesuit school that Erich
attended as a young boy.

It was here,

more than seven decades ago,

that von Daniken first began
to ask the questions

that would forever change
his life.

Home, Giorgio.

- Wow.
- This is the holy place.

- This is where it all begins.
- This is beautiful.

VON DANIKEN: Imagine a young man
praying every day

at least a half an hour
in that church.

You see...

I was watching these ceilings.

Look up there.

TSOUKALOS: Some of the paintings
are really gorgeous.

I mean, with the rays
and the people

descending from the sky.

Very interesting.

VON DANIKEN: It is absolutely
impressive here, really.

And now at the moment
I still have the same feeling

as I had as a 17-year-old.

- Look up there.
- Wow.

All the saints in heaven.
And here I learned

for the first time
that there was a war in heaven.

You know, when I was a boy,
they told me

when you came in heaven,

heaven is the place
of absolute happiness.

In heaven
you are united with God.

If you are happy,
united with God,

then there is no war,
no opposition.

That's what confuses me.

That's how it all started here.
Something was wrong

in my own religious belief here.

TSOUKALOS: So, did you have
any fellow students

that were classmates
that were interested

in the things
that all of a sudden

you were like,
"Hey, look at this.

- "What do you think?"
- Well, of course, you know.

I was always... even as a boy...

I was a so-called alpha animal.

I was always the leading one.
They were listening to me.

Of course, the strong believers
want to have

nothing to do
with Erich's crazy ideas.

But I had these thoughts
in my mind

where I was kneeling here,
and I said

my God was omnipotent.

My God did not need a vehicle

to move from one point "A"
to point "B."

My God was all over,
so all this was confusing.

And it all started
in this church here.

So, amongst your teachers,
did you have a Jesuit priest

who said, "Erich, you know,
if you're interested in this",

- you should go and read this or that"?
- Exactly.

These Jesuit priests
were absolutely not orthodox.

They were absolutely friendly
and helpful.

I remember one,

I talked to him
about my thoughts,

and he said,
"Erich, you should read Enoch."

NARRATOR:
Believed to have been written

by Jewish mystics
in the third century BC,

the Book of Enoch

tells the story
of the archangel Michael

coming to Earth
to take the mortal Enoch

into the heavenly realms.

Once there,
Enoch is educated by the angels.

Enoch is taken up
to the highest,

which is the commander
in spaceship

of the extraterrestrials,

and he learned engineering
and astronomy

from the extraterrestrials.

The commander said,
"Some of our people

"had sex with humans,
and they created giants.

"And we have to destroy humanity
with these giants,

and we can do it
only by a great flood."

The great flood was created

by extraterrestrials on purpose.

In all mythologies,
including the Bible,

some Gods are coming down
and teach the human,

"A great flood will come
and destroy you."

And these Gods,

they knew it long before,

and they knew it
because they themselves

made the great flood.

NARRATOR:
Because the Book of Enoch

was edited out
of the traditional Bible

sometime in the fourth century,

it is considered to be
too far-fetched to be credible

by most people of faith.

But to a young
Erich von Daniken,

the Book of Enoch
represented a gateway

into a world of hidden
and forbidden knowledge.

VON DANIKEN:
After I read Enoch,

I felt myself like an explorer

who goes into a jungle
and sees new flowers.

I said, if Enoch is correct,

then there must be
more information

of old writers, old historian,
so I was always looking,

and there was more
and more coming.

Then this fire in me said,

"Erich, don't write about things
which you don't know.

"Go there, touch them,

smell them,
speak to the people."

I was absolutely sure
not only in my feelings,

but in my knowledge.

I was on the right track,
so I was fighting for it.

So you were never
an armchair researcher.

You were an explorer.

Absolutely, I was an explorer.

One of my best friends
was an Egyptian,

and he invited me...
I was 18 and a half years old...

To Egypt for three weeks.

Climbing up the pyramids,
being under the pyramid

in Saqqara in the Serapeum,
etcetera.

So I knew all this
from a young man.

Of course, I visited in Egypt
the Great Pyramid,

and it impressed me
very, very much.

I always have the feeling

this is not only done by humans.

Especially in Egyptology,
many archeologists,

they believe
that they know everything.

In reality, there are thousands
of open questions,

starting with the builder
of the Great Pyramid.

NARRATOR: Exhilarated
by his trip to Egypt,

Erich spent the next decade

traveling to all of the sites
he'd read about as a boy.

But rather than examining
megalithic structures

and strange carvings

from a traditional,
academic perspective,

he looked at the world
through the eyes of someone

who was open
to bold, new interpretations.

I was not just a young man

jumping
to some archeological place.

Before I went there,
I read the archeological book.

Then I had to go out there,
speak to the people,

ask for their mythology,
for their explanation.

And only when all this
came together,

the scientific information
and the personal information,

then I write about it.

Archeology
is not an exact science.

It's a science

where you assemble things,
and then you make out your mind.

That was my way to try to do it.

NARRATOR:
In Peru,

von Daniken investigated
the famous Nazca Lines,

giant lines and symbols etched
into the Earth

that can only be properly viewed
from high above the ground.

I read about Nazca
in the newspaper.

And I saw a first picture,
only one picture,

which showed a line
in the desert.

Nazca was not known at all
to the public.

So I said, "What is this?
You have to go there."

I suggested
in Chariots of the Gods?

It has something to do
with the extraterrestrials.

In my opinion, our ancestor made

these gigantic signs
in the ground

because they want to signalize
to the beings up there,

"We are here. Come down here."

NARRATOR:
After each trip,

Erich returned
to his regular job

as the manager of a hotel
in Davos, Switzerland.

Once there, he would save
every franc he earned

in order to finance
his next trips.

Eventually,
his globe-trotting paid off

in the form of Erich's
first best-selling book,

Chariots of the Gods?

Did you ever imagine
that your ideas

would become so big
over the decades?

No, not at all.

And in the beginning,
I found no publisher.

Nobody wanted to publish it.

20 publishers rejected it,
and, then, that's another story.

Finally,
the book was on the market.

I was never thinking that this
would create a world...

a storm around the world
of controversy.

Well, this is
incredibly special,

and I feel very honored
that you brought me here,

because this, uh,
this is something else.

The beginning
of Chariots of the Gods?, here.

NARRATOR:
With the publication

of Chariots of the Gods?
In 1968,

what began as the bold notions
of a curious schoolboy

was about to create
a paradigm shift

in the way mankind
would view the universe.

There would be no turning back.

NARRATOR:
June 20, 1969.

(beeping)

MAN:
Okay, Neil,

we can see you
coming down the ladder now.

OK Neil. We're coming down
thro' the lader now.

NARRATOR: American astronaut
Neil Armstrong

becomes the first human
in recorded history

to set foot
on an astronomical body

other than Planet Earth.

NARRATOR:
With one small step,

he becomes our planet's first
official extraterrestrial.

Within an instant,

fanciful notions of aliens
and spaceships

became a sobering reality.

When it happened,

the entire planet erupted
in just absolute ecstasy.

♪ ♪

It was a huge moment

for the human spirit.

It was considered a victory

for all of humanity.

Suddenly,
science fiction became real,

and it opened up
a new age of exploration.

And this prompted many
to question whether or not

we were, in fact, the first

to step on the surface
of the Moon or not.

NARRATOR: Science fiction
had now become science fact.

And books like Erich von
Daniken's Chariots of the Gods?,

though no less controversial,

were gaining wider acceptance
with the general public.

The book also took on
an almost cult status,

with eventual printings
in more than 28 languages.

CHILDRESS: I was in high school
at the time.

And one of the things I liked
was that he was looking

at ancient sites from a
completely different perspective

than other historians.

And here they were,

uh, images of extraterrestrials,

mysterious giant walls.

And I wanted
to go see them myself.

HENRY: I remember looking
through that book

and instantly connecting
with the images.

There was something
very familiar

about some of the pictures
that he showed

of the ancient aliens
on cave walls.

I was instantly hooked.

Since the 1970s,
we've seen a major explosion

in interest in this area.

FOX: I learned
about Chariots of the Gods?

And it blew my mind.

It resonated with me so deeply.

It just sank in
as a truth for me.

LINDA MOULTON HOWE:
That book,

it gave us all permission
to talk

about extraterrestrials
coming to Earth

and that there could be
other explanations

for biblical and religious
literature than angels.

TSOUKALOS: My grandmother
was incredibly open-minded.

And instead of reading
ordinary bedtime stories to me,

she would read Chariots
of the Gods? sometimes.

But I was five, six,
seven years old,

so she is the one
that actually planted the seed.

To all of a sudden suggest

that contact
with extraterrestrials

may have happened
in our remote past,

that was revolutionary.

NARRATOR:
In 1970,

Sun Classic Pictures released
a feature-length documentary

based on von Daniken's book.

ANNOUNCER:
Chariots of the Gods?,

the international best seller
by Erich von Daniken

that shattered
conventional theories

about history and archaeology.

Now Sun International
brings it to the screen

in a startling new film.

NARRATOR:
Originally produced in Germany,

the American language version
of the film

became the ninth
highest grossing movie

in North America that year,

an incredible achievement
for a documentary.

It was even nominated
for an Oscar.

GRAHAM: This was hugely, hugely
popular when it was released.

The impact of that documentary
can't be understated,

nor of the book.

The notion
of ancient alien visitation

went from being discussed
on the fringes,

uh, within
the ufological subculture

to being something
that was discussed

around the water cooler
at work, for example.

NARRATOR:
But while many believed

that Erich von Daniken
had introduced them

to a new way
of interpreting humanity's past,

there were others, particularly
those in the religious

and academic communities,

who believed Chariots
of the Gods? was an attack

on established spiritual
and archaeological narratives.

They criticized
von Daniken's methods

and brutally dismissed his book

as nothing more
than pseudoscience.

If you think of these claims,

if only they were true, they
would be amazingly interesting,

that we have been visited
by beings from elsewhere

who not only have created
our civilization for us

but mated with human beings.

It's, in my view, much more
likely to successfully mate

with a petunia
than an extraterrestrial.

NARRATOR:
But, to the surprise of many,

von Daniken was not offended
by his critics.

Instead, he welcomed them.

He believed
that his book was meant

to ask profound questions,

not give answers.

Criticism, especially
constructive criticism,

he argued, would make
his findings stronger

and even more convincing.

In Delhi, in India,

there is a temple
and there is an iron pillar.

I was there
as a 22-year old man,

and this iron pillar
did not rust.

I was touching it,
and the local priest said,

"This is here since centuries
and centuries

and there's not rust,"
so I speculated

in Chariots of the Gods?

Maybe it's
an extraterrestrial connection.

In the meantime,
this damn thing is rusting.

So what can you do?

You-you were simply wrong,
so you accept this.

I was too young.
I was not self-critical enough.

I had to learn that sometime
the critics were right

and I was wrong,

but that's a process
of learning.

Given the mystery of space
and the...

fantastic things that we're
beginning to see in quantum,

everything is possible.

There's so much that is bizarre

that we can
scientifically examine.

I mean, we're trying
to find an explanation

why the universe is expanding
when it should be contracting,

and we apply some theory to it.

Why not have ancient aliens
come to Earth

and build the pyramids,

even though it's bizarre.

Bizarre is good,

uh, because it stirs us up.

FOX:
I think people resist

anything that challenges the
current paradigm quite often.

And people also don't want
their life's work challenged.

So if someone
is that person who's put forth

the theory that's been accepted,

they don't want you
to take that from them

by producing new evidence.

NARRATOR:
Ironically,

one of von Daniken's
most ardent defenders

started out as one
of his most outspoken critics.

While making a presentation
in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1972,

von Daniken relayed his theory

that the Bible's
Book of Ezekiel,

rather than describing
an encounter with an angel,

was actually the story of
an extraterrestrial visitation.

In the account,
the prophet Ezekiel

describes a flying chariot
drawn by four living creatures.

Each creature is flanked
by a metallic object,

a wheel within a wheel,

that Ezekiel observes
as it descends,

making a tremendous amount
of noise.

During his speech,

Erich talked about Ezekiel

and the wheel that he witnessed

and also that he was taken up
in this "glory of the Lord,"

as it is described in the Bible,

and likened it
to a type of spaceship.

NARRATOR: In the audience was
NASA engineer Josef Blumrich,

who conducted design research

for the Saturn V rocket
and Skylab.

As a spacecraft designer,

he was certain
that he could easily refute

this interpretation
of Ezekiel's wheel.

TSOUKALOS: After the lecture,
Blumrich goes up to Erich

and he says,
"You know, this was interesting,

"but I will defy you.

"I will go
and read the Bible tonight

"and I will then write a thesis

how what you said tonight
is total nonsense."

NARRATOR:
But after painstaking research,

Blumrich was shocked
to find himself agreeing

with Erich von Daniken.

He became convinced
that the Book of Ezekiel

was indeed describing
some sort of spacecraft,

and he was able to design
a practical landing module

using the description
found in the biblical texts.

In 1974,

he published his findings
in his book.

The Spaceships of Ezekiel.

Now, what's so fascinating
is that, to this day,

Blumrich and NASA hold a patent

for an omnidirectional wheel,

a wheel
that actually goes forward

and also goes sideways

without having
to have a steering movement.

The omnidirectional wheel
is a common technology

used today
in many, many forklifts,

because it allows you
to get underneath the product

without having to move
in a obstructive way.

And the omnidirectional wheel
today exists

because of
an Old Testament reference

that Blumrich found in none
other than the Book of Ezekiel.

NARRATOR:
Ancient astronaut theory

had found its first champion
in the scientific community.

But perhaps even more impactful

would be the author's influence

on a younger
and more open-minded generation

of scholars, intellectuals
and creative artists.

A creative community
that included filmmakers

who would soon create
the most influential

and successful science fiction
films of all time.

NARRATOR:
1975 saw the publication

of Erich von Daniken's
fifth best-selling book,

Miracles of the Gods,

in which
the increasingly prolific author

examines miracles
and other paranormal phenomena

through the prism
of what was now being called

ancient astronaut theory.

The success of the book led

to yet another
cinematic adaptation.

Originally produced in Germany,

Mysteries of the Gods
was hosted by William Shatner.

As Captain Kirk,
and with the rest of the crew

of the USS Enterprise,
we made many wondrous voyages

into the future,
but that was fiction.

I'd like to take you along
on another kind of voyage,

but this is based on reality.

NARRATOR:
Like Chariots of the Gods?,

it chronicled many of von
Daniken's more recent topics,

including crystal skulls,
tribal rituals

and UFO encounters.

What is NASA's opinion

of the possibility
of life in outer space?

We have concluded that, uh, you
can create life-building blocks

in the laboratory,
which could mean

that it's just as easy
out in the universe.

Do you think
extraterrestrial beings

could have come here
5,000 years ago?

Definitely possible.

Being part of that film
and reading the book,

I would think
that von Daniken's theory

of ancient aliens also represent
a yearning for somebody higher,

a daddy figure
to take care of us.

(theme to Star Wars plays)

NARRATOR:
May 25, 1977.

(applause and cheering,
whistling)

♪ ♪

Star Wars opens in limited
release across America.

They're coming in too fast!

- I got him!
- Great, kid!

- Don't get cocky.
- (whooshing)

NARRATOR: Written and directed
by George Lucas...

- (chirping)
- Don't you call me a mindless

philosopher,
you overweight blob of grease!

NARRATOR: it tells the story
of a farm boy...

She's beautiful!

NARRATOR: who grows
up on a distant planet...

I'm Luke Skywalker.
I'm here to rescue you.

- (weapons firing)
- This is some rescue!

Somebody has to save our skins.

NARRATOR:
and finds himself caught up

in a galactic rebellion.

Now I am the master.

Only a master of evil, Darth.

(weapons firing)

This is Red Five. I'm going in.

You're all clear, kid! Now let's
blow this thing and go home.

NARRATOR:
Its impact...

- is explosive.
- (exhales)

OBI-WAN KENOBI:
The Force will be with you.

Always.

NARRATOR: But among the elements
that make the movie

and its equally successful
sequels distinctive

from previous science fiction
offerings is the line

that greets audiences
at the very start of the film:

It is a line that could have
only made sense to people

who were familiar with Erich von
Daniken's Chariots of the Gods?

DAVID CHILDRESS:
Science fiction

up to that time had always been
things happening in the future.

But when Star Wars came out,
suddenly,

here was science fiction
happening in the remote past.

This was exactly what Erich
von Daniken was writing about

in Chariots of the Gods?

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Close on the heels of
Star Wars' phenomenal success

was a small-screen
space adventure

that owed even more
to von Daniken's vision.

(weapons firing)

Launch.

NARRATOR:
Released to television in 1978,

Battlestar Galactica
told the story of a group

of extraterrestrial exiles
looking for a promised land.

With costumes and art direction

that looked distinctly Egyptian,

the series suggested

that the characters in the story
most likely found a home

on Earth in the distant past.

Another ancient astronaut-based
film that rivaled Star Wars

in both box office success
and cultural impact

was Steven Spielberg's Close
Encounters of the Third Kind.

The film's depiction
of extraterrestrials

as both benign and benevolent
owed much

to von Daniken's theory
that aliens are just as curious

about us as we are about them.

The cultural impact of Chariots
of the Gods? remains immense.

Everything
from Star Trek, to The X-Files,

to the Alien franchise

has kind of incorporated

these ancient astronaut ideas.

HENRY: Chariots of the Gods?
Has enabled

creative types,
from across the board...

In films, in television shows,
in novels...

To-to really explore
this ultimate question of

where did we come from?

And that is, I think,

what ultimately
drives this phenomenon.

Deep within us,
we're almost programmed

to answer that question
in a creative way.

To come up with a book

that says aliens visited Earth,
and then to have movies

and television
and radio and-and newspapers

and-and comic books
deliver that message,

uh, has to affect generations,
absolutely.

NARRATOR: But as science fiction
buffs will tell you,

the idea of intelligent aliens
coming to Earth

and shaping its future
thousands of years ago

was not entirely a new one.

In 1961, Russian physicist and
mathematician Matest Agrest

published a controversial paper
proposing

that extraterrestrials
had visited.

Earth's ancient civilizations.

Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film

2001: A Space Odyssey was based

on Arthur C. Clarke's book
The Sentinel,

written more
than a decade earlier.

So you had a number of films
that began to tap very directly

into ancient astronaut lore.

In 1980, you had the release
of a film called Hangar 18.

It concerns attempted reverse
engineering of alien technology.

Moving into the 1990s,
you had the film Stargate,

which was directed
by Roland Emmerich.

Roland Emmerich has made
no secret of the fact

that he was very directly
inspired by Erich von Daniken.

Other examples would include
the 2011 film Cowboys & Aliens,

which was produced
by Steven Spielberg;

the Marvel production of Thor,

which concerns
ancient Norse Gods

being actually
extraterrestrials;

and Ridley Scott's
Prometheus from 2012.

During the promotional campaign
for that,

he was very open
about the fact

that he was directly influenced
by Erich von Daniken.

FOX: I do feel like
it permeates pop culture

to the point now where, if you
took a survey of young adults,

I would assume the majority
of them are probably very open

to the idea
that extraterrestrials

have visited us at some point,
present, or in the distant past.

NARRATOR: But why is it that
the public seems more open now

to Erich von Daniken's ideas

than at the time when the book
was first written?

COLLINS:
The question comes of

are we being influenced

from some kind
of non-terrestrial source?

Is it possible that perhaps

cosmic beings, extraterrestrials
are influencing certain people

to externalize
our alien origins?

POPE: Science fiction
may be entertainment,

but when you look
at Hollywood blockbusters,

so many of them relate to

how we interact with
other species in the universe.

Why is that?

Perhaps this is hard-wired
into us.

We know that this was our past,

and we know
that it will be our future.

There has never been
a time in history

when humanity was more prepared

for the appearance
of these extraterrestrials.

Through our modern science, our
understanding of space travel,

coupled with our entertainment
and our culture

that's been preparing us for the
existence of extraterrestrials,

we are now absolutely more ready

than ever for the appearance
of these beings.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that there was

an extraterrestrial inspiration
behind Chariots of the Gods?

And if so, are we being prepared
for a reconnection

with the same beings that,
according to Erich von Daniken,

visited Earth
thousands of years ago?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

and suggest
further evidence can be found

by examining the vast influence
the book has had,

and continues to have,
all across the world.

During the decades
that followed the publication

of Chariots of the Gods?,

ancient astronaut theory
was becoming a movement.

Growing millions of people

were now increasingly open
to the idea

that not only are humans
not alone in the universe,

but that intelligent aliens
continue

to monitor their progress.

HOWE:
And so something

began to turn
in the entire American psyche.

People are asking
very intelligent questions.

NARRATOR:
Although still rejected

by mainstream scholars
and archaeologists,

it was attracting a growing army

of researchers,
writers and journalists.

Erich was making these places
very exciting and fascinating.

And for me, it was exciting

that, wow,
all these places were out there.

They can be seen.
They're real.

So I really have
to give him the credit

because it helped me
travel around the world.

Reading Erich's books gave me
a whole new view on the past.

HENRY:And I remember
looking through that book,

and I was instantly hooked.

And really just started diving
deep into this whole idea,

this theory that humans
had long ago interacted with,

and been incredibly altered by,
extraterrestrial beings.

NARRATOR:
Fueling the growing army

of ancient astronaut theorists

were exciting new
archaeological discoveries,

like Gobekli Tepe,
a series of stone monoliths

found buried in the plains near
Sanliurfa, Turkey in 1996.

According to radiocarbon dating,

the structures could be
as much as 12,000 years old,

more than 5,000 years older

than the earliest known
civilization in Mesopotamia.

PAUL BAHN: The site of
Gobekli Tepe in Southeast Turkey

very rapidly became
one of the most important

archeological sites
in the world,

because we'd never before
known or imagined, even,

that simple hunter-gatherers
could produce

such spectacular
monumental structures

as are found at Gobekli Tepe.

These limestone pillars
are up to 18 feet high.

They're beautifully dressed
and smoothed.

We've never seen work like that
from that period before.

And the geomagnetic analyses
that have been done

of what's under the surface
seem to indicate

that there are at least
20 major circular structures

in this mound.

And so far they've
dug up to half of them,

but there's still
an awful lot of work to go.

CHILDRESS:
Erich had theorized

that these
ancient civilizations,

many of them in contact or
developed by extraterrestrials,

were destroyed...

in a cataclysm like
the biblical flood of the Bible.

Gobekli Tepe was built
over 12,000 years ago,

and we have no records
of it being built

or who built it.

So you have to ask yourself:
were the people

who built Gobekli Tepe
destroyed in a great flood

like was depicted in the Bible?

FOX: The theory
that I gravitate to the most

is just that there was a...

a pre-flood
advanced civilization

that was almost entirely
eradicated at some point.

And the idea of that being
connected to the Younger Dryas,

because there do seem to be

a lot of these
megalithic structures

that were erected
around the same time.

Like you have Robert Schoch,
who's dated the Sphinx,

I think, to 12,000 years ago.

And we have Gobekli Tepe, which
turned everything on its head.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Another,
even more recent, discovery

that has added fuel to
the ancient astronaut argument

was made in West Java,
Indonesia.

In 2011,

archaeologists began
a formal excavation of a site

known as Gunung Padang,
or "Mountain of Light."

Gunung Padang is a megalithic

pyramid hill in Java.

A Javanese geologist
by the name of Danny Hilman

has led a team to investigate
the deeper levels of the site.

And he's found
indisputable evidence

that it goes back
to at least 8000 BC.

And, indeed, in the center of it

is what appears to be
a lava tube,

and that has given
dating evidence

that suggests that
there was human activity there

as early as 25000 BC.

NARRATOR:
25000 BC?

Could this pyramid-shaped hill
really be hiding a structure

that ancient humans built

20,000 years before
the first known civilization?

Utilizing
ground-penetrating radar

and seismic tomographic scans,

geologists discovered
that concealed beneath the Earth

is a step pyramid
that is over 300 feet tall.

Gunung Padang is, of course,
linked to local mythology.

And in local mythology, it
means the "Mountain of Light."

In Indonesian star lore,

there's a constellation
of particular interest.

They call it Vendum Viduk.

We call it Ursa Major.

It is thought that it is
the shape of a boat,

and that the original craft,

the original starship
carrying the people,

came from this place
to their land.

Their houses, the longhouses,
the community structures,

are built
in the shape of a boat,

always facing northward,

in honor of the place
of their origins.

These star travelers
are said to have started

the original royal family.

The name of the people, Toraja,

means "those who come
from the stars."

NARRATOR:
Adding to the compelling notion

of "star travelers"
are the ever-increasing number

of archaeological discoveries
that feature carvings

of what appear to be spacemen.

Although many earlier examples
had already been chronicled

in von Daniken's early books,

the sheer number
of recent finds...

And the global nature of them...
Has helped to undermine

the notion that
these ancient petroglyphs

are entirely based on myth.

CHILDRESS: There is
a vast number of ancient images

that appear to be people
in space suits.

Some of these are in remote
places, like southern Algeria,

where even archeologists
have given names

to these people in space suits,

like "the Martian God"
and things like that.

Many of the petroglyphs
at Nine Mile Canyon in Utah

are very strange.

At the Family Panel,
we see what appears to be

a man and a woman
standing there.

They seem to have space helmets
on their heads with antenna.

The Navajos themselves
claim that these petroglyphs

were from people
who were before the flood,

before this cataclysm
had come to the Earth.

And they maintain
that these images

were many thousands
of years old.

NARRATOR: But rock carvings
and ancient monoliths

are not the only recent
discoveries that have helped

build upon Erich von Daniken's
original theory.

There are some made
of flesh and bone,

and where
the scientific evidence

of ancient astronauts
might be... indisputable.

NARRATOR:
Paracas, Peru.

February 2018.

In his ongoing search
for further evidence

that ancient aliens came
to Earth centuries ago,

Erich von Daniken travels
to the Paracas History Museum

to meet with the museum's
assistant director,

Brien Foerster.

Foerster has promised
to give him an up-close look

at a remarkable collection
of skulls...

Skulls which
von Daniken believes

- are not of human origin.
- FOERSTER: These were all found

in the same tomb, and so they
were members of the same family.

NARRATOR:
Over the years,

hundreds of strangely
elongated human-like skulls

have been found
all over the world...

From Australia, where
the skulls were estimated to be

at least 10,000 years old,

to the Ukraine, where they
were found in catacombs

that are known to date back
at least 5,000 years.

Because throughout history
various cultures have engaged

in the ritual practice
of artificially elongating

the skulls of infants
by tightly wrapping their heads,

most members
of both the scientific

and academic communities
have dismissed the skulls

found in Peru
as having been created

by using the same method.

But Brien Foerster is

one of a growing handful
that does not agree.

According to his years
of research,

a number of the skulls on
display at the Paracas museum

exhibit other characteristics
that cannot be explained

by the native practice
of head-binding.

What's controversial about
the elongated skulls is that,

in many cases,
the cranial capacity

is larger than a normal human.

And therefore, they
would not simply be examples

of cranial deformation,

but possibly a separate
subspecies of humanity,

or more.

Now...

- Oh, wow, wow, wow.
- Yeah.

At least 20, if not more,
I would suggest here.

Mm-hmm. This is
the main display case.

This is a normal-looking
human skull

from the Inca time period.

This was a farmer.

But then you see
the variation in shapes.

You have ones which are
horizontally elongated,

like that one.

And then you have
the classic vertical elongation.

And notice the size
of the eye sockets.

The eye sockets are,
in some cases, 50% larger

than a normal human being.

VON DANIKEN:
Wow. Absolutely incredible.

You have two possibilities.
Are we humans

made the change?

Artificially,
we pressed the head together,

- the bones together.
- Mm-hmm.

Or we have to do, again,
with extraterrestrials.

FOERSTER: Very unlikely that
it's simple cranial deformation.

I think, genetically,

this person may have been born
with an elongated skull.

What can you explain me
to this here?

Well, I want you
to go ahead and hold this.

Mamma mia!

That's a classic
Paracas elongated skull.

Yes, except for there is
no fontanel. I see nada.

Exactly. The sagittal
suture is missing.

Something is wrong here.

NARRATOR:
Missing the sagittal suture?

The fibrous tissue joint
found on every human skull

connecting the two large bones
that protect the brain?

But how could it be missing?

FOERSTER:
And so medical professionals

are absolutely dumbfounded
when they see it.

It doesn't...

fit in with...
a normal human skull.

Incredible.

NARRATOR: Eight years
after Erich von Daniken

wrote Chariots of the Gods?,

author and researcher
Zecharia Sitchin

began publishing his
Earth Chronicles book series,

which also proposed
that ancient aliens

had a hand in the creation
and development of humankind.

In There Were Giants
Upon the Earth,

Sitchin suggested
that extraterrestrial DNA

still exists in humans,

and that the proof
might be found

by closely examining
the ancient skull

of a Sumerian queen who ruled
sometime around 2500 BC

and which is
currently being stored

at the Natural History Museum
in London.

One of the greatest researchers
of our time

in the ancient astronaut theory,
Zecharia Sitchin,

who passed away in 2010,
had one last wish,

closing out
his legacy of research,

which was to test
the remains of Queen Puabi.

Sitchin spent 50 years
of research

looking into Sumerian cuneiform,
and putting forth the idea

that the Anunnaki,
these extraterrestrial Gods,

visited ancient Sumer.

And what's
really interesting is that

she was actually known
as Nin-Puabi,

with the "Nin" actually
representing the term "Goddess"

in the Sumerian language.

So Zecharia Sitchin felt
very strongly

that if
the Natural History Museum

were to do genetic testing
on Queen Puabi,

that we would find that there
are parts of her DNA

that are extraterrestrial.

It's said that she had
an elongated head,

as many of the kings and queens
and royalty of Sumeria had,

as did the Anunnaki.

And some say that she had
more teeth in her mouth

than a normal human.

If they won't test these
remains, you have to ask why.

Is there some secret
encoded in that DNA

that they don't want to hear?

Might it be that the remains
of Queen Puabi could prove

for once and for all that
ancient astronaut theory

isn't theory after all?

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that proof

of humanity's extraterrestrial
origins actually exists?

And if so, could it currently
be sitting... unexamined...

On a shelf in a London museum?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

but believe equally
compelling evidence

can also be found,
and on a much larger scale,

hiding in plain sight.

NARRATOR:
July 20, 1969.

Apollo 11 astronauts
Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong

plant an American flag
on the Moon.

It is the commemoration
of an historic moment,

as two humans become the first
alien visitors from Earth

to land on another
celestial body.

In his book
Chariots of the Gods?,

Erich von Daniken suggested

that not only did
extraterrestrial visitors

from other planets come to Earth
in the distant past,

but that they,
like the American astronauts,

also commemorated their visits

in the form of mysterious
carvings and structures.

VON DANIKEN: These visitors
did not plant a flag.

They have left proof,
definitive proof.

COLLINS:
All the way around the world

we find ancient monuments

that have some kind of
relationship to the stars.

Whether they reflect
the astronomical positions

of a particular star group

or they are aligned
with precision

towards the rising
or setting of a star.

Now what does this mean?

Is it possible
that they are places

of origins of cosmic beings?

It's their flag.
"Yes, we were here."

NARRATOR: In the decades since
the publication

of Chariots of the Gods?,
ancient astronaut theorists

have looked for other examples

of alien architecture
here on Earth.

One location
of particular interest

is the Giza Plateau in Egypt.

In the late 1980s,

author and ancient Egyptian
researcher Robert Bauval

introduced his
Orion correlation theory.

It suggested that the pyramids
of Giza were built

to align with
the belt stars of Orion.

ROBERT BAUVAL: Orion's Belt is
made up of three bright stars.

There's two bright stars
and a third dimmer star,

which is offset a bit
to the left.

It's exactly what you see
on the ground,

two large pyramids in alignment

with a third pyramid offset.

NARRATOR: Similar pyramid
alignments to the belt stars

of Orion were also discovered
halfway around the world

at the ancient Aztec pyramid
complex of Teotihuacan,

just outside of Mexico City.

The central road of Teotihuacan,
the Avenue of the Dead,

connects three massive
pyramids.

Not only are
these structures aligned

with the three stars
of Orion's belt,

but the Avenue
of the Dead, itself,

points towards
the Pleiades star cluster.

There was a tremendous amount
of discussion about this,

starting in the late '80s
to the '90s.

And what it did was make us all
start thinking

about the surface of the Earth
in relationship to the stars

and other intelligences
that would come here.

NARRATOR: A similar celestial
alignment is seen

on the Mediterranean island
of Sardinia,

where an ancient culture
known as the Nuraghe

built megalithic towers.

Santu Antine is one of the
largest Neolithic sites

on Sardinia.

What's very interesting about it
is that, when we look at it,

along with the seven other
structures, it is patterned

after the star cluster
the Pleiades.

What does this tell us?

Well, it tells us that
it's possible that

the inhabitants of Sardinia
were actually in contact

with beings from the Pleiades,

and that they created this
incredible Neolithic structure

to commemorate, perhaps,
a visitation,

or perhaps a desire to travel
to the Pleiades.

The fact that so many
of these structures

do align to the Pleiades

is perhaps a clue that the
Pleiades are hugely important.

Hermes Trismegistus,
who is the Greek name

for the Egyptian God Thoth,

said that "Egypt is the mirror
of the heavens."

And, based on that,

ancient Egyptians had
this belief

that the earthly Nile was
a mirror of the heavenly Nile,

the Milky Way.

The ancient Egyptians placed
their pyramids

in specific places

so that they could ultimately
unite ancient Egypt

with the stars.

All of these alignments
are so precise

and align with the Milky Way
as it would have been seen

in the night sky
around 11000 BC.

What you can do with
astronomical programs is

to sort of rewind the clock.

You can look back and say, okay,
when was there a time

when there was a star
in this exact position

and all the other
pyramids also align

with different stellar
configurations?

And what that would mean is that
ancient Egyptian civilization

went back far farther into
the past than we believe today.

POPE: These structures are like
"X marks the spot."

What they say, perhaps,
is "We were here."

That's what civilizations do.
That's what people do.

When they visit something,
they leave something.

NARRATOR: In recent years,
a growing number

of ancient astronaut theorists
have suggested that

not only did extraterrestrials
influence our ancestors

as to the precise positioning
of important structures,

but they did so in a way
that was designed

to tap into the Earth's
natural energy.

There are various places
around our planet

that are said to be
power places;

places of vortex energy.

And they are all connected
to this worldwide energy grid

that surrounds our planet

and that these places are areas
where energy lines cross.

It might be that
extraterrestrials are also

tapping into this worldwide
energy grid.

NARRATOR: Curiously, at many
mysterious sites worldwide,

researchers have noted yet
another peculiar connection.

Many early depictions
of the so-called "Gods"

have been immortalized carrying
what appears to be

a type of handbag.

CHILDRESS:
These mysterious handbags

are held by the Sumerian Gods.

We find it in Mexico
with the Olmecs.

We find it in Mongolia, as well.

We find it in Colombia.

It may be some type of
misunderstood technology.

Perhaps it was some type
of a tool bag,

or some type of, maybe,
a breathing apparatus

for extraterrestrials,

because it doesn't look like
a fashion item.

It looks more like
a transmitter,

an old cell phone, a computer.

If you look at our astronauts
as they're walking

from the launch tower
into the spacecraft,

they carry a suitcase system.

That's their temporary
life-support system.

It's very possible that
this is something similar.

NARRATOR: Ancient astronaut
theorists have also noted

that there appears to be
a common narrative thread

amongst the cultures where
the depictions are present.

As we begin to trace
this handbag symbol,

we see that it appears
at Gobekli Tepe,

where there is this sudden spike
in civilization.

It reappears in Sumeria,
where we suddenly have

this infusion of knowledge.

Same thing virtually every place
this handbag appears,

we find this sudden spike,
or infusion, of new knowledge.

There are tales in ancient
Mesopotamia of a figure

thought of as
the bringer of civilization,

sometimes called Adapa,
or Dagan, or Oannes,

sometimes described as
fish-tailed or bird-headed,

and this character is
carrying a bag.

And in that bag, all of the
learning, all of the sciences,

all of the imagination
that humanity will ever need.

There's a theory that
they had the ability

to levitate through energy that
might have been given to us

by a-an alien.

I mean, it's
a science fiction concept,

but we don't know for sure.

Although we know that the Aztecs
and the Egyptians

and the people that
came before them did have

some technology, we don't even
know how much technology

they might have had.

That's why von Daniken's theory
is possible.

NARRATOR:
Is Erich von Daniken,

and those that have
followed him,

simply inspired by
individual curiosity,

or is there some other,
even more profound, reason

why ancient astronaut theory
has become more popular

and more widely accepted
than ever?

Perhaps the answer can be found

by returning to one
of the places

von Daniken first visited

more than 50 years ago.

NARRATOR:
Peru.

February 2018.

50 years after the publication
of his first book,

Chariots of the Gods?,
Erich von Daniken

returns to one of the sites
that helped

inspire him,
the mysterious Nazca plateau.

Joining him is ancient astronaut
researcher Brien Foerster.

So this is the first time
you're flying from Ica?

I was here,

but I was flying over Nazca,
I think, at least 50 times.

FOERSTER:
There's always more

to see every time you fly over.

It's very, very impressive.

FOERSTER:
It was Erich von Daniken,

with his book
Chariots of the Gods?,

who exposed the Nazca lines
and figures to the world.

And to actually fly
over Nazca with him

is something
I will never forget.

NARRATOR:
Erich and Brien's flight path

takes them over the lesser-known
area called Palpa,

which is situated between
the cities of Paracas and Nazca.

There they will investigate
evidence of a new discovery.

FOERSTER:
There are at least a thousand

geoglyphs in this area.

And very few people fly
over Palpa, which is a-a shame,

because we can see
figure after figure now here.

Yeah, Palpa has a lot
of very bizarre designs.

Almost, uh, anthropomorphic.

Crosses between a human
and an insect.

We're basically in the middle
of nowhere, more or less.

This is complete desert.

So why so many lines
and geoglyphs

in such an obscure location?

VON DANIKEN: Look.
One of the long lines crossing

- over the hills over there.
- Oh, yeah.

- Which is another mystery here.
- It is.

NARRATOR: According
to mainstream archaeologists,

the ancient Nazca culture

created these mysterious lines

between the first
and eighth century AD,

although no one knows exactly
why they were created.

It is also believed
that the images,

which cover an area
of over 170 square miles,

were produced by manually
scraping away the top layer

of reddish iron-rich soil

in order to create designs out
of the lighter,

yellowish ground underneath.

VON DANIKEN: By the way,
I hear from a local...

The pilot here,
the longest of the small lines

goes over 23 kilometers
straight ahead,

over hills, mountains,
and then crossing the desert.

FOERSTER:
I'm seeing a lot more today

than I've ever seen before.

Here are at least 20 lines
under me.

Really fantastic.

NARRATOR: As their flight enters
into the Nazca city limits,

they are greeted
by what Erich regards

as a friendly
and familiar figure.

- There he is.
- Yeah.

VON DANIKEN: They call
this figure El Astronauta,

- the Astronaut.
- Right.

VON DANIKEN:
It looks like an astronaut,

- like a helmet on, et cetera.
- Yeah.

It must come to the world

that this is a mystery made
for flying machines,

made for so-called Gods who fly.

The natives want
to give them sign.

"Hey, look at us.
Come down.

"Make a stop over here.

"We are here.
We are waiting for you.

We have offerings for you.
We have food for you."

I am absolutely convinced.
I have no doubt.

I know too much about it.

There were extraterrestrials
on this planet

some thousands of years ago.

NARRATOR: In the 50 years
since the publication

of Chariots of the Gods?,

many other large-scale
earth markings

have been found to exist
throughout the planet,

including recent discoveries
across Saudi Arabia,

Syria, Jordan

and the Ural Mountains
in Russia.

In 2011,

archaeologist Sarah Parcak
announced

that she had located
17 potentially unknown pyramids,

more than 1,000 tombs

and some 3,000
ancient human settlements

buried under the sands of Egypt.

She was able to accomplish
this unprecedented feat

by utilizing
a revolutionary new tool

known as space archaeology.

TSOUKALOS:
She found 3,000 structures

just by looking
at satellite imagery.

That is extraordinary,
something that,

ten or 20 years ago,

was absolute science fiction.

NARRATOR: The use
of infrared satellite technology

is also revolutionizing
the world

of ancient astronaut
exploration.

Cairo has
the Great Pyramids of Giza.

Luxor has all these ancient
Egyptian temples and tombs.

But what you don't know

is that more than 90% percent

is still hidden
under the sands of Egypt.

Archaeology has probably only
uncovered around ten percent,

maybe even less,

of the ruins

and evidence
of past civilizations.

And it may well be the case

that in some of these ruins
may be the evidence

that we require to show

that extraterrestrials visited
the Earth back at that time.

NARRATOR:
In 2015,

NASA scientists working on
the International Space Station

released photos of a group
of more than 200 giant circles,

lines and rings formed
by dirt mounds

in the Turgai area
of Northern Kazakhstan

that are believed
to date back to 6000 BC.

TSOUKALOS: When you're
on the ground in Kazakhstan,

all you see is a couple of dots.

But up in the sky...
And the higher you go...

You can see
the full extent of everything.

But the fact that
they can only be appreciated

from a high distance,
up in the air,

illustrates to me
that perhaps our ancestors

tried to communicate
with someone up there.

With the advent
of new technology,

especially in correlation
with space archaeology

or satellite technology
that now allows us

to look underneath the sand,

I can't even imagine

what else there will be
that we will discover.

FOX: Science is always evolving
and changing,

just like any other practice,
just like archaeology.

Once upon a time, if you got
in your little rowboat

and rowed far enough,
you were gonna go off the edge

of the Earth.

That wasn't real.
That wasn't true.

Let's cut to 200 years
in the future and see

what we understand
at that point.

I just don't think you can
ever say the science is settled.

I'm of the opinion
that all scientific theory

is in the midst of big changes.

We're walking around
with certain theses in mind.

And, yes, if you drop an apple,
it falls to the ground.

We don't understand gravity.

Dark matter and dark energy.

The mystery of the theory
of black holes.

We don't understand it.

People who look
through telescopes,

people who look
through microscopes...

We're all making it up
as we go along.

Nobody knows for sure.

NARRATOR:
In recent years,

breakthroughs in archaeology
and genetic research

have made the questions first
raised in Chariots of the Gods?

Seem less audacious
and closer to being answered.

And joining Erich von Daniken

is a growing army
of like-minded individuals

not only comprised
of ancient astronaut theorists

but scientists,
world leaders, scholars

and billionaire entrepreneurs.

More and more, the door
that Erich von Daniken opened

50 years ago
has opened much wider

than the Swiss author
ever could have imagined.

NARRATOR:
Pasadena, California.

June 17, 2018.

Thousands gather at
the Pasadena Convention Center

for AlienCon, a three-day
convention to explore

the mysteries
of ancient civilization,

extraterrestrial existence,

and the unexplained phenomena
of our universe.

I am about to

introduce you to a man

that, in 1968,

published a book by the name
of Chariots of the Gods?

The legend, Erich von Daniken.

(cheering)

NARRATOR: Erich von Daniken
takes the stage

before an audience
of 3,500 people,

men and women who are convinced

that mankind's past
and its future

is more extraordinary
and more hopeful

than they had been led to
believe by mainstream science.

MAN:
I would like to say that,

over the course of history
on Planet Earth,

we've seen great men.

Moses being one of those,

Abraham Lincoln being another.

I'd like to honor you
in that same group of men.

- Oh. -(chuckles)
- (cheering and applause)

VON DANIKEN: Thank you very
much. That's very kind of you.

It all started because
of religious doubts.

That was the-the power in me,
to find out what is God.

By the way, I still am
a deep believer in God.

So, simply, I had doubts
in my own religion.

In the meantime,
I'm 83 years old.

- The Gods love me. (chuckles)
- (chuckles)

(laughter)

Since 1968...

It's been 50 years...

How has the reception

of the ancient astronaut theory,

in your opinion,
changed over 50 years?

It was an immediate best seller
in Germany and in Switzerland.

Then it was sold
to the United States.

It was a best seller here.

And soon as it was
a best seller,

I was, of course, attacked.

I was crushed down

practically
by every scientific community,

by every scientist,
by newspapers. They all thought,

"This is nonsense, what this
young Swiss fellow is writing.

This is garbage."

So I was attacked.

And I'm not the one
who gives up.

So I started to fight
and fight and fight.

So, in total,
I have written 41 titles.

Roughly 76 million copies
in 32 languages.

Not bad. Yeah.

TSOUKALOS:
In the 50 years since Chariots,

what do you think are some
of the best pieces of evidence

that have come forward
that have...

That you did not cover
in Chariots?

Well, of course,
all these years,

always new material has come.

And we know so much more
about the Great Pyramid.

We detected rooms,

shafts, corridors, things inside

which I never knew in 1966 when
I made Chariots of the Gods?

Now the sequel
of Chariots of the Gods?

Is already on the market,
and there is, of course,

material in there
which you have never seen

and you would not believe
on this planet.

- (cheering)
- NARRATOR: For Erich von Daniken,

the reception he received
at AlienCon

was both overwhelming

and gratifying.

But equally gratifying
is the fact

that since Chariots of the Gods?
Was first published in 1968,

a growing number
of ancient astronaut theorists

and researchers have joined him
in his life's mission,

that of opening the mind
of the world

to the very real likelihood
that aliens exist

and have been visiting the Earth
for thousands of years.

So, Erich,
did you ever imagine this?

- No, I did not.
- (laughter)

We've seen
a fundamental change

in the way that this subject has
been handled.

And we're right on...
I think we're right on the cusp

of something important here.

Most people do not realize,
from a biblical point of view,

how valid many
of his opinions really are.

And I believe
it's very important.

It's validating for me

that I've been given
this opportunity,

that I can share these things
from the authentic sources.

TAYLOR: A friend of mine
that works for NASA

asked me several times,
"How can you go and do

these UFO things that you do?"

And so on, and I-I tell him

as a scientist,
if you close yourself off

to only looking under
the streetlamp for your keys,

you're never gonna find
your damn keys.

(laughter)

We should learn
to become humble.

We are wonderful humans,
intelligent beings,

but there are fantastic
other beings out there.

This will be the new science.

The new world.

- (cheering)
- Thank you.

NARRATOR:
Antalya, Turkey. 2017.

Officials at Akdeniz University

announce they have added

a new curriculum
to their program.

Entitled
"Ufology and Exopolitics,"

it is designed
to focus on the search

for extraterrestrial life

and galactic diplomacy.

At the University of Edinburgh's
U.K. Centre for Astrobiology,

a course designed
to teach students

how to search for aliens

will include
an introduction to astrobiology

and the search
for extraterrestrial life.

And at Eastern Washington
University

in Cheney, Washington,
is a course

that examines ancient astronaut
theory to see if it can help

explain the missing chapters
in mankind's history.

There are college courses today
being taught in exopolitics.

It's supposed to be
the new frontier of diplomacy.

There's a whole generation
of young people now growing up

not with the question
"Is there life out there?"

but with the kind of issue

of "What do we do
when it gets here?"

HENRY:
It's tremendously exciting

that universities around
the world, we're starting to see

courses taught
on ancient astronaut theory.

There's a demand for it.

The students want to know more,
they want to discuss it,

they want to debate it,

they want to be part
of the revolution.

Just in the past ten years,
we've seen this generation,

new generation of ancient
astronaut theorists come along.

They're bringing fresh insight,
they're bringing new facts

that were previously
unavailable.

And what that's gonna do
is just ultimately open up

the imagination of humanity,
and ultimately help us

to recover answers to those
vital questions: "Who are we?"

"Where did we come from?"

And "Where do we go from here?"

NARRATOR:
Today, more than 50 years

after the publication
of Chariots of the Gods?,

the questions posed
by Erich von Daniken

are being asked
by a growing number of people...

People who are more eager
and more ready

to receive the answers
than ever before.

At no time has there ever been
such a big wave of people

believing in alien life,

that extraterrestrials could've
come here in the past,

that we're not alone,
that we're being visited

and have been visited
in the past.

And so it's a time of change
right now.

And in many ways,
the ancient astronaut theory

is leading this change.

HENRY:In the past 50 years,
we've undergone

a global cultural
paradigm shift.

50 years ago, if you were
talking about extraterrestrials,

other dimensions,
travel by stargates,

people would have thought
you were crazy or something.

But now, this idea
is everywhere in our culture.

It's in our media.

Huge numbers of people
around the world,

both spiritual
and nonspiritual people,

are beginning to accept the idea

that we are definitely
not alone.

TSOUKALOS: Erich von Daniken,
for the past 50 years,

has suggested that if we don't
familiarize ourselves

with the possibility
of extraterrestrial life,

if and when they show up,
mankind will have

what he refers to
as a shock of the Gods.

So I think it's very beneficial
for people

to start embracing the idea
of extraterrestrials.

YOUNG:
This is a huge movement.

Chariots of the Gods?
Is a mythology for our time.

There are certain themes
of visitation

from a celestial location

that happen throughout
world mythology and religion,

and it is there,
it's there in a slightly new way

that speaks to our age,
and the response

is nothing short of religious.

The people are longing
for something extraordinary,

and Erich von Daniken
has given it to them.

I do think that the human
collective consciousness

is shifting.

And people are more open to
accepting some of these ideas.

We've had people that have
worked at NASA go on the record

as saying that of course
they believe

extraterrestrial life exists.
"How could it not?"

We've even had people at NASA
say "How could there not be"

some sort of an architect
to all of this?"

"How could this be random?"

If we were to really have
proof of aliens,

it changes everything
that we've ever been taught,

and there's something scary
about that,

but there's also something
infinitely exciting about that.

The billions of galaxies

that exist in the universe,

mathematically,
there has to be life everywhere.

Fervent, passionate life
everywhere.

In my mind, there's no question
that aliens exist.

(cheering)

NARRATOR: For Erich von Daniken
and the millions of people

he has inspired, the notion of
whether or not extraterrestrials

came to Earth
in the distant past

is a question
they can easily answer.

For them,
the proof is everywhere:

in ancient architecture,
on the walls of caves,

on stone blocks
and even in human DNA.

But the questions
that are harder to answer

have to do
with mankind's future.

What next?
Where do we go from here?

And are we on the verge of
uncovering the ultimate proof,

by finally coming face-to-face
with our alien ancestors?

The theory of ancient astronauts

will not use 50 years
to be proven.

Within the next ten years,
we will have contact

with extraterrestrials,
and we will ask them.

"Were you or your forefathers
here on our planet?"

and they will tell us,
"Of course."

We definitely have our destiny
to return to the stars.

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