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William Shatner: You know,
I've been around for a while.

Met some interesting people,
done some crazy things.

So you just might think that
there's not much that

can take me by surprise.

You'd be wrong.

The world is full of stories
and science and things that

amaze and confound me every
single day, incredible

mysteries that keep
me awake at night.

Some I can answer.

Others just defy logic.

Is the history of
the world wrong?

In a Mexican cave a young girl
finds a bizarre

900 year old skeleton.

Is it evidence aliens
once walked our planet?

Lloyd: This is the equivalent
of landing on the moon.

A Peruvian doctor discovers
stone carvings that could

rewrite the history
of evolution.

Did dinosaurs live
alongside humans?

Dennis: This is one of
archaeological's

most baffling enigmas.

And a two thousand year old
wooden model reveals an

incredible secret...Did the
ancient Egyptians

invent the airplane?

David: This is going to throw
the way we view

ancient civilizations
completely topsy turvy.

Shatner: It's a weird
world and I love it.

[♪]

William Shatner: I love books.

They make me think, especially
anything about history,

thousands of years- human
development and achievement,

they're all contained in the
pages of these wonderful

documents that normally teach
generation after generation of

where we came from, but
where we might be going.

Have you ever stopped to
consider what it might mean

for us if all we've learned
and all we think we've learned

about- our past- is wrong?

It's unthinkable, isn't it?

Well guess what?

There's real and bizarre
events out there that are

telling us we may need to
rethink everything we know

about everything.

The unthinkable is here.

Researcher, Lloyd Pie is the
guardian of what he contends

is the most important
artifact ever discovered.

The story begins in the
Mexican countryside

over 80 years ago.

Lloyd: It was originally
discovered in about 1930 by a

young girl about a hundred
miles southwest of Chihuahua.

She was visiting relatives
there, she went out exploring

the area, found a mine tunnel,
went in and inside

the tunnel found two skeletons.

Examining the bones, the girl
thinks one of the

skulls looks very strange.

Lloyd: It was a misformed
or, uh, misshapened skull.

She believed it
was a deformity.

With no idea what
she stumbles across.

The girl removes the skull
as a Macabre souvenir.

She holds onto
it for 60 years.

Lloyd: She brought it to her
home in El Paso, kept it for

her whole life.

When she found out that she
was dying in the early 90s,

she asked some friends if
they would take it for her.

The skull ends up in the care
of Melanie Young, a medical

professional who immediately
makes a shocking discovery.

Lloyd: She had seen a lot of
deformity and she said right

away, I don't think this is
necessarily

a deformed human skull.

And that's how I got involved.

Perplexed, Melanie
approaches Lloyd.

He's an expert
in human skulls.

But in his years of studying
human development, he's never

seen anything like it.

Lloyd: I looked into those
eye, it was like, whoa.

This really is
something unusual.

It's so unusual.

It's so bizarre a moron can
see this is

not really a human skull.

It's something else.

But what?

Lloyd: I took it to experts
in every field of,

of human physiology.

The eye guy, the brain guy,
the ear guy,

the skull shape guy.

During the course of '99,
I came to understand that

physiologically, it was
really nothing like a human.

It is human-like, but it
is definitely non-human.

No other way to say it.

But if it's not
human, what was it?

Lloyd broadens his search.

Lloyd: I took it to experts in
UFOs and aliens and had people

who had been in it
for years evaluate it.

After close examination, the
UFO experts

reach a stunning conclusion.

Lloyd: The skull is an alien
that died on earth and was

buried on earth 900 years ago.

The consensus was it looks
like the skull

of a grey alien.

Lloyd: The alien that we all
know, the one with the heart

shaped face on a thin little
neck and the weird eyes.

We all know that look.

A grey alien.

With this in mind, Lloyd
and his supporters name the

artifact The Star Child Skull.

They keep looking for answers.

Lloyd: How it got
here, I don't know.

Was it crash landed?

I don't know.

Did it come here on a visit
and get sick and die?

I don't know.

The implications are as
big as you can imagine.

The Star Child is going
to change history.

It's going to prove that at
least once an alien being

walked on the earth.

William Shatner: Dear friends,
we are gathered here today to

pay our last tributes and last
respects to the memory of our

departed and
beloved alien child.

Oooh.

Oh sorry, would you, would
you excuse me for a minute?

William Shatner: This story
is definitely weird or what.

Does the Star Child skull
belong to an alien child who

was visiting or even conceived
on earth, but tragically died?

If so, does this change
the course of history?

But even more importantly,
what about the parents?

Did anyone think of
letting them know?

Did they give their
child a proper farewell?

I doubt it.

William Shatner: I'm so sorry.
Ooh.

Was a wonderful child who
loved comics, sports, and

practical jokes like
destroying planets with his

father's death ray,
he'll be sadly missed.

Would anyone like
to say a few words?

Is the Star Child skull the
most important archeological

discovery ever made?

Not everyone thinks so.

Yale University neurology
professor, Steven Novella has

studied the Star Child skull
and claims it's appearance is

nothing unusual.

Steven: Going through medical
school and training as a

neurologist, I've seen on many
examples of, uh, similar kinds

of deformities before.

There are lots of genetic
anomalies that produce

abnormalities or deformities.

Novella's research has led
him to believe the Star Child

skull belonged to a human
suffering from a medical

condition called
hydrocephalus.

Steven: Hydrocephalus is a
term that literally means

water on the brain and what
happens is that the fluid

that's normally inside and
around the brain does not flow

like it normally should and
that causes the water and the

pressure to build up inside
the brain

and inside the skull.

Steven: In young children
where the bones of the skull

have not yet
fused, this can cause

the skull to balloon out.

Sometimes even to
incredible size.

For Novella, it's this
ballooning that explains the

Star Child skull's
unusual appearance.

Steven: The overall size and
shape of the skull and the,

the arrangement of the
deformities matches pictures

of children and skulls of
people with hydrocephalus.

Certainly I've seen pictures
of many of them, which looked

very similar to the
Star Child skulls.

Sadly, there would have been
no treatment for this painful

condition in the era
from which

the Star Child skull belongs.

Steven: The modern treatment
for hydrocephalus is to drain

the fluid from inside the
brain, it reverses all of the

abnormal effects of
the hydrocephalus.

This is a modern neurosurgical
treatment, however, this would

not have been available prior
to 50 or 60 years ago, let

alone hundreds of years ago.

So does this mean that
we've yet to play host to

intergalactic visitors?

Steven: I have nothing against
the notion that there are

aliens in the universe.

I think it would
be really cool.

I just don't think this
skull is it, this is not the

evidence of anything alien.

So is this the end
of the mystery?

Did the Star Child skull
belong to a human suffering

from hydrocephalus?

Trenton Holiday and John
Verano are professors of

anthropology at the
University of Tulane.

They have a different take.

Trenton: Originally when I
saw the skull, I suspected it

might have suffered from
hydrocephaly, however, I've

since revised my
opinion on that.

I don't think it was a
hydrocephalus individual.

So if not an alien and not
hydrocephalic, just who was

the Star Child?

John Verano: The most unusual
feature of this Star Child

skull is just the
shape of the skull.

It's flat in the back, it's
bulged at the sides, and I can

explain that very easily
by cradleboarding.

Cradleboarding was an early
solution to a problem many of

us face today-
making kids portable.

Trenton: Cradleboarding was a
very common practice

in South America.

It was originally done as
a means of restraining the

infant so that they could be
brought out into the fields.

It also was done for
aesthetic reasons.

But how could a simple baby
carrying device create the

bizarre shape of the
Star Child skull?

John: Here's an example of an
actual cradleboard from Peru.

I've strapped on a doll just
to give you an idea of the way

an infant would be put on it.

And then here you can see how
the head is strapped down.

A strap goes over the forehead
and goes over the back of the

skull, holds the
child's head in place.

But cradleboarding
had a side effect.

As the skull was compressed in
one direction, it grew in the

other to make room for the

baby's rapidly
developing brain.

John: This is a child's skull
that was cradleboarded.

It's bulging out on the two
sides and that's because there

is pressure
that was put on the,

the backside of the skull.

What you can see is the way
the skull is flattened in the

back and it's kind of bulging
out from the side, giving it

this unusual shape that
if you didn't know about

cradleboarding, you might
think, boy, that's a bizarre

looking human skull.

Were the strange features of
the Star Child skull caused by

an ancient child
carrying device?

Or is the truth
way more bizarre?

Lloyd: The Star Child had an
alien father

and an alien mother.

The features of a 900 year old
skull puzzle

the scientific community.

Some offer practical
explanations, such as

cradleboarding.

Others disagree.

Lloyd: When a skull is
cradleboarded, a baby's bones

are so soft that they flatten.

So if you feel this,
it's very flat.

As flat as the board
that it was pressed to.

The Star Child has this
natural convolutions to it.

So what that means is it was
not flattened artificially,

it grew this way.

So if it's not cradleboarding,
could hydrocephaly have

deformed the skull?

Lloyd: Anybody that says the
Star Child is a hydrocephalic

is missing a very
important point.

When you look at standard
hydrocephalic pictures,

you see, it's blown up all
around.

There's no significant
features like this.

This grew this way because its
genes told it

to grow that way.

Having dismissed the opinion
of traditional science, Lloyd

undertook his own research.

His findings are astonishing.

Lloyd: What makes the Star
Child skull different is that

there are 25 major physical
differences between

it and human skulls.

There's no one part of it
that's exactly like a human.

It is completely different.

And what that indicates is
that its genes

are radically different.

But does this mean the Star
Child skull could only be of

extraterrestrial origin?

In 2003, DNA technology
allowed Pie to put

his theory to the test.

Lloyd: We got the first test
by a laboratory that was

capable of doing ancient DNA
and the answer that they got

was that the mother was human
and the father was not.

Clearly something's
wrong with the father.

The father's not human.

Is the Star Child skull
evidence that aliens

bred with humans?

Native American legends tells
stories strikingly

similar to Pie's theory.

Lloyd: There would be beings
from the stars would come down

from the skies, pick a woman
in a village and they would

make her pregnant.

So the Star Child
fit right into that.

But as technology advances,
so does the story of the

Star Child skull.

In early 2011, a new DNA test
led Lloyd to an even more

astonishing claim.

Lloyd: The conclusion that
we've come to now after

several DNA tests and, and
extensive analysis of those

results is that the Star Child
had an alien father and an

alien mother and when I say
alien, I mean, non-human.

The difference is so stark,
the difference is so wide,

there is no way that we
can call this a human.

Is this the rst physical
evidence that aliens exist?

Lloyd has no doubt.

Lloyd: It's going to change
human history to have to

accept that at least once
900 years ago an alien being

walked the earth, lived here,
died here,

and was buried here.

This is the equivalent
of landing on the moon.

What is the Star Child skull?

For now it remains an enigma.

Did it belong to
a deformed child?

Or an ancient adult with
a disease of the brain?

Is it conclusive that
we are not alone?

Weird...or what?

William Shatner: You know,
I've always had a, a

fascination with the relics of
the ancient past, and I'm not

just talking about the Beatles
or the Rolling Stones or

Leonard Nemoy.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

When it comes to our far
distant history, there's

nothing quite as spectacular,
mysterious, and even

frightening as dinosaurs.

Surely the king of all
creatures, real life monsters

that dominated the planet,
until something wiped them

out, long before
man even evolved.

What a pity that we only find
them now in museums

or as cute toys.

Can you imagine what it'd be
like to see one in the flesh?

Well, maybe we already have.

And maybe we still can.

...Weird or what?

Adventurer Dennis Swift
travels the world in search of

ancient artifacts.

But nothing he's found
compares to a discovery made

in Egat Peru by a man
named Javier Cabrera.

Dennis: Dr. Cabrera made the
greatest discovery in the

history of mankind.

The implications
are staggering.

It began innocently enough
at a birthday party in 1966.

Dennis: It was Dr.
Cabrera's 42nd birthday.

One of the doctor's oldest
friends brings

him a special gift.

Dennis: Dr. Cabrera's
given a stone.

It was found in some official
archeological excavations.

The stone was carved by an
ancient Peruvian tribe.

His friend thinks it's a
trinket, but the doctor makes

a discovery that sets
his heart racing.

Etched into the stone is an
image that defies explanation.

Dennis: He recognizes it to be
a species of fish that went

extinct 150 million years ago.

But how do you explain that?

Seeking answers the doctors
employs local workmen

to find more stones.

Dennis: Dr. Cabrera began to
find more of these stones and

people brought them to him.

The more he delved into it,
the more it consumed his life.

As more and more stones
arrived, Dr. Cabrera realizes

they feature other images
that just

shouldn't have been there.

Dennis: Some of the stones
seem to be depicting

impossible scenes, things that
would cause

the textbooks to be rewritten.

What had the doctor found?

It was something that
would shock the world.

Dennis: He risked
his reputation.

He said if you look closely at
this, you'll see a dinosaur on

there with two people.

It's an astonishing
moment, but how can it be?

Dinosaur fossils weren't
identified until 1824.

How could an ancient people
have known about

them 1000 years ago.

Dennis: Finding artifacts and
information that showed that

these people had knowledge of
dinosaurs that predated our

knowledge was truly amazing.

But could it be proved?

After comparing the etchings
on over 400 stones to real

fossils, he discovered the
depictions were accurate.

The Peruvian artists must have
known what

dinosaurs looked like.

Dennis: Now not only is that
astonishing, it began to say

to him, they saw living,
breathing dinosaurs.

This is one of archeological's
most baffling enigmas.

Did the dinosaurs live
millions of years longer than

we thought they did?

Dennis: I've studied the
Ecostones

for well over 20 years.

I believe they are very
substantial strong evidence

that dinosaurs and
man lived together.

Current scientific belief is
that the dinosaurs were wiped

out by an asteroid
66 million years ago.

59 million years before
early man even existed.

Swift, however,
believes there's

evidence to the contrary.

Dennis: In the cultures around
the world, they talk about

encountering these animals of
giant size and they fit the

description of what we
would call a dinosaur.

Dennis: I've been with the
American Indians and they say,

we don't like to tell white
people, cause they make fun of

us, but they believed that
their ancestors fought against

what we would call
a triceratops.

Could some dinosaurs have
survived extinction?

Did they walk among
ancient Peruvians.

For Swift, the artifacts
uncannily accurate proportions

don't lie.

Dennis: There's a
styrockosaurus on the stone.

Does it have dermal spines?
Yeah.

Does its tail sticking
out while its walking? Yes.

Does it have three toes? Yes.

So it's a dinosaur.

But if Swift is right, there's
an even bigger question- if

dinosaurs walked the earth
with humans only a relatively

short time ago, then
what happened to them?

Where are they?

Dennis: I believe that they
existed from a few thousand

years ago to maybe 500 years
ago and there's a possibility

that there could
be a handful left.

There was a Frenchman in
1967, I believe, he even took

photographs of a, of a
footprint, it's three toed,

it's huge, and it has
a claw on the back.

Only a dinosaur had that
kind of a footprint.

So, yeah, dinosaurs
could be out there.

William Shatner: Oh
boy this is incredible.

That guy thinks that dinosaurs
are still roaming the earth.

Well, let's think
about what that means.

There's not a lot of room left
on the planet so they're going

to have to share our
neighbourhoods, right?

Maybe, maybe we can
have one as a pet.

Can you imagine keeping
one in your backyard?

Whoa.

I think not.

Has somebody got
a pooper scooper?

A big one?

Did man and dinosaur coexist?

Should we rip up
our history books?

Ken: I think that people
actually watch the Flintstones

and think it's
reality programming.

Ancient Peruvian stone
carvings pose a shocking

question- did our ancient
ancestors

walk alongside dinosaurs?

Archeologist, Ken Feder,
doesn't think so.

Ken: I think people actually
watch the Flintstones and

think it's reality
programming.

It's not, it's a
cartoon, folks.

Fred did not have
a pet dinosaur.

That really didn't happen.

But how can Feder be sure
humans never saw dinosaurs?

He points to the tens of
thousands of fossils collected

worldwide, which confirm they
died out 66 million years ago.

Ken: We have a whole lot of
evidence that dinosaurs died

off long before
there were people.

And the fact that we have a
bunch of stones with carvings

and people riding around on
dinosaurs, is not strong

evidence at all.

But if ancient Peruvians
didn't see dinosaurs, how do

we explain the ecostones?

Ken: They're fake,
they're hoaxes.

The story of the ecostones
from start to finish mirrors

the stories of lots of other
archaeological hoaxes.

They start small,but once it
becomes clear that there's a

guy willing to buy some
stones, suddenly we have

thousands of these things.

And the actual stones
themselves become more and

more elaborate.

Rather than finding them in
caves, could the Peruvian

peasants simply have made
the stones themselves?

There's only one
way to find out.

Art student, Justine McGraw,
has been asked to test Feder's

theory that the stones
are merely fakes.

She's going to attempt to
replicate the stones using

basic tools.

Justine: So I begin by just
copying out the image.

It's a very simple
line drawing.

The drawing complete,
Justine begins carving.

She uses a power tool for
speed, though the etching

could easily be done by hand.

Although the pattern is
complete, the stone doesn't

have an ancient look.

Justine has an
inexpensive solution.

Justine: I'm going to cover
the stone in a mixture of

manure and olive oil.

It's a rather down
to earth solution.

Her method of baking the
stones is equally low tech.

But could some manure, olive
oil and a BBQ really recreate

the mysterious ecostones?

Justine: After just three
hours of baking, this is what

my ecostone looks like.

For Feder, the results of
this experiment are decisive.

Ken: You have two possible
explanations in science- one

that requires overturning
everything we know and one

that simply requires
people trying

to make a buck by hoaxing.

So it's a lot easier for me to
accept the possibility that

people are making fakes
than to completely rewrite

everything we know about
geology, biology and so on.

Is this the end
of the mystery?

Are the ecostones just fakes?

Author Andy Lloyd
is not so sure.

Andy: They weren't just
created in someone's shed in

the back garden 20 years ago.

Some scientific work that's
been done on them appears to

indicate that there is a
degree of oxidation over the

engravings which would
indicate that

they're of some antiquity.

So if the stones really are
ancient that proves that the

images they depict must
have happened, right?

Well, not necessarily.

Andy: I don't think that's
very, very likely that man and

dinosaur could have shared
the earth at any time.

However, the artists from
ancient Peru who created them

may have received knowledge
about dinosaurs from ancient

civilizations who's own
understanding of the dinosaurs

that was as good as ours.

Civilizations stretching back
to ancient Greece unearth

dinosaur remains.

They thought they were
the bones of giants.

But what if some ancient
civilization

did know what they were?

Who could have
done such a thing?

Andy: Atlantis is an excellent
candidate, because the

discussions and descriptions
of Atlantis show that it was a

very technologically advanced
civilization for its time.

The lost city of Atlantis- an
advanced ancient civilization

that has said to have
flourished around the time of

the Ice Age, before
falling into the ocean.

Could Atlantians have
discovered dinosaurs?

Andy: We can speculate that
the Atlantians had a very good

understanding of, um, natural
history, because their ability

with science and technology
was evidently

quite far advanced.

They would have probably dug
up dinosaur bones during their

mining expeditions and piece
together a dinosaur in the

same way that we did.

But many believe Atlantis to
be little more than a legend

based on stories told by the
Greek philosopher Plato.

Is this strong enough
evidence of its existence?

Andy: We can't authenticate
the existence of Atlantis

through anything other
than Plato's writings.

But some of his writings are
some of the most important

literature from that period.

It seems odd that it's a story
that Plato would have made up.

This is the missing Atlantian
link in our understanding of

ancient civilizations
and knowledge.

Could the Atlantians have
traveled the world spreading a

knowledge that was kept
alive in stories and art?

Or could the ecostones be
definitive proof that our

ancestors shared the
earth with dinosaurs?

Or are they one of the most
elaborate hoaxes of all time?

Perhaps one day we'll know for
sure, but in the meantime it's

most certainly
weird...or what?

A two thousand year old wooden
model excavated from Egypt's

oldest pyramid reveals
an amazing secret.

Did the ancients
invent modern flight?

David: It could have been
launched easily from the top

of a pyramid.

William Shatner: You know, I
like to think of myself as a

bit of an adventurer, Indiana
Jones, if you'd like.

Ah!

Let's see, I've been all over
the world and collected some

amazing relics...Wrong relic.

Of course some are more
amazing than others.

Some...make you wonder what
they might say

if they could talk.

But can you imagine finding
something that could truly

change the world?

Well, here it is.

Sikara, Egypt in one of the
country's oldest burial

grounds, French archaeologists
begin to unearth the burial

tomb of the 3rd century
BC official,

Badiada among the artifacts
recovered is what looks to

be a model of a bird.

It's catalogued and stored at
the Cairo museum

for over 70 years.

But no one could predict the
shock waves special register

6347 would soon make.

The late Egyptogist, Dr.
Khalil Messiha realized

the model was very unusual.

It leads him to a
breathtaking conclusion.

David: Dr. Messiha had found
evidence of what appears to be

a glider or an airplane.

Something that the ancient
Egyptians

supposedly didn't have.

Author David Childress thinks
Dr. Messiha has much to teach

historians and the world.

David: To me the research of
Dr. Khalil Messiha is very

important, because here we
have a mainstream Egyptologist

finding an artifact, uh, that
we know is authentic coming

from, uh, over 2000 years ago-
a model, a very miniature

model of an airplane much like
the early airplanes that were

built, uh, in America and
around the world

at the turn of the century.

Could the artifact be a model
of an ancient flying machine?

It's a stunning revelation.

Our histories tell us the
first powered

human flight was in 1903.

If Dr. Messiha is correct, the
ancient Egyptians may have

beaten the Wright Brothers
by over 2000 years.

Although met with initial
skepticism, tests by leading

aeronautical engineers proved
that the model now known as

the Sikara Bird was
designed for flight.

David: Ancient cultures have
many stories of, of flight of

the manas and magic carpets,
flying chariots.

But here with the Sikara bird,
we have an actual model of

what could be an
ancient airplane.

Did the ancient Egyptians
experiment with flight?

Is the artifact the model of
a full sized glider or plane?

David: It's very important
that we find artifacts like

the Sikara Bird and, and other
strange artifacts from these

ancient cultures.

Cause it really helps us place
their legends and myths in

context, such as flight.

Is it possible that they
actually had flight

like we do today?

And I think they did.

Is the Sikara Bird proof that
the ancient Egyptians had

technology 2000 years
ahead of its time?

And if they did,
how did they get it?

David: This is going to throw
Egyptology and the way we view

ancient civilizations
completely topsy turvy.

A man discovers a model wooden
bird in a Cairo museum.

Is the Sikara bird proof the
Egyptians took to the skies

2000 years ago?

Katja Gause is an
Egyptologist,

she has her doubts.

Katja: When I first heard
that, uh, the Sikara Bird was

being used to support such
claims of early aviation,

I was completely, uh,
uh, taken aback.

Katja: Certainly they were
fascinated with the skies.

But there is no evidence
whatsoever to suggest that the

Egyptians had an
interest in aviation.

But if the Sikara bird was not
the model of a glider,

what was it?

Katja: The symbol of a bird
is extremely important, uh,

within the Egyptian religious
and political system.

We find them used in the
hieroglyphic writing system.

We find them as images
protecting the king.

One bird in particular- the
falcon- had a role which

explains why it would
be placed in a tomb.

Katja: The deceased Egyptian
wishes to ascend to the sky

and sometimes says he
does so on falcon's wings.

There's one problem though.

The Sikara Bird looks nothing
like the other

Egyptian falcons.

So what can explain its flat
tail and plane like wings?

Katja: It is not unheard
of that toys were given to

deceased children and they
would be put into their tombs

so they would be accessible
for their afterlife and for

their eternal pleasure.

Could the mysterious artifact
be nothing more than

a simple child's toy?

Are the smooth body and flat
tail the result

of amateur craftsmanship?

And not deliberate design?

Katja: Even though there are
a few idiosyncrasy in its

representation, the Sikara
Bird is most likely

an image of a falcon.

There is no evidence that the
Egyptians experimented with

aviation technology.

The claim is ludicrous
to say the least.

Are we reading too much
into an ancient toy?

Not everyone thinks so.

David: Artifacts like the
Sikara Bird are important

because science likes to think
it's got everything explained.

We can explain, uh, how the
Egyptians built the pyramids

and all of their ancient
technology, but items like the

Sikara Bird throw a monkey
wrench into some of these old

theories because suddenly it's
possible that the ancient

Egyptians and other
civilizations could do much

like we do and have flight,
have electricity,

have machines.

But how can Childress be so
sure that what looks like a

bird is really a
model airplane?

David: It's clearly an
aerodynamic design and not

just some simple toy.

The wings are at what is known
as the dihedral angle, that's

a special angle that the wings
of a glider have to be at in

order to achieve lift.

And the Sikara Bird has that.

So the wings are air worthy,
but what about the tail?

David: Dr. Messiha had also
found evidence that the very

top part of the tail rudder
had been broken off and he

theorized that it had in fact
had also another vertical tail

much like a modern
jet would have.

But if the Sikara Bird was a
model of an ancient glider,

there's one big problem- where
is Egypt's flat desert could

you glide from?

David: It if was a glider,
it could have been launched

easily from the top of a
pyramid perhaps much like hand

gliders themselves
launch today.

Were the crowning achievements
of Egyptian civilization used

as a launch pad by an ancient
pair of Wright Brothers?

David: If scientists are right
that this is a model of a

functioning glider, this is
going to throw Egyptology and

the way we view ancient
civilizations

completely topsy turvy.

William Shatner: Ok,
this is blowing my mind.

Are they honestly trying to
tell me that this 2000 year

old ugly duckling is evidence
of an ancient mastery of the

laws of aerodynamics?

That it could fly?

Well there's only one way to
find out...

...Anybody got any glue?

A simple bird replica or
evidence of early flight?

What is the Sikara Bird?

Martin Gregory
designs gliders.

He thinks he knows the answer.

Martin: When I first heard the
Sikara Bird was a model for a

full sized airplane, I was,
um,

skeptical to say the least.

I knew for a start that the
ancient Egyptians didn't have

anything that could be
used as an ancient airplane.

And that gives you the clue
because Egypt's pretty flat.

And you're going to need some
way of getting

the airplane into the air.

And you also, if you're going
to use it for carrying cargo,

you're going to need something
to power it so it

can travel a useful distance.

Martin: I decided the only way
I could find out if the Sikara

Bird could have been a flying
model is to build one myself.

Using the exact dimensions of
the ancient artifact, Gregory

constructs an
identical replica.

He'll launch it with a device
used to test scale glider

models.

Martin: I'm just about to
launch the Sikara Bird in its

original form as it came out
of the pyramid with no tail

Martin: That flight did
what I expected it to do.

It's lack of aerodynamics
kicked in and it tumbled and

fell to the ground.

The test is conclusive.

Martin: A model of that size
needs a stabilizing tail.

Dr. Messiha believed that the
Sikara Bird originally had a

tail, which it
snapped off with age.

Could a tail make
a difference?

Martin: Next we're going to
launch the Sikara Bird again,

but this time fitted
with a tail plane.

This will stabilize it and
let us see how good or poor a

glider it is.

2000 years of history
hang on this one test.

It travels further,
but not much.

The end results are the same.

Martin: The wing with rounded
edges and that just doesn't

generate very
much lift at all.

And in terms of stability, all
modern airplanes have the wing

bent up at the tips for
stability instead of swooping

down like this one does.

So does the experiment prove
that the Sikara Bird was

really a child's toy?

Following his experiment,

Gregory has a
theory of his own.

Martin: I think there's a
possibility

that it's a wind vane.

As you can see, I think it's a
far better weather vane than

it is a flying model.

So is the answer to a 2000
year old mystery really

blowing in the wind?

Was the Sikara Bird simply
an ancient play thing?

Or could it be evidence of
mankind's

first attempt at flight?

We may never know.

Weird or what?

So there we have it.

Three ancient artifacts that
bring into question everything

we understand about history.

It was an oddly shaped skull
that was found

in a Mexican cave.

Is it proof that aliens
once visited earth?

Scenes depicted on ancient
stone carvings question our

natural history.

Did man and dinosaur
share our planet?

And a 2000 year old wooden
model suggests the impossible.

Did an ancient
civilization fly?

You decide.

William Shatner: Join me again
next time for more stories

that will undoubtedly
be weird or what?