Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Early cultures possessing capabilities

beyond our wildest expectations.

DAVID CHILDRESS: They had knowledge

DAVID CHILDRESS: They had knowledge of all of the sciences and arts.

of all of the sciences and arts.

of all of the sciences and arts. They knew everything.

They knew everything.

NARRATOR: Unimaginable discoveries

of cities lost to time.

ANDREW COLLINS: This site, in many ways,

ANDREW COLLINS: This site, in many ways, changes everything because

changes everything because

here we have the smoking gun

of a lost civilization.

NARRATOR: And evidence challenging everything

we thought we knew about our past.

GEORGE NOORY: Mankind possessed incredible technology,

and then something happened

and they had to literally start all over again.

NARRATOR: Could the history of civilization on Earth

go far beyond what we've been taught?

And if so, might our planet have even been populated

by beings from other worlds?

GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: Extraterrestrials colonized

planet Earth hundreds of thousands of years ago.

NARRATOR: There is a doorway

in the universe.

in the universe. Beyond it is the promise of truth.

Beyond it is the promise of truth.

It demands we question everything

we have ever been taught.

we have ever been taught. The evidence is all around us.

The evidence is all around us.

The future is right before our eyes.

The future is right before our eyes. We are not alone.

We are not alone.

We have never been alone.

? ?

Northern Iraq.

20 miles south of Mosul

lies the ancient Assyrian capital city of Nimrud.

Built over 3,000 years ago in the 13th century BC,

the site is an archaeological treasure trove.

Among the antiquities found here

are monumental statues of winged lions with human heads...

...and massive relief carvings

depicting the ancient gods of Mesopotamia.

(indistinct yelling)

But on March 6, 2015,

But on March 6, 2015, militants from the Islamic State

militants from the Islamic State

stormed the ancient site,

violently destroying everything in their path.

After obliterating irreplaceable relics,

they wired the entire site with explosives

and leveled it completely...

...forever wiping it from the face of the Earth.

This group seems to be more destructive

than just about anything people can recall in history.

It's almost as if we're being orphaned from our past.

We are having our parentage,

our ancestors, cut off from us...

the record of them.

It is absolutely barbaric

what is going on currently in the Middle East

with some factions going deliberately to ancient sites...

with some factions going deliberately to ancient sites... (explosion booming)

(explosion booming)

...and just eradicating our cultural heritage.

NARRATOR: This volatile region

is widely considered to have been the cradle of civilization,

and its archaeological destruction

could mean the loss of information

about mankind's historical past.

(whirring)

According to archaeologists, many of the lost Iraqi artifacts

dated back to the time of the Sumerians,

an ancient civilization that most researchers believe

is the oldest in all of Mesopotamia.

ROBERT MULLINS: "Mesopotamia" means

"between rivers" in Greek,

referring to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

in what is today known as Iraq.

There were four main kingdoms in Mesopotamia.

Sumer was the oldest one,

followed by the kingdom of Akkad, begun by Sargon I.

After that, you have Babylonia and Assyria.

After that, you have Babylonia and Assyria. And even though languages changed

And even though languages changed

And even though languages changed and people changed to some degree,

and people changed to some degree,

the culture that was established by the Sumerians

really continued throughout the lifetime of Mesopotamia.

Ancient Sumeria in southern Mesopotamia

is often cited as the most ancient civilization,

is often cited as the most ancient civilization, even the first civilization.

even the first civilization.

It goes back to, approximately, 3000 to 4000 BC.

And here we see writing

in the form of cuneiform tablets on clay and on stone.

MULLINS: The Sumerians were the ones who invented

MULLINS: The Sumerians were the ones who invented the cuneiform writing system.

the cuneiform writing system.

The word cuneiform means "wedge-shaped."

It refers to a system of writing

whereby scribes would take a wedge-shaped stylus

and impress signs on wet clay tablets.

Those tablets could later be fired and hardened

and preserve what was ever written on them.

NARRATOR: Deciphering these cuneiform tablets

was next to impossible

until a key discovery of thousands of tablets

at an Assyrian palace in March of 1843.

This new abundance of cuneiform inscriptions

provided some of the first tangible evidence

provided some of the first tangible evidence of an ancient kingdom

of an ancient kingdom

that had been believed to exist thousands of years ago.

DAVID WILCOCK: A French scientist named Paul-�mile Botta

found this gigantic underground area

in Northern Iraq, in Khorsabad,

opened up this incredible room

opened up this incredible room filled with statues of gods and kings,

filled with statues of gods and kings,

all kinds of wonderful treasures,

and many written inscriptions all over the walls

and many written inscriptions all over the walls in the ancient Sumerian cuneiform.

in the ancient Sumerian cuneiform.

? ?

NARRATOR: Within ten years,

archaeologists had also discovered the ruins

of the legendary Sumerian capital city of Ur,

home of the biblical figure Abraham.

At the site, scientists unearthed

the great Ziggurat of Ur,

the great Ziggurat of Ur, a step pyramid-shaped structure

a step pyramid-shaped structure

that was the administrative center of the city,

that was the administrative center of the city, as well as cuneiform tablets

as well as cuneiform tablets

and tombs adorned in gold.

CHILDRESS: So here they had found

this legendary capital of the Sumerians

with its gold-clad tombs

and cuneiform tablets.

Something that they thought was simply a myth

until the actual discovery of it,

proving that it was indeed historical fact.

JASON MARTELL: When we look at the ancient

Sumerian civilization,

we attribute them with over one hundred

of the firsts for a modern society.

Things like agriculture, science,

medicine, mathematics, kingship,

laws, courts, judges, schools...

Literally all of this

shows up in Sumerian times,

6,000 years ago, right out of the Stone Age.

(horse neighing)

NARRATOR: According to mainstream researchers,

Ur was sacked by their warring neighbors,

Ur was sacked by their warring neighbors, the Elamites, nearly 2000 years BC.

the Elamites, nearly 2000 years BC.

But some researchers believe the cuneiform texts

But some researchers believe the cuneiform texts reveal something much more

reveal something much more

than evidence of an ancient race.

They point to descriptions of a group

of divine beings called the "Anunnaki,"

the so-called "princely offspring of God,"

who, according to the Sumerians,

who, according to the Sumerians, descended from the sky.

descended from the sky.

MULLINS: The religious system of Mesopotamia

was polytheism,

which means that they worshipped hundreds of different gods,

both male and female,

often depicted in human form...

...having personalities very much like people do;

...having personalities very much like people do; and, um, these gods were arranged

and, um, these gods were arranged

in a kind of political hierarchy

that, in many ways, mimic the political systems

that, in many ways, mimic the political systems of Mesopotamia itself.

of Mesopotamia itself.

And what this means is that you had the high gods,

the heavenly gods.

And you also had lesser gods

who inhabited Earth and the underworld.

Now, according to the Sumerian text,

the heavenly gods, the Anunnaki,

were the supreme deities, the higher deities.

WILLIAM HENRY: The Anunnaki are among the most mysterious

and powerful beings of myth and sacred tradition.

The Sumerians described them as humanoid

but nonphysical spirit beings

who had the capability

of morphing or phasing into human form.

They came to Earth on a special mission

to bring wisdom and also

to mine certain materials

to mine certain materials from the Earth plane itself.

from the Earth plane itself.

CHILDRESS: In cuneiform texts,

the Anunnaki are described in great detail,

including how they lived for hundreds of years.

They had tremendous knowledge and power

over the entire world.

They knew everything.

They had knowledge of all of the sciences and arts.

Where they got this knowledge

and where they came from

is a complete mystery to archeologists.

And you have to ask yourself,

were they, in fact, extraterrestrials?

? ?

NARRATOR: Could the strange gods

described in the cuneiform texts

really have existed?

And if so, might they have been extraterrestrial beings?

Ancient astronaut theorists believe the answer

is a profound "yes."

And for proof, they point to another ancient civilization

whose rulers claimed a direct lineage

from these otherworldly beings.

(bells tolling)

On display at the Egyptian Museum

is the Turin King List, or Royal Canon,

which dates back to the 13th century BC.

The papyrus includes a list detailing

The papyrus includes a list detailing the Ancient Egyptian rulers

the Ancient Egyptian rulers

extending back to the very start of Egyptian civilization.

We see all the time lines

and all the kings were there,

but the first two groups of names on that list

but the first two groups of names on that list were gods, the gods of Egypt,

were gods, the gods of Egypt,

who they believed ruled before the kings.

NARRATOR: Although scholars fully accept

the chronology from the rule of King Menes onward,

they discount the time before his reign around 3000 BC...

a time when these alleged "gods" ruled over Egypt.

One of the first names to be found on the list

is the god Osiris.

WILLIAM BRAMLEY: Osiris was depicted as a humanlike god.

WILLIAM BRAMLEY: Osiris was depicted as a humanlike god. He had human features.

He had human features.

But one of the most curious things about Osiris

is that he was shown with green skin.

HENRY: Osiris is thought to have come from

the star system Orion, originally.

And was part of a group of extraterrestrials

that came to Earth.

What's interesting about the ancient Egyptian gods

is they could also die.

is they could also die. They weren't necessarily immortal.

They weren't necessarily immortal.

And when the god Osiris died,

centuries ago, according to Egyptian mythology,

he was reborn as his own son, Horus.

And Horus became a physical incarnation on Earth.

And it is believed by the ancient Egyptians

that all the pharaohs became gods incarnate.

NARRATOR: Under this system of divine kingship,

the ancient Egyptian civilization flourished

and endured for a remarkable 3,000 years.

This sophisticated society

attributed their advanced knowledge of engineering,

science, medicine, and writing

science, medicine, and writing to a pantheon of gods

to a pantheon of gods

who came to Earth from the sky.

They left hieroglyphic accounts of these beings

meticulously engraved on the walls of temples and tombs

and built impressive feats of architecture to honor them.

Could it really be that these deities

were in fact flesh-and-blood extraterrestrials,

as Ancient Astronaut theorists propose?

To find the answer, Egyptologist Ramy Romany

has invited ancient astronaut theorist

and researcher Andrew Collins

to join him on a visit to one of the most impressive

and best-preserved shrines in Egypt:

and best-preserved shrines in Egypt: the temple of Edfu,

the temple of Edfu,

located on the west bank of the Nile,

located on the west bank of the Nile, 465 miles south of Cairo.

465 miles south of Cairo.

ROMANY: Look at this temple.

This is, like, my most favorite fa�ade

in all of the temples of ancient Egypt.

NARRATOR: According to mainstream archaeologists,

Edfu is believed to have been built

Edfu is believed to have been built sometime between 237 and 57 BC.

sometime between 237 and 57 BC.

It is dedicated to the falcon-headed god Horus,

the son of Osiris and Isis.

ROMANY: This temple was one of the last temples

that was ever built in ancient Egypt,

during the Roman times.

When they built that temple, they were like,

"We want to preserve the stories,

"so let's gather all the mythology

of ancient Egypt and try to put it in one temple."

It took 150 years to make this happen.

And then, finally, we have the book

And then, finally, we have the book of ancient Egyptian mythology.

of ancient Egyptian mythology.

It's right in front of us on all these walls.

It's right in front of us on all these walls. Every wall is absolutely covered

Every wall is absolutely covered

in hieroglyphs and images,

not only of the foundation

of ancient Egypt and the first temple,

but also how the world came into being.

How Egypt came into being,

How Egypt came into being, how the universe was essentially

how the universe was essentially

founded in the first place.

I mean, there's just so much here.

NARRATOR: The most sacred part of Edfu,

the holy of holies,

is its inner sanctum, featuring a 12-foot-tall granite stone.

ROMANY: This is it, right here.

This is how it all began.

Every symbol, every text, every little drawing in here

represents the most sacred thing for ancient Egyptians.

The question that humans now still ask themselves:

How did it all began?

What created us?

About every religion talks about it.

About every religion talks about it. Scientists tries to figure out.

Scientists tries to figure out.

Ancient Egyptians had an answer

and it was right there.

Right on top of this is the pyramidion,

and that pyramidion is the primeval mound

that appeared in the middle of the marshes

where all the gods came and landed on for the first time

to start creating humanity.

to start creating humanity. This is the beginning of humanity.

This is the beginning of humanity.

What we have here is a focus of all of these chapels

finishing with-- with this incredible structure

finishing with-- with this incredible structure pointing towards the north.

pointing towards the north.

It's actually pointing towards the origins

It's actually pointing towards the origins of the gods themselves.

of the gods themselves.

It's a way of projecting the soul

back to its place of origin amongst the stars.

There's another piece of evidence here

that you might like.

that you might like. This is the boat,

This is the boat,

or a symbol of the boat

that they believed the gods came on

to the first primeval stone.

So, it's all here, in this sanctuary.

The whole story of humanity's beginning,

you know, its place in the stars,

and how it arrived here in the first place.

This, to me, strongly suggests

that they were aware that our origins

are found amongst the stars.

NARRATOR: Are the ancient hieroglyphs carefully inscribed

on the granite stone at the temple of Edfu

merely the fanciful notions of ancient Egyptian priests

or could they be based on actual historical events?

Perhaps further evidence can be found

by exploring what remains of the accumulated knowledge

by exploring what remains of the accumulated knowledge of a once grand civilization

of a once grand civilization

located on the other side of the globe.

NARRATOR: The Yucat�n Peninsula.

1549.

A fleet of Spanish galleons

arrive on the coast of the New World.

And with them is a small army of Roman Catholic priests

who, during what is the height of the Inquisition,

are determined to rescue the pagan souls

of the natives for Almighty God.

And leading them, direct from the Vatican,

is the fanatical Franciscan friar Diego de Landa.

During the Spanish colonial period

in what we call Mexico Yucat�n,

in what we call Mexico Yucat�n, the cradle of Mayan civilization,

the cradle of Mayan civilization,

it was the priests who had a lot of power,

because the Vatican was one of the most powerful nations

on the Earth.

MARTELL: Diego de Landa came over wanting to teach

Christian understandings and principles to the Mayans,

but was probably intimidated by the vast wealth of knowledge

that he actually saw that they had tapped into.

NARRATOR: The Mayan civilization

that Friar Diego de Landa came upon

had thrived in the rain-drenched jungles and fertile plains

of Central America for more than 2,000 years.

ERICH VON D�NIKEN: The Spanish conquerors found pyramids.

ERICH VON D�NIKEN: The Spanish conquerors found pyramids. They found temples.

They found temples.

They found paved roads,

They found paved roads, and they found thousands and thousands

and they found thousands and thousands

of Maya handwritings, thousands of it.

MARTELL: We have a lot of very interesting information

that comes out of this culture we call the Maya.

They've been revered for many things in their knowledge base,

especially around time and concepts of math and science,

and the movements of the solar system.

NARRATOR: But while the Maya were in many ways

NARRATOR: But while the Maya were in many ways culturally advanced,

culturally advanced,

their religious beliefs were notoriously bloodthirsty.

They believed in human sacrifice,

and, as far as Friar Diego de Landa was concerned,

did so at the expense of their eternal souls.

It was a clash of cultures

that would not end well for the Maya people.

Diego de Landa, later, when he was back in Spain again,

he wrote down,

"We found thousands of handwritings of the Indios,

but they all contained just Devil's things."

JONATHAN YOUNG: A new teaching, a new religion

comes into a place where there's

very strong adherence to a body of ideas.

We have a competitive situation.

We have a competitive situation. One maneuver is to destroy

One maneuver is to destroy

as much evidence of the old way as you can

and that will help reduce its grip.

It's not sacred anymore, this is just stuff,

so we can burn it with impunity.

NARRATOR: On July 12, 1562,

the Catholic priests,

with the armed assistance of the Spanish military,

executed what was known during the Inquisition

as an "auto-da-f�" or "act of faith"...

...whereby the Maya population was forced to declare

their religious conversion to Christianity

their religious conversion to Christianity or be put to death.

or be put to death.

It was also a day that reportedly saw the destruction

of all of the Maya sacred scrolls

and more than 5,000 priceless images.

An entire historical record.

YOUNG: There were thousands of books

called "codices"-- probably scrolls-- burned.

All their art, their philosophy,

their scientific findings,

the accumulative knowledge of this great civilization.

the accumulative knowledge of this great civilization. They burned the whole thing.

They burned the whole thing.

NARRATOR: But by burning the vast knowledge

NARRATOR: But by burning the vast knowledge accumulated by the Maya,

accumulated by the Maya,

accumulated by the Maya, did Friar Diego de Landa

did Friar Diego de Landa

also destroy something of even greater historical value?

Might he have erased all traces

of the Maya's extraterrestrial ancestors?

There's a very interesting information

told to us by the Mayan elders

told to us by the Mayan elders that still exist today.

that still exist today.

They speak of a time that they were led to this land

by the sky people.

Could they be referencing some type of lost race,

even possibly extraterrestrial in nature?

They seemed to have knowledge of math and science

which we can't explain how they got this information.

When you ask them how did they gain

When you ask them how did they gain all of this amazing information,

all of this amazing information,

they always reference,

"We learned it from the sky people."

HUGH NEWMAN: There were traditions in ancient Mexico

of a great teacher arriving on the Gulf Coast.

of a great teacher arriving on the Gulf Coast. And when he arrived, he brought with him

And when he arrived, he brought with him

the arts of civilization.

We know the tradition

may have originated with a great civilization

may have originated with a great civilization who were around long before the Maya.

who were around long before the Maya.

But no one knows who they really were,

or where they really came from.

NARRATOR: Tres Zapotes, Mexico.

1938.

Archeologist Matthew Stirling,

chief of the Smithsonian's Bureau of American Ethnology,

follows up on a report

that had gone unexamined for more than 70 years:

that had gone unexamined for more than 70 years: the discovery by a local farmer

the discovery by a local farmer

of an ancient megalithic sculpture.

Stirling's investigation results in a remarkable find,

a giant stone head buried in the ground.

It was the first in what, to date,

has become a total of 17 such heads,

each weighing a staggering eight tons

and all estimated to be some 3,000 years old.

It is a date which suggests

It is a date which suggests that the heads were carved

that the heads were carved

not by the Maya,

but by an even older civilization: the Olmecs.

STEPHEN JETT: The Olmecs, uh, they're often called

"the mother culture of Mesoamerica."

They are the first complex culture of any size

and significance in that part of the world.

COLLINS: The Olmec people come into existence

probably about 1400 BC

in the Tabasco region of what is today Mexico.

Then, very suddenly, you have the rise

of a full-blown society and civilization.

And the question becomes where did the Olmec come from?

The controversy is that many

of the beautifully carved statues and stelae

of the beautifully carved statues and stelae seemed to show African men.

seemed to show African men.

JETT: They appear to be not native to the New World,

but are native to sub-Saharan Africa.

This is not scientific physical anthropology,

but just the appearance of these things is pretty suggestive.

NEWMAN: And they also show Chinese,

Vietnamese, possibly Polynesian

and even Caucasian people

carved into solid rock.

So, there's a big mystery about the Olmecs.

CHILDRESS: Where are all these people coming from?

Early archaeologists were dumbfounded by all of these

different racial characteristics

that we're seeing in the Olmec figurines and statues.

Literally, people were coming from all over the world

Literally, people were coming from all over the world to Mexico at this time.

to Mexico at this time.

to Mexico at this time. And how did they do that?

And how did they do that?

NARRATOR: Do the Olmec heads and artifacts present evidence

that this ancient civilization

had its genetic origins

not in South America,

as many mainstream archaeologists believe,

as many mainstream archaeologists believe, but thousands of miles away

but thousands of miles away

and on the other side of the Earth?

But how?

Ancient astronaut theorists suggest

the answer may be found

the answer may be found after a careful examination of a number

after a careful examination of a number

of extraordinary Olmec artifacts found in La Venta, Mexico.

In La Venta, we have carvings

that show the Olmecs in very bizarre scenes.

One of them is this plumed serpent,

this snake that appears to be floating in the sky,

and, then down below, you actually see a person

sitting inside this flying snake.

And so you have to wonder

And so you have to wonder if somehow the Olmecs had access

if somehow the Olmecs had access

to aviation technology,

and I personally think they did, because,

at the Museum of Natural History in New York City,

there is a Olmec figurine.

He is clearly wearing some type of a pressurized suit.

He has some type of controls with tubes on his chest...

On the side, you have six wings coming out of him.

In my opinion, it is the smoking gun

of our ancestors having access to aviation technology

thousands of years ago.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that ancient civilizations

NARRATOR: Is it possible that ancient civilizations had access to advanced,

had access to advanced,

perhaps even extraterrestrial, technology

in the remote past?

As incredible as the notion may seem,

scientists have found evidence indicating

a once-thriving ancient civilization

on the Indian subcontinent

may have been in possession of weapons of mass destruction.

NARRATOR: Sindh Provence, Pakistan.

1922.

An officer of the Archaeological Survey of India

An officer of the Archaeological Survey of India is led by a Buddhist monk

is led by a Buddhist monk

to an area believed to have been a religious monument.

But under the mounds of dirt,

archaeologists find instead

an ancient Indus Valley city dating back to 2000 BC.

It is called Mohenjo-daro,

It is called Mohenjo-daro, or "Mound of the Dead,"

or "Mound of the Dead,"

and it is one of the oldest civilizations

discovered in the world.

BRAMLEY: Mohenjo-daro was very advanced for that time.

They had sanitation,

they had all kinds of good things going,

and they had a lot of trade going with Mesopotamia.

NARRATOR: The city of Mohenjo-daro

rivaled the ancient civilizations

in Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Archaeologists believe that over 35,000 people

Archaeologists believe that over 35,000 people once occupied the city.

once occupied the city.

However, only 43 skeletons

have been discovered at the site.

(thunder crashes)

There are many theories

There are many theories surrounding the mysterious disappearance

surrounding the mysterious disappearance

of the Indus people from Mohenjo-daro.

In 1977, British researcher David Davenport

discovered that part of the archaeological site

showed evidence of having been destroyed

by an extremely powerful explosion.

(explosion booming)

...epicenter of something

that he believed was an explosion

NARRATOR: Scholars claim that several calcified skeletons

found at the site

suggest they suffered an instantaneous death.

HENRY: At Mohenjo-daro, they found bodies, arm in arm--

HENRY: At Mohenjo-daro, they found bodies, arm in arm-- skeletons, arm in arm--

skeletons, arm in arm--

that had been vitrified, virtually vitrified.

NARRATOR: For years, restricted access to the site

has prevented scientists from analyzing the vitrified ruins.

But in 2014,

mineralogist Dr. Sam Iyengar

was able to obtain a piece of fused pottery

from Mohenjo-daro and put it through a series of tests.

SAMPATH IYENGAR: When I did the elemental analysis

it showed me that the Mohenjo-daro rock

contained mostly silicon,

aluminum, with some calcium and potassium.

So my thought was maybe it could be some type of a clay,

till I did the X-ray diffraction.

NARRATOR: X-ray diffraction is able to determine

exactly how a material was formed.

IYENGAR: When I did the X-ray powder diffraction,

this is the pattern I got.

And you can see some crystalline peaks here,

And you can see some crystalline peaks here, along with an amorphous hump,

along with an amorphous hump,

which usually results from a glassy phase in the rock.

The composition is very similar to volcanic rock.

The only way the clay can be converted

into something which we saw,

is subjecting the clay to a very, very high temperature.

I am talking 4,000 to 5,000 degree Fahrenheit.

That is not something a early civilization

can do intentionally.

It has to be something supernatural.

NARRATOR: Could this pottery sample,

which shows irrefutable evidence

of having been subjected to extreme heat...

(fire whooshing)

...be definitive evidence

that Mohenjo-daro really was the site

of some type of powerful explosion in the ancient past?

David Davenport and other researchers

of India's ancient Vedic texts

have suggested that this is the case,

and that Mohenjo-daro may in fact be the kingdom of Lanka...

...a city whose destruction is detailed

in the Indian epic known as the Ramayana.

In the Ramayana, it is described that the god Vishnu

decides the leader of Lanka,

a mortal named Ravana,

a mortal named Ravana, has grown too powerful.

has grown too powerful.

Vishnu takes the human form of Rama

and does battle with Ravana,

who has become like the gods himself.

DEEPAK SHIMKHADA: Ravana was a very formidable enemy.

In fact, most of his power,

it was acquired from, from God, Shiva himself,

because he was a great devotee of Shiva

and Shiva gave him lethal weapons.

It was described as the sun turning into

50 even more brighter suns,

with this incredible blast.

So some people have suggested

that perhaps at Mohenjo-daro

some type of nuclear blast occurred.

Not only do we have a textual reference

Not only do we have a textual reference to a possible nuclear blast,

to a possible nuclear blast,

but we also find physical evidence

that show vitrification of stone.

And the only way that stone can be vitrified

is if it's exposed to extreme heat.

This is not mythology. This is not superstition.

This is documented historical events

of people that are warring with each other

using advanced technology.

I happen to believe that mankind possessed

incredible technology, incredible knowledge,

and that they did things

that we're doing right now

and then something happened...

(explosion booming)

...and they had to literally start all over again.

NARRATOR: If Mohenjo-daro was the mythical city of Lanka

detailed in the Vedic texts,

might we discover other places

that have been dismissed as fiction truly existed?

Could these long-lost ancient cultures

provide essential pieces of the puzzle

for reconstructing our planet's history?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes,

and point to another forgotten civilization,

whose very unearthing

required a retooling of the history books.

NARRATOR: Guanghan City, China.

1986.

Construction workers unearth two sacrificial pits

that contain the relics of a long-lost civilization.

The cache contains hundreds of bronze and gold masks,

The cache contains hundreds of bronze and gold masks, statues and figurines

statues and figurines

in addition to numerous marble and jade artifacts.

Chinese historians consider the discovery

one of the most important finds of the 20th century,

and date the site back between 3,000 and 5,000 years,

to the very start of Chinese civilization.

Before the Sanxingdui discovery,

Chinese civilization was understood

to have arisen from the Yellow River Basin.

Basically, one spot in China.

This discovery showed that there were

other very advanced cultures on the periphery

of the Yellow River Basin that also heavily contributed

to the formation of Chinese civilization.

LEE: Nobody wrote about the culture at Sanxingdui.

There's nothing that comes up in Chinese texts

and the Chinese are very good at documenting their history.

So one of the most surprising things

is how a culture that was so sophisticated

could slide under the radar of history.

NARRATOR: The Sanxingdui culture left no written record,

no human remains have been found,

and according to their artifacts,

they appear to have only existed for 350 years.

LEE: For some unknown reason,

the artifacts were broken,

the artifacts were broken, burned and placed into two pits,

burned and placed into two pits,

and covered up, rendering them useless.

So it's very curious as to why that happened.

NARRATOR: Adding to the intrigue of the vanished civilization,

they left behind dozens of bronze heads

with odd features.

On November 1, 2007,

On November 1, 2007, the official press agency of China

the official press agency of China

asked the question whether or not what we're looking at here

are ancestors or in fact extraterrestrials.

And my question is,

"What if what we have here is both?"

If you check out this one right here,

If you check out this one right here, look at the eyes.

look at the eyes.

Now, why would any artisan carve

or create something like this?

Because our eyes don't look like this.

The whole thing is very bizarre-looking.

The whole thing is very bizarre-looking. It is not necessarily human.

It is not necessarily human.

It is something else.

The masks look very unusual.

They have big ears, big eyes.

They don't look like normal human beings of today.

NARRATOR: Could it be that the masks found

NARRATOR: Could it be that the masks found at the Sanxingdui site

at the Sanxingdui site

are depicting ancient astronauts

who visited our planet in the remote past?

And if so, could this help explain

And if so, could this help explain the abrupt disappearance

the abrupt disappearance

of a seemingly advanced civilization?

Ultimately, they vanish

and we don't know what happened to them.

So were they some kind of extraterrestrial civilization

or human hybrid civilization?

NARRATOR: For ancient astronaut theorists,

the unearthing of the mysterious Sanxingdui civilization

and their curious artifacts

provides valuable support to the idea

that extraterrestrials shared the planet with mankind

that extraterrestrials shared the planet with mankind in the remote past.

in the remote past.

And they suggest that even more compelling evidence

has been found

with the remnants of a sophisticated society

with the remnants of a sophisticated society that predates the Ice Age.

that predates the Ice Age.

West Java, Indonesia.

Located in Karyamukti village

is a mysterious site called Gunung Padang,

or "Mountain of Enlightenment."

For thousands of years,

the local population revered Gunung Padang as a sacred site,

and many came here to meditate among the giant stone blocks.

But in 1914, Dutch explorers discovered

that the basalt columns scattered across the hilltop

are not natural features at all.

They are, in fact, fragments of an ancient megalithic site.

A century later, in 2013,

A century later, in 2013, the Indonesian government

the Indonesian government

sponsored an excavation

to see if anything was hidden

beneath the layers of dirt and rubble.

What they found was evidence that suggests

Gunung Padang is the world's oldest step pyramid.

COLLINS: Gunung Padang is probably the most remarkable

megalithic structure in the whole of Southeast Asia.

And what it consists of is a hillside

on the top of which are a series of terraces

on which are structures made from basaltic pillars;

and other types of structure.

SCHOCH: But what is really important

is the age of it.

It has been analyzed by Indonesian geologist,

and he seemed to have very good data

from boreholes, from radiocarbon analysis,

from seismic sections--

as I've done around the Great Sphinx--

that this site goes back an incredible

20,000 or so years;

maybe slightly more than that.

NARRATOR: According to geologists,

20,000 years ago,

Java, where Gunung Padang is located,

was not an isolated island,

but the southernmost part

of a sub-continent known as Sundaland.

This has led some researchers to speculate

that Gunung Padang, with its high elevation,

could have been at the pinnacle of a civilization

that disappeared sometime around 10,000 BC,

when melting ice caps flooded the region

and turned it into the series of islands it is today.

The compelling suggestion is that there was

The compelling suggestion is that there was some sort of civilization here

some sort of civilization here

some sort of civilization here before this flood took place,

before this flood took place,

that they built this with advanced technology.

Archeologists are not finding the evidence

that we would normally expect to see

that we would normally expect to see showing a geometric progression

showing a geometric progression

of technology leading up to the ability to build

a gigantic pyramid well over 12,000 years ago.

NARRATOR: Might the remnants of Gunung Padang,

and of the Sanxingdui civilization,

paint a picture of Earth's occupation

that is vastly different than conventional scholars contend?

One where extraterrestrial beings

dwelled on the planet with humans,

as ancient astronaut theorists suggest?

Perhaps evidence to such a history

Perhaps evidence to such a history can be found in the pages

can be found in the pages

of our most sacred texts.

NARRATOR: Throughout the world,

there are incredible manmade structures

that have been found to date back thousands of years earlier

that have been found to date back thousands of years earlier than archaeologists initially thought.

than archaeologists initially thought.

Is it possible that an advanced civilization

really existed on Earth in mankind's prehistory?

A close examination of the so-called Old Testament

A close examination of the so-called Old Testament of the Judeo-Christian Bible

of the Judeo-Christian Bible

suggests that, although Adam and Eve

are presumably the first humans created by God,

their son Cain later went on to marry and join

a thriving community.

FANTHORPE: There are a number of biblical stories

which make us suspect that perhaps homo sapiens

were not the only species on Earth or even the first ones.

Although Adam and Eve are recorded in the Garden of Eden

as the first human parents

that when Cain went on his way

after murdering his brother, Abel...

he comes to another city with other beings living in it.

Now, who are they? What are they?

NARRATOR: According to ancient astronaut theorists,

NARRATOR: According to ancient astronaut theorists, several ancient texts can be found

several ancient texts can be found

that describe beings that dwelled upon the Earth

before the time of Adam and Eve.

These are often referred to as the "pre-Adamites."

There is a long and ancient history

of what today are called pre-Adamites.

Now who are they, what are they?

This is a subject, of course, of many legends.

Those legends tell us tremendous amount of things.

People's lives extended for thousands of years.

They allegedly reached high levels of technology,

even traveling to the stars,

and yet, somehow, something went wrong in their civilization.

The pre-Adamic civilization fell,

but some went to the stars

and they were told, ordered by God,

to watch and to observe.

Let's assume for a moment

that we had this incredible planet

and all of a sudden extraterrestrials,

and all of a sudden extraterrestrials, other beings, came here

other beings, came here

and they had their own facilities,

their own monuments,

their own communities

their own communities for at least some time.

for at least some time.

And then, somewhere along the line, they took off.

NARRATOR: Stories of a time when otherworldly beings

NARRATOR: Stories of a time when otherworldly beings occupied the planet

occupied the planet

can be found in nearly all world mythologies.

For the ancient Egyptians, the dawn of life on Earth

For the ancient Egyptians, the dawn of life on Earth is referred to as "Zep Tepi,"

is referred to as "Zep Tepi,"

"the first time,"

when the god Osiris served as an earthly ruler.

The ancient Greeks called this period the "Golden Age,"

when the Titans and the Olympians dwelled on Earth.

And the ancient Sumerian accounts

detail a time before the creation of man

when the gods were the sole occupants of the planet.

The basic suggestion is that extraterrestrials

colonized planet Earth

thousands of years ago.

And we're talking not 10,000 or 15,000 years ago,

but hundreds of thousands of years ago.

NARRATOR: But if an advanced,

possibly extraterrestrial, civilization

really did exist here on Earth,

why is there no record of it?

No apparent archaeological or architectural evidence?

PAUL BAHN: For most of the cultures studied by archaeology,

PAUL BAHN: For most of the cultures studied by archaeology, we are bereft of, probably,

we are bereft of, probably,

the vast majority of what they produced.

This is particularly true

the further back in time you go,

simply because anything organic will-will not survive.

TSOUKALOS: The reason why most

of the ancient monuments

were built by using stone

is because stone lasts forever.

That's it.

That's it. And the reason why we have

And the reason why we have

these monuments today

is because they were calling cards.

They were calling cards of a pre-civilization.

NARRATOR: Mechanical engineers, like Nikhil Kar,

study the deterioration, corrosion,

study the deterioration, corrosion, and decomposition of various materials

and decomposition of various materials

to determine the approximate rate of decay

to determine the approximate rate of decay and structural failure.

and structural failure.

By applying these principles to a cityscape,

scientists are able to determine

roughly how long it would take

the hallmarks of a sophisticated civilization to disappear.

NIKHIL KAR: If civilization was abandoned,

after 50 years, you would start to see

material degradation processes take over

for a skyscraper, for example.

You would see parts of the external fa�ade

You would see parts of the external fa�ade crumbling to the ground.

crumbling to the ground.

For steel material,

you're gonna start to see little pits form

in that steel structure.

After 1,000 years, the soil may begin

to absorb the material and erode the material itself.

Eventually, you're gonna get to a point where only

stone materials, natural stones

are gonna be around, such as Mount Rushmore.

NARRATOR: Quito, Ecuador.

Here in the grasslands of South America

are the remnants of the Great Incan Road.

The sophisticated network of pathways and trails

covers over 25,000 miles though Ecuador, Peru,

Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.

Presumably, the Inca built this vast roadway

Presumably, the Inca built this vast roadway without the use of the wheel,

without the use of the wheel,

draft animals, metal tools,

draft animals, metal tools, or even a written language.

or even a written language.

Yet modern engineers have noted that the roadway

incorporates advanced engineering principles.

EDWIN BARNHART: The Inca road system

was really one of the most magnificent

ancient architectural feats ever made.

One of the things that made the Inca road so incredible

is that they traversed the Andes,

these incredibly tall, steep mountains.

They had to bore tunnels through mountains.

They cut narrow paths along sheer cliff faces.

BRIEN FOERSTER: One of the most intriguing things

about the Inca road system

is that there is a major artery

that goes from the northwest to the southeast.

And along that, we find almost every major

megalithic construction

megalithic construction including Tiahuanaco,

including Tiahuanaco,

Puma Punku,

Cuzco,

Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo

and Sacsayhuam�n.

Many are starting to believe

that these megalithic structures

are thousands of years older than the Inca

and therefore parts of the Inca road system are, as well,

thousands of years older than that civilization.

The Incas, so many of their great structures,

The Incas, so many of their great structures, Cuzco and their royal highway,

Cuzco and their royal highway,

you ask them who built these, "How did you build these?"

And they'll say, "We didn't build these."

Well, who did build it?

CHILDRESS: The Incas had elaborate legends

of coming through tunnel systems in the earth,

appearing on an island in Lake Titicaca,

and then coming to Cuzco

and finding, already, a system of tunnels

and ancient mines and structures.

and ancient mines and structures. It was the home of the gods,

It was the home of the gods,

It was the home of the gods, where they lived before they left.

where they lived before they left.

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that the foundations of the Inca superhighway

that the foundations of the Inca superhighway and the megalithic sites along it

and the megalithic sites along it

are remnants of an extraterrestrial civilization

that once colonized Earth?

According to ancient astronaut theorists,

According to ancient astronaut theorists, the answer is a profound yes.

the answer is a profound yes.

And to prove it, they point to a series of stone carvings

said to depict mankind's "ancient ancestors."

? ?

NARRATOR: Sanliurfa, Turkey. October 1994.

While plowing his field, shepherd Savak Yildiz

spots a strangely-shaped stone

protruding from the ground.

After brushing away the dirt,

he realizes that it may be part of a much larger object.

Shortly after contacting the local museum with his find,

he is visited by Klaus Schmidt

from the German Archaeological Institute.

It wasn't until German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt

visited the site and began digging

they realized what was really at this site.

What he discovered was mind-blowing.

After discovering the first T-shaped pillar

buried at the site,

he soon found more of these massive structures.

NARRATOR: During the intensive dig,

Schmidt and his team begin to unearth

dozens of additional giant stone monoliths

covered in intricate carvings,

some weighing as much as 20 tons.

some weighing as much as 20 tons. BAHN: The site of G�bekli Tepe

BAHN: The site of G�bekli Tepe

is a series of circular enclosures.

But then, in the center of each enclosure,

you have two particularly big T-shaped pillars of limestone

sort of facing each other.

Now, many of these pillars have remarkable carvings on them,

wonderful carvings and bas-reliefs of animals,

birds, insects, all kinds of things.

So to fashion those and carve them

and set them up in these structures

and set them up in these structures was just absolutely amazing.

was just absolutely amazing.

NARRATOR: Archaeologists estimate

that it would have taken a team of 50 men

an entire week to move just

one of the monolithic pillars from the limestone quarry

to the top of the hill where they stand today,

and over 300 hours to carve the bas-reliefs.

At this rate, each of the five stone circles unearthed so far

would have required a full year to be completed.

But why such a monumental site

was built in the first place remains a mystery.

It's very difficult to know what the purpose

of something like G�bekli Tepe could be.

And certainly Klaus Schmidt had not reached any conclusions,

except that it's clearly not a settlement,

except that it's clearly not a settlement, it's not a village.

it's not a village.

There is absolutely no domestic refuse.

Schmidt always hoped that it was funerary

and that there would be burials underneath the walls

or underneath some of the pillars and so on.

But so far they have not yet found

But so far they have not yet found any human remains at the site.

any human remains at the site.

There are no domestic plants in the site.

There are no domestic plants in the site. They are only wild animal bones.

They are only wild animal bones.

Inevitably, in archeology,

if we don't know what something is for we think of "ritual."

if we don't know what something is for we think of "ritual." But, really, it's pure speculation.

But, really, it's pure speculation.

NARRATOR: Intrigued by evidence that the structure

NARRATOR: Intrigued by evidence that the structure might go back to a Neolithic period,

might go back to a Neolithic period,

Klaus Schmidt has the sediment layers

of the site radiocarbon dated.

The results indicated

The results indicated that the stone structures

that the stone structures

could be as much as 12,000 years old--

more than 5,000 years older

than mankind's first known civilization in Mesopotamia.

More than that,

it would place the construction of G�bekli Tepe

to a time when mainstream scholars suggest

humans were roaming the Earth as hunter-gatherers.

BAHN: Well, the site of G�bekli Tepe

really did send shockwaves through the whole world

of early pre-history, because we'd never before

known or imagined, even,

that simple hunter-gatherers

could produce such spectacular monumental structures.

Now, in archeology, really, since it began,

we've always assumed that hunter-gatherers

were capable of producing wonderful works of art;

rock art, cave art and things like that.

rock art, cave art and things like that. But we never imagined

But we never imagined

that they could come together in sufficient numbers

to make monumental constructions like G�bekli Tepe.

G�bekli Tepe is really one of the greatest

archeological discoveries of all time.

The very first temples in the world are at G�bekli Tepe.

And this, in many ways, changes everything,

because here we have the smoking gun

of a lost civilization.

It confirms to us absolutely

that at the end of the last Ice Age

there was high culture existing in the world.

there was high culture existing in the world. There's no doubt in my mind

There's no doubt in my mind

that there are question marks all around the ancient world

and G�bekli Tepe offers such a giant question mark

because, according to mainstream science,

we were sitting in caves munching on bananas

and clearly, that isn't the case.

NARRATOR: While archaeologists have only excavated

a fraction of this 22-acre site,

what they have found is astounding.

The remains of a complex of buildings,

massive walls, and T-shaped stone formations,

some nine to ten feet tall

and weighing up to 50 tons.

Many of the stone pillars are covered with relief carvings

of animals, reptiles and insects.

Archeologists have also found figures at the site

that appear to represent humans

with strangely stylized clothing.

BAHN: We have no idea what these humans represent.

We suspect that these are not just simple

statues commemorating people.

The-They could be gods, they could be spirits,

they could be ancestors, something of that kind.

NARRATOR: But perhaps most intriguing

NARRATOR: But perhaps most intriguing is a life-size statue

is a life-size statue

is a life-size statue found just six miles away

found just six miles away

that has been dated to the same period:

the Urfa Man.

WILCOCK: This looks like a person

who has come from an advanced civilization,

who's wearing something

who's wearing something that has much more of a defined collar,

that has much more of a defined collar,

possibly even some sort of advanced space suit.

What the heck is he doing there?

What the heck is he doing there? His face looks strange, he's bald,

His face looks strange, he's bald,

his head-- his eyes look weird...

There's something unusual about this guy

and that could be a clue that leads us into the mystery

of an antediluvian or pre-flood civilization.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that the strange humanoid figure

found near G�bekli Tepe actually represents an extraterrestrial?

A being from a lost civilization that existed on Earth

sometime before the last Ice Age?

If so, does it give credence to other ancient stories

describing otherworldly civilizations

describing otherworldly civilizations that once existed here on Earth?

that once existed here on Earth?

There is this recessed courtyard in Tiahuanaco

that has all these different faces.

These stones were found underneath the soil,

meaning that, at some point,

some type of event happened

some type of event happened that buried these particular stones.

that buried these particular stones.

(thunder rumbling)

Some have actually surmised

that they represent some type of a pre-flood civilization.

That what we have here

is, in fact, a remnant that depicts that society.

All over the world we have giant statues

and carvings of people's faces and heads.

Some of them are giant colossal heads

like the Olmec colossal heads.

Others are the Easter Island-type statues,

which are huge and depict people who have

elongated heads-- they're Coneheads, essentially.

They were giants of yore with god-like powers.

In my mind, we could call them extraterrestrials.

In all of these places,

the locals are saying,

"Yes, these are our ancestors.

These are the people who came before us."

NARRATOR: Might our planet really have been inhabited

NARRATOR: Might our planet really have been inhabited by alien visitors

by alien visitors

tens of thousands of years ago?

And might they have brought with them advanced knowledge,

And might they have brought with them advanced knowledge, incredible architecture and technology

incredible architecture and technology

that virtually vanished without a trace,

save for a few stone carvings and monuments?

But why?

What catastrophic event might have happened on Earth

What catastrophic event might have happened on Earth that would have wiped out everything

that would have wiped out everything

that wasn't made of stone?

Perhaps further evidence can be found

by examining a number of massive man-made caves

by examining a number of massive man-made caves recently discovered in China.

recently discovered in China.

NARRATOR: Zhejiang Province, China.

June 1992.

A local villager pumping water

out of a pond in Phoenix Hill

uncovers a man-made cavern

uncovers a man-made cavern with stairs, hallways,

with stairs, hallways,

and massive, ten-story-tall pillars.

The grotto is one in a series of 24 separate caverns,

each with similar proportions

and intricately carved walls, floors and ceilings.

BAHN: Nobody really knows what on earth these things are.

There's no trace of them having been occupied

or being used for storage;

or being used for storage; uh, certainly not for burials,

uh, certainly not for burials,

there's no trace of anything like that.

TSOUKALOS: There's a Swiss author

TSOUKALOS: There's a Swiss author by the name of Luc B�rgin

by the name of Luc B�rgin

who was first to take this story outside of China

in his book China's Mysterious Cave Labyrinth.

And what he showed me convinced me

that some kind of advanced technology was used here.

It's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen,

where you enter this subterranean world

that clearly has been hewn out of the bedrock

with artificial means.

It's almost as if there was some sort

of artificial mechanism that was grinding and drilling

of artificial mechanism that was grinding and drilling all of the stone out.

all of the stone out.

all of the stone out. And this suggests the possibility

And this suggests the possibility

that they may have had some sort of technology.

NARRATOR: Archaeologists estimate

that the material excavated from the site

would amount to nearly one million cubic meters,

approximately the volume of 400 Olympic-sized pools.

Yet there is no evidence

of where this material would have gone

and Chinese officials have calculated

that an endeavor of this magnitude

would take a minimum of 1,000 men

working day and night for at least five years.

There is no historical record

of these caverns having been excavated.

of these caverns having been excavated. So there's no document explaining

So there's no document explaining

what they were used for, who excavated them

and this remains a very, very frustrating detail

for historians.

COLLINS: We know that in China there are written records

that go back at least 3,000 years.

They make absolutely no mention of these caves.

So we must look much further back in time

for their origin.

for their origin. But exactly how old are they?

But exactly how old are they?

Are they 4,000 years, 5,000 years?

Are they even 10,000 years?

We just don't know at this time.

TSOUKALOS: Some have suggested

that they're up to 15,000 years old.

that they're up to 15,000 years old. In fact, Chinese scholars

In fact, Chinese scholars

In fact, Chinese scholars are the ones who have proposed

are the ones who have proposed

that this cave system

dates back to one of China's first emperors, Huangdi.

And Huangdi, as we all know,

descended from the sky

in nothing else but a fiery dragon.

WILCOCK: Somebody went to an extreme amount of trouble

to build an underground civilization.

to build an underground civilization. Why would they do that?

Why would they do that?

Is it possible that something was happening

on the surface of the Earth?

When we go back to the Icelandic legends,

we see this cataclysm

that is described as a cataclysm of fire

called the Ragnar�k,

in which you have flames in the air

and rocks and gravel raining down from the sky.

NARRATOR: In the Icelandic Ragnar�k legend,

the world is turned upside down.

A great fire is followed

by a submersion of the world in water,

resulting in the death of the Nordic gods

resulting in the death of the Nordic gods and their offspring.

and their offspring.

Only two humans are left to repopulate the Earth.

It is a tale much like that of the Great Flood

found in the Judeo-Christian Bible.

And similar stories of a great deluge,

one that marks the end of an old world

one that marks the end of an old world and the start of a new one,

and the start of a new one,

can be found in the histories of virtually

every ancient civilization on our planet.

SCHOCH: Virtually every culture, every ancient culture

talks about floods, and ancient floods.

Some people dismiss this as, you know,

myth, without explanation.

But what we find geologically

is, in fact, we would expect flood legends.

NARRATOR: In 2007, a consortium of geologists

publishes its collective findings

indicating evidence of a major meteor event.

What they discover is a carbon-rich layer

in the geological record at various sites across the globe

dating back to around 10,900 BC.

A separate study conducted by scientists

A separate study conducted by scientists studying Arctic ice core samples

studying Arctic ice core samples

finds evidence suggesting a rapid glacial melt

at nearly the same time period.

SCHOCH: The Ice Age ends very, very dramatically,

almost literally overnight.

almost literally overnight. You see this in the ice cores.

You see this in the ice cores.

All of a sudden, there are dramatic changes,

temperatures rising, torrential rains, flooding.

NARRATOR: Could the geological record suggest

that the stories of a global cataclysm are true?

(thunder crashing)

According to ancient astronaut theorists,

According to ancient astronaut theorists, not only is this the case,

not only is this the case,

but further evidence can be found in recent discoveries

of long-lost sunken cities.

Fuxian Lake. Yunnan Province, China.

1992.

Expert diver Geng Wei

Expert diver Geng Wei descends into this remote lake

descends into this remote lake

and discovers a surprising phenomenon:

The bottom is littered with hand-carved flagstones

and other stone relics.

The mysterious stones lie scattered on the bottom

of China's second-deepest freshwater lake,

which covers an area of 100 square miles

with a depth of 509 feet.

What he saw was quite extraordinary.

What he saw was quite extraordinary. Hand-dressed flagstones,

Hand-dressed flagstones,

roads, buildings...

...and it's as if he discovered an underwater city...

...that clearly has evidence of dwellings

at the bottom of a lake.

It was built when there wasn't a lake,

and that would mean that we're talking about

a time before the last Ice Age,

which would bring the story of Fuxian Lake

which would bring the story of Fuxian Lake way more into the remote past

way more into the remote past

way more into the remote past than what we're being told.

than what we're being told.

CHILDRESS: Geng Wei made over 35 dives in Fuxian Lake.

And they even took a submarine down into this lake...

...to find stairs and more of these flagstones

and walls beneath this lake.

So you have to wonder,

did some kind of advanced civilization

exist at one time beneath Fuxian Lake?

NARRATOR: In 2001,

archaeologists from the Yunnan Provincial Museum

used advanced sonar scanners and cameras

to conduct the monumental task of surveying Fuxian Lake.

The evidence collected convinced Chinese archaeologists

they had discovered structures of an advanced civilization,

including an arena-type building and pyramids.

This mysterious sunken city

covers more than one square mile,

but the questions remain...

who built it and why?

The pyramid itself is very unusual

and it's-- it is said that the pyramid

is as old as the Egyptian pyramids are

and maybe even higher than some of them.

and maybe even higher than some of them. It's an incredible discovery.

It's an incredible discovery.

NARRATOR: With the discovery of more and more ancient sites

that date back to an earlier epoch of civilization,

are we on the verge of discovering irrefutable proof

of a vastly different history than we've been taught?

And perhaps, even more astoundingly,

that for thousands of years,

Earth has been inhabited by extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR: Aerospace engineer

and satellite imagining expert Dr. Mark Carlotto

has spent the past three years investigating

some of the world's most impressive archaeological sites.

some of the world's most impressive archaeological sites. After closely examining

After closely examining

each site's precise geographical orientation,

he has come to the incredible conclusion

that many ancient structures provide evidence

of being far older than has been suggested

by mainstream archaeology

and were likely built tens of thousands of years ago.

If you look at many monuments today,

they're often built with respect to the cardinal directions.

So knowledge of the Earth, of astronomy,

of the heavens, was very important in alignments.

NARRATOR: Because most of the world's megalithic structures

were built so that they would be in precise alignment

with the Earth's cardinal directions

of north, south, east and west,

of north, south, east and west, Dr. Carlotto's investigation

Dr. Carlotto's investigation

had a breakthrough after he noticed that Teotihuac�n,

the ancient complex north of Mexico City,

didn't properly line up.

An extraordinary possibility then occurred to him:

perhaps the structure was built

perhaps the structure was built tens of thousands of years earlier,

tens of thousands of years earlier,

when the Earth's poles were not in their current locations.

It was an idea that was not as far-fetched as it seems.

In the 1950s,

Harvard educated scientist Charles Hapgood

proposed a theory known as "crustal displacement,"

whereby, at certain moments in history,

the Earth's crust suddenly and rapidly shifts positions,

and, in the process, changes the positions

of the North and South Poles.

MICHAEL DENNIN: Plate tectonics have plates moving slowly

as individual separate plates.

Um, Charles had a theory

that, basically, instead of a slow, steady movement,

he was really interested in sudden,

quick movements of the crust as a whole.

CHILDRESS: What Hapgood was saying

was that the thin crust of the Earth

can slip forward on the mantle.

And therefore, the North Pole and South Pole

can shift somewhat.

(thunder crashing)

And this causes huge cataclysmic changes.

Hapgood's analysis was based on climate data.

Looking at patterns of climate change,

uh, changes in glacial patterns, ice ages,

and then correlating those patterns

with what he believed was the cause,

which was a shift of the poles.

Hapgood believed that over

Hapgood believed that over the last hundred thousand years or so,

the last hundred thousand years or so,

that there were three previous locations of the North Pole.

And when I looked at the imagery of these Meso-American sites

and realized that these pyramids and temples

were not aligned to north, I thought,

perhaps they were aligned to former north poles

that Hapgood had discovered.

Hapgood actually sent this theory

to Albert Einstein, who endorsed it.

to Albert Einstein, who endorsed it. And when Einstein died,

And when Einstein died,

he actually had Hapgood's book open on his desk.

NARRATOR: Dr. Carlotto believes that some of the world's

most impressive ancient structures

not only confirm Hapgood's theory

but radically alter our understanding

of intelligent life on planet Earth.

So my process for analyzing these images

starts with a geographically registered image

starts with a geographically registered image where north is up.

where north is up.

So, for example, here we have Teotihuac�n,

and this is where my search began.

And let me just highlight the four sides so

we can define a direction towards the north.

As you can see in this image,

the pyramid is not oriented to their cardinal directions,

the pyramid is not oriented to their cardinal directions, north, south, east, and west.

north, south, east, and west.

NARRATOR: To test his theory,

NARRATOR: To test his theory, Dr. Carlotto was curious to find out

Dr. Carlotto was curious to find out

Dr. Carlotto was curious to find out if other ancient structures

if other ancient structures

shared Teotihuac�n's same geographic anomaly.

What I ended up doing was developing an algorithm

as the basis for analyzing their alignment.

So now, as we'll see

when we zoom out, we'll find that Teotihuac�n

is aligned to other sites nearby

and I'll show you that by zooming out here.

And this shows a number of other sites

And this shows a number of other sites in the valley of Mexico

in the valley of Mexico

that are aligned in the same general direction.

All of these lines are meridians that lead

to a point east of Hudson Bay.

NARRATOR: Incredibly, these sites align with a location

that Hapgood proposed was once the North Pole.

CARLOTTO: Hapgood believed the Hudson Bay Pole

existed 12,000 to 18,000 years ago.

So these sites, by virtue of their alignment

to this particular pole, could be that old.

NARRATOR: If Dr. Carlotto's analysis is correct,

it would date the construction of Teotihuac�n

it would date the construction of Teotihuac�n to at least 10,000 BC,

to at least 10,000 BC,

which is 10,000 years older

than mainstream archaeologists propose.

And he contends that other ancient sites

were built even earlier.

CARLOTTO: One of the most enigmatic sites

CARLOTTO: One of the most enigmatic sites on Earth is Baalbek,

on Earth is Baalbek,

the Temple of Jupiter, in Lebanon.

As you can see, this site is oriented

to a point in Northern Greenland

that Hapgood believed

was a former location of the North Pole.

NARRATOR: Based on Hapgood's theory,

Baalbek's alignment to Northern Greenland

would date it to a staggering 50,000 years ago.

Another site nearby, the Western Wall

Another site nearby, the Western Wall in the city of Jerusalem,

in the city of Jerusalem,

is aligned in the direction of the Greenland Pole.

And let's take a look at a third site,

the Parthenon in Athens.

We believe that the original structures at these sites--

in other words, the original sites themselves--

were established as long ago as 50,000 years.

NARRATOR: According to Dr. Carlotto,

these are still not the oldest structures that exist on Earth.

Based on Hapgood's theory,

the North Pole was located in the Bering Sea

more than 100,000 years ago.

So this is the Temple of the Six Monoliths

at Ollantaytambo

and it's the Sun Temple.

Normally, sun temples are aligned

to the cardinal directions.

They have an eastern side that faces

the rising sun on the equinox.

Here, the sun temple is tilted approximately 45 degrees.

An alignment to the current pole doesn't make any sense,

An alignment to the current pole doesn't make any sense, but if we now change our reference

but if we now change our reference

and look at an earlier pole,

this pole thought to have existed in the Bering Sea,

then the orientation of the sun temple makes perfect sense.

So what's significant about this analysis

is that it actually extends the timeframe for archaeology

from 10,000 years to tens of thousands of years

to perhaps a hundred thousand years or more.

So, it's my contention that the five ages of the Aztecs,

the five ages of the Greeks

and the previous and current locations of the pole

and the previous and current locations of the pole are all correlated.

are all correlated.

They all tell the same story.

CHILDRESS: The idea that cataclysmic pole shifts

CHILDRESS: The idea that cataclysmic pole shifts actually occurred is startling.

actually occurred is startling.

These structures can be much older

than archaeologists admit.

And, ultimately, hundreds, thousands of years later,

people found them again and-- and started reusing them.

people found them again and-- and started reusing them. It's a fascinating thought.

It's a fascinating thought.

NARRATOR: Are the remnants of long-lost civilizations

NARRATOR: Are the remnants of long-lost civilizations still standing today?

still standing today?

Civilizations that existed on Earth

as much as 100,000 years ago,

but that were misinterpreted by scholars

but that were misinterpreted by scholars as being much more recent?

as being much more recent?

Perhaps the greatest evidence of this

can be found by examining a mysterious discovery

that was made deep beneath the ice in Antarctica.

NARRATOR: Antarctica is a land of extremes.

Nearly 98% of the ground

is covered by an ice sheet up to three miles thick.

A mountain as towering as Japan's Mt. Fuji,

at 12,400 feet, would not even break the surface.

Temperatures regularly fall below -50 degrees Fahrenheit

Temperatures regularly fall below -50 degrees Fahrenheit with winds of up to 200 miles an hour.

with winds of up to 200 miles an hour.

During its peak season,

During its peak season, it is home to only 4,000 scientists

it is home to only 4,000 scientists

and military personnel.

Antarctica is the last frontier.

Antarctica is the last frontier. It holds our imagination.

It holds our imagination.

Old maps that said, "Here be monsters..."

The last remaining territory on the planet

that could have such a designation is Antarctica.

NARRATOR: Although it was discovered

nearly 250 years ago,

scientists have more questions than answers

when it comes to this frozen continent.

Due to the sheer depth of the ice covering its landmass,

the surface of Antarctica

is unable to be seen with the naked eye.

is unable to be seen with the naked eye. And ancient astronaut theorists propose

And ancient astronaut theorists propose

that it is not just the geology that is hidden from us.

They suggest there is far more human--

and perhaps non-human-- activity happening

in Antarctica than we've been told.

Something seems to be going on

on this mysterious continent at the South Pole.

And it has been theorized by a number of people

that Antarctica is some kind of alien base.

NARRATOR: Rumors of extraterrestrial activity

in Antarctica have circulated for years.

If these accounts are true, and there is, in fact,

an extraterrestrial presence in Antarctica today,

an extraterrestrial presence in Antarctica today, could it have been there for hundreds

could it have been there for hundreds

could it have been there for hundreds or even thousands of years?

or even thousands of years?

In July 2018,

Linda Moulton Howe interviewed a whistleblower

who offered to provide her with classified information

regarding Antarctica

on the condition that she not reveal his identity.

Her source, a retired Navy SEAL

who she identifies as "Spartan 1,"

provided her with details of an ancient structure

he claims to have visited during his time at the South Pole.

At that time, my rank was First Lieutenant Commander,

At that time, my rank was First Lieutenant Commander, Naval Special Operations.

Naval Special Operations.

We were inbound the southeast coast of Antarctica.

We were dispatched for... unofficially,

it was a research/reconnaissance mission.

Officially, it was to find a certain individual,

obtain any information, and bring it back.

LINDA MOULTON HOWE: What was the date?

SPARTAN 1: August 2003.

SPARTAN 1: August 2003. NARRATOR: According to Spartan 1,

NARRATOR: According to Spartan 1,

when he and his team reached their destination,

they encountered a large octagonal structure

they encountered a large octagonal structure protruding from the ice.

protruding from the ice.

Cautiously, they proceeded to enter it.

SPARTAN 1: The very top of the first structure we entered,

there was almost 18 feet poking from the ice.

The rest of it was hidden under the ice.

The rest of it was hidden under the ice. Each door was the same.

Each door was the same.

Uh, anywhere from 18 feet thick

to around 30 feet thick.

And even though these doors were that thick and that heavy,

you could take one finger and push them and they would open.

There was no resistance whatsoever.

The outside temperature was at least 40 degrees below zero.

Once you stepped inside these structures,

the temperature was an ambient 68 to 72 degrees.

SPARTAN 1: It was lighted from the inside,

but we could not find the source of light.

It was a lime green in color.

The walls were lined with what I call hieroglyphics.

But nothing of hieroglyphics that I've ever seen in my life.

NARRATOR: Could there really be mysterious structures

buried at the South Pole?

Structures built by an advanced extraterrestrial

civilization in our remote past?

Buried underneath the ice in Antarctica

could well be stone temple constructions.

There could be biological material,

remains of beings that lived there

remains of beings that lived there and could still be there.

and could still be there.

It could be the greatest reveal in all of human history.

NARRATOR: Could it be that long before the time

of humankind's earliest recorded history,

Earth was home to highly advanced

and perhaps even extraterrestrial civilizations?

As archaeologists continue to uncover remnants

As archaeologists continue to uncover remnants of long-lost cities,

of long-lost cities,

will they find evidence of sophisticated societies

that thrived tens of thousands of years ago?

Perhaps the deeper we dig into our planet's past,

the closer we will come

to learning the truth about our own origins

and our connection to ancestors

who arrived from the stars.

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