All language subtitles for Ancient Aliens Origins S01E09 1080p WEB h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: A biblical relic
of unimaginable power.

Lost artifacts that enabled
communication with the gods.

And crystal skulls rumored
to contain the wisdom

of lost civilizations.

For nearly two decades,

Ancient Aliens has
traveled the globe,

exploring towering
megalithic structures,

mysterious artifacts

and stories
of otherworldly beings

in a quest for evidence
that might reveal the truth

of our extraterrestrial origins.

Any sufficiently
advanced technology

is indistinguishable from magic.

Now, we have multiple examples
of that in the ancient world.

NARRATOR:
Now, we take a look back

through
the Ancient Aliens archives

to the show's very origins

to examine the evidence
that we are not alone.

We have never been alone.

One of the most
fundamental ideas

of the ancient astronaut theory

is what I refer to
as "misunderstood technology."

Meaning that
our ancestors witnessed

extraterrestrials using
advanced technology

that they misinterpreted

-as something divine.
-DAVID CHILDRESS: Exactly.

And we have a lot of examples
of this in the Old Testament,

and we're starting

with the Ark of the Covenant,
which is probably

the greatest extraterrestrial
device ever written about

-by our ancestors.
-Right.

WILLIAM HENRY:
Oh, yeah. There's all sorts

of divine powers attributed

to the Ark that sound
like a lost technology.

We talked about this

in a 2013 episode
of Ancient Aliens--

"Aliens and the Lost Ark."

NARRATOR:
The West Bank, July, 2013.

Ten miles north of the
Israeli settlement of Beit El,

archaeologists unearth
clay pots, stoves

and a portion of a wall

dating back to around 1300 BC.

But the most mundane
of their findings here

may also be
the most significant--

holes carved
into the solid rock ground.

Based on the location
and the date of the artifacts,

they believe these holes may
have once held the wooden beams

used to support
the Tabernacle at Shiloh.

If true, it is
the first physical evidence

ever discovered
of the ancient sanctuary built

to house what is perhaps the
most mysterious religious relic

in the world:

The Ark of the Covenant.

The story of
the Ark of the Covenant

is one of the most fascinating

and unexplored stories
of the Bible.

The Ark of the Covenant had
some very mysterious powers.

GRAHAM HANCOCK:
The Ark of the Covenant was

what took me out
of mainstream journalism.

I began to wonder, what...
what could this thing have been?

NARRATOR:
Reproductions of the Ark of
the Covenant can be found

in churches, synagogues

and Masonic temples
throughout the world.

It has even been featured
in popular culture.

But just what is
the Ark of the Covenant?

Mount Sinai,
the 15th century BC.

According to the Bible's
Book of Exodus,

after the Israelites were
released from Egypt,

God summoned Moses to the peak
of this holy mountain

and gave him
two stone tablets

carved with
the Ten Commandments.

He also gave him
specific instructions

for building
the Ark of the Covenant.

It was the box
that was constructed

to contain the two tablets
of the Ten Commandments,

which were irradiated
with divine power,

because they had been touched
by the finger of God.

The covenant itself was
a contract between God, uh,

and the Israelites.

"I will be your God
and protect you,

provided you keep
my commandments."

Israel's end of the deal, then,

was going to be kept in the box,

which is the Ark itself.

NARRATOR:
But the Ark of the Covenant

didn't only carry
the Ten Commandments.

It was also said to be
the throne of God himself.

In the Book of Exodus
in the 25th chapter,

the verse is very clear.

God says to Moses, "V'asu li
mikdash v'shachanti b'tocham."

"Have them make me a holy place,

and I, God,
I will dwell among them."

And wherever the Ark went,

that power of God went
with them.

The Ark is built in

a reflection of what's called
a "heavenly ark."

It was built
two and a half cubits,

by one and a half cubits,
by one and a half cubits.

So the Ark would've been
somewhere in the ballpark

of about a three-by-five foot
rectangular box.

DOWNING:
It was going
to be covered with gold,

on the outside and the inside,

and was to have two gold rings
at each of the four corners.

And it was carried with poles
that were run through the rings.

And the orders were

that the poles should never
be removed from the rings.

And the lid was
to be made out of gold,

and on each end of the lid
were to be, uh,

cherubim or guardian angels,
basically, with wings.

NARRATOR:
But why was it so important

that the Ark be constructed
to such exact specifications?

And why would God,
a spiritual being,

require a physical throne
here on Earth?

Perhaps there is an answer

in the Bible's description
of Moses

after he returned
from Mount Sinai.

TZADOK:
After Moses came down
from Mount Sinai,

he was glowing, the Bible says,

that he had
to wear a scarf over his face.

TSOUKALOS:
I am fascinated with the idea

that Moses, all of a sudden,
his appearance changed.

And so, the idea
that Moses, all of a sudden,

looked different,
we have to ask ourselves why?

NARRATOR:
Just what did Moses encounter
on Mount Sinai?

Was it God?

Or was it someone
or something else?

TZADOK:
God is clearly an entity
not of this Earth,

and by definition, therefore,
an extraterrestrial.

Where does he come from?

We must recognize that
when the ancients are speaking

about God,
there is no other term

that we can use
to describe these experiences

other than "extraterrestrial."

NARRATOR:
After the Ark was built

and the Ten Commandments
placed within it,

the Israelites carried it
with them

on their 40-year exodus
through the desert.

The Ark of the Covenant
was considered powerful,

because it was the meeting place
of God and humanity.

And so, it had
to be carried on poles

so that it could be conveyed
without being touched.

Certain people were allowed
to carry it,

and those people
were ordained priests.

Aaron, Moses' brother, and
his sons were certainly priests.

It was a prestigious job.

But you had
to know what you were doing

DOWNING:
Now, the Ark would be covered

while they're carrying it,
with a cloth, so that

they really couldn't see
what they were carrying.

And they were given
strict orders

that they should not lift up
the cloth

and look at the Ark
and try to see it.

NARRATOR:
But why was the Ark considered
so dangerous

that it couldn't be touched,
or even looked at?

According
to the Old Testament accounts,

the Ark of the Covenant

was not only a powerful device
on its own.

It also housed a number of other
important religious relics.

In addition
to the Ten Commandments,

it held Aaron's Rod--

the staff
that could miraculously

turn into a serpent.

It also held a jar of manna,
an edible starch

which reportedly came
from the sky.

What we begin to realize is

that the Ark of the Covenant
was a sort of tool kit.

And whence this tool kit
was assembled,

we have the fully-functioning
Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark went before them
in the wilderness

and made sure the place

where the children of Israel
were to go would be safe

and able to provide for them
in the desert.

Anybody who's been
to the Sinai Desert,

you could hardly imagine

two to three million people
having any kind of sustenance

in a desert.

So, therefore, what the Ark
must've accomplished

was profound.

NARRATOR:
The Ark of the Covenant
was said

to have protected
and provided for the Israelites

during the Exodus.

But how?

You know, what makes
the Ark of the Covenant

so fascinating is that

it not only held
the Ten Commandments, but

also, other items that could
have been technological devices.

Yeah, like Aaron's Rod.

And, you know,
in addition to the Bible,

there's another ancient text

that describes the Ark
and its powers,

-and that's the Zohar.
-TSOUKALOS: Right.

And in the Zohar,
it is described

that the Ark may have been
some sort of a machine

that was dispensing food.

And these two
electrical engineers--

George Sassoon and Rodney Dale--

actually built a replica
of this device,

which we featured in the very
first episode of Ancient Aliens.

NARRATOR:
13th century BC.

According to the Book of Exodus,

Moses, chosen by God,

led the Hebrew people
out of Egypt.

Some 600,000 men,
women and children

embarked on what would become
a 40-year trek

through the Sinai Desert
toward the promised land.

During this time, the Bible says

the Israelites survived

by eating a single
food source-- manna.

But was this manna
a naturally-abundant food

provided by God,
or, as some believe,

by an advanced,
food-dispensing machine?

TUDOR PARFITT:
In the Bible,
it explains how the Israelites

got from Egypt,
where they'd been slaves,

to the promised land.

They had to cross

the Sinai Desert.

And inevitably, given that
there was a lot of Israelites

and very little growing,
as it was a desert,

they ran short on supplies.

God stepped in, at this point,
and sent manna from Heaven.

This took the form
of some kind of seeds

that rained down
upon the desert,

and then they were collected
the next day,

and they provided food
for the Israelites,

except Friday, when
there was a double portion,

because on Saturday, being
the Sabbath, it didn't fall.

NARRATOR:
While the Hebrew Bible fails

to give a clear description
of manna,

another ancient Jewish text
provides an alternative clue.

The Zohar is a collection
of spiritual commentaries

and interpretations
of the Torah,

and is central
to the mystical Kabbalah belief

written in the 13th century.

The Zohar describes

what is called
"the Ancient of Days"

as providing the manna.

But what was
this Ancient of Days?

A man, a god, or something else?

The text speaks
of different-sized brains,

different-sized faces.

They were connected
with different tubes

and different light sources.

Theologians have suggested that
this is a description of God.

However, when looked at
from a modern perspective,

what is described in the Zohar

isn't necessarily a god figure,

but rather, a type of machine.

NARRATOR:
Intrigued by this information,

two electrical engineers--
George Sassoon and Rodney Dale--

used the anatomical descriptions
of the Ancient of Days

to design what
they called "a manna machine."

DALE:
This really is...

is the... the key diagram
of the manna machine

as we built it up
from the texts.

For instance,
one-- here-- is the mouth.

But it's actually
the air intake,

which carries what is described
as "the breath of life."

The air goes up this tube here,

which is described as the...
the brain of the ancient one

but is actually a dew still.

So that, although we were
talking about the great sea

and the hairs of the beard
and so on,

at the same time,
we were able to work out

their relative positions

and build up the specification
of the machine

and find that we had something
that was biochemically viable.

♪ ♪

(speaking German)

(translated): The machine
took in moist morning air

and condensed it
in the part of the machine

that looked like
a plexiglass dome.

From there, it mixed
with an algae culture.

The culture was treated
with energy,

such as a strong laser light,
in order to speed the growth.

DALE:
Of course, it needed energy
for cultivating the alga.

And this was produced,
we postulate,

in a small nuclear reactor
which would produce

both heat and light as required.

(Fiebag speaking German)

(translated): The manna machine
was a very dangerous device.

We suspect that the reactor
that powered the machine

was transported
in the Ark of the Covenant.

TSOUKALOS:
We have multiple references
in the Bible

that whoever came close
to the Ark of the Covenant

and didn't know
how to operate it

was smitten to death.

And sometimes people,
after they encountered the Ark,

started to lose their nails
and started to lose their hair.

So we have evidence of some type
of radiation poisoning

which was in direct correlation
with the Ark of the Covenant.

And so, the Ark of the Covenant

housed an
extraterrestrial device

which was given
to the Israelites

during their 40-year wandering
through the desert.

NARRATOR:
The manna machine is believed
to have supplied

a highly nutritious form
of green algae or chlorella

as its food source.

It's yet another theory
supported by modern science.

DALE:
We found that work
in the field of space travel,

uh, had already been done

where the green alga chlorella
was bred in tanks

and fed to people living
in the closed environment,

uh, and kept them alive.

NARRATOR:
Research studies done by NASA

in the 1960s and 1970s
established that human life

could be sustained
for extended periods of time

by consuming chlorella algae
and nothing else.

If it's possible for astronauts
to survive on algae,

could the Israelites
have done the same?

(speaking German)

(translated): The manna machine
was a sensitive device.

In order to function properly,

it had to be cleaned
once a week.

On that day, the machine was
taken apart and cleaned.

So it's possible
that the Sabbath we have today

actually originated
from cleaning this machine.

DALE:
One of the big questions is:

Where did the machine come from?

And I suppose there are
two answers to that.

Either it was built on Earth,

which is a theory
I can't really subscribe to...

The other question, of course,
is that it might have come

from outer space somewhere.

Now, that's quite a big leap
of imagination.

But, of course,
the interesting part is that

it actually produces food
as is used by a spacecraft.

NARRATOR:
Did the Ark of the Covenant
really house a machine

that provided food
to the Israelites

during their 40 years
in the desert?

According to
ancient astronaut theorists

and many religious scholars,
the answer is yes.

But that wasn't the only power
the Ark possessed,

for as the Ark
could sustain life,

it could also destroy it.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
The Jordan River.

A 200-mile border separating

the present-day
Kingdom of Jordan

from Israel and the West Bank.

In 1400 BC, this waterway

represented one of
the final obstacles

to the wandering Israelites'
long-awaited entrance

into the promised land.

DOWNING:
The Ark of the Covenant
comes into its own

when Joshua is given the task

of, uh, leading Israel
across the Jordan River.

And the story is that
the Ark of the Covenant

would go first and be carried
into the Jordan River.

The water would stop flowing.

Some energy came forth
from the Ark,

causing the waters
to literally stop and ascend,

and therefore creating dry land

for the entire
children of Israel to pass on

off into the Holy Land.

NARRATOR:
But if this biblical story
is true,

what kind of power could the Ark
of the Covenant have possessed

that would cause
a raging river to stand still?

What if the people
who wrote these stories

were simply reporting on what
they were actually seeing?

If that's true,
then the Ark of the Covenant

clearly represents a technology

that is more advanced
than anything we have now.

If you want to part water,
maybe a good way to do it

would be with high-speed winds.

If you blow enough air,
you can get the water

out of the way,
and you can actually

maybe even form
those two walls of water.

CHILDRESS:
There's some kind of technology
that they're using,

and it's so that
they can accomplish their goals

and continue on their journey,
and they're able to use

this extraterrestrial technology
to do it.

NARRATOR:
According to the Bible's
Book of Joshua,

the Ark of the Covenant
once again proved

a powerful ally
when the Israelites arrived

on the western banks
of the Jordan River,

set on conquering
the seemingly impenetrable

walled city of Jericho.

The reputation of the Israelites
preceded them.

People were terrified.

They have heard the rumors
of the power

of this great and awesome Ark.

They now come
to the city of Jericho.

The people were
commanded by God,

"March around the city walls."

They march around the city once
on the first day.

The next day,
they do the very same thing.

The third, fourth, fifth and
the sixth day is the same thing.

On the seventh day,
they march around,

and then they blow the trumpets,
and all the people shout.

-(trumpets blasting)
-(people yelling)

TZADOK:
Between the marching
of the feet,

the sounding of the rams' horns,
the shofar,

and with some power
not described from the Ark,

it enabled the big stone mighty
walls of the city of Jericho

to somehow be vibrated with a...

earthquake-type force,
which caused them to collapse.

(rumbling)

When I hear that they had to
walk around Jericho seven times,

and then the trumpets
were the ones

that allowed
for those walls to crumble,

one would have to ask
yourselves,

was there something else to it?

DENNIN:
Knocking something down,
like a wall, with pressure

is not inconceivable.

So you could imagine
trying to do this.

Now, when you look at things,
think of standard examples

that we experience.

When the space shuttle lands,
we get the sonic boom.

And you can feel it
rattling the walls,

and you can actually hear it.

That's far away.

Imagine getting the sonic boom
closer to the object.

You might be able to do
significant damage to the wall.

NARRATOR:
Could the Israelites
actually have witnessed

an advanced technology

beyond even our own
modern capabilities?

A machine that could
instantly part waters

and bring down stone walls?

Some ancient astronaut theorists
believe the best evidence

that the Ark of the Covenant
may have held alien technology

can be found by studying events
that took place

300 years after
the sacking of Jericho,

when the Ark was stolen.

According to the Book of Samuel,

when the Israelites
went to battle

with the mighty Philistine army
around 1100 BC,

they brought out
the Ark of the Covenant

to aid them once again.

But God had not given them
instructions to do so.

(thunder crashing)

Angered by their presumption

that they could use the Ark
as a weapon without his orders,

he awarded victory
to the Philistines,

who captured it as a trophy.

The Bible records
very strange things

then started to happen.

Death, sickness broke out
amongst the Philistines.

Now, in ancient times, they had
no understanding of energy

or what we would maybe consider

something similar
to a radioactive sickness.

They considered this
to be displeasure of the god.

They placed the Ark
next to a statue

of one of their gods, Dagan.

And they leave,
and when they come back,

they see that Dagan's head
has been decapitated

and his hands
have been taken off.

So they say, "We've got
to get rid of this thing."

DOWNING:
And so they loaded

the Ark of the Covenant
on a cart

and sent it off in the direction
of an Israeli village

called Beth-Shemesh.

Then, of course, everyone ran up
to look at the Ark.

And as a result, the Bible says,

70 men died
when they looked at the Ark.

(explosive whooshing)

For those who have been fans
of Raiders of the Lost Ark

and remember the last scene
when Indy is shouting,

"Don't look, don't look,
don't look..."

...that's where
that story comes from.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
The Old Testament contains

numerous other examples
of the Ark's devastating powers

and ultimately depicts it
as a deadly device

capable of striking down anyone
who does not follow God's rules.

TZADOK:
When Aaron,
who was the high priest,

his two sons approached
to give an offering,

it's stated that
literally two beams of fire

came forth from the Ark
and went up their nostrils

and burnt them from the inside,

leaving their entire outsides
intact.

NARRATOR:
Beams of fire?

Burning people from inside?

Why would an instrument of God
contain such deadly powers?

If the Ark of the Covenant
was truly divine,

why would it strike down
two people

who were simply trying
to make an offering?

TSOUKALOS:
Wherever it showed up,

people would
all of a sudden die.

In my opinion,
it was a storage container

that housed some type
of a nuclear device.

And having a nuclear device
in the hands

of a technologically
primitive society

would result in people
dying left and right.

Naturally, people would refer
to that as the wrath of God

when, in reality,
it's nothing else

but the wrath of atomic power.

(explosive whooshing)

NARRATOR:
Is it possible, as ancient
astronaut theorists suggest,

that the Ark of the Covenant
actually contained

a nuclear device?

One that was brought
to Earth not by God

but by visitors
from another planet?

JASON MARTELL:
It's possible that
the Ark of the Covenant

is some type of superweapon
that was being controlled

or guided
from an extraterrestrial.

NARRATOR:
Was the Ark of the Covenant
actually a sophisticated,

high-tech device
that was so advanced

that the ancient Israelites
were unable to control it?

Perhaps.

But of all the Ark's
alleged powers,

there was one
that was the most incredible:

(electrical crackling)

Its ability to communicate
directly with God.

There are so many
fascinating things

about the Ark of the Covenant,

and one of the most interesting

is that only the high priests
could approach the Ark,

and they had to wear
a special garment when they did.

Oh, absolutely, and in fact,
they did this primarily

to protect themselves
from its incredible powers.

Like, they had to wear a special
headdress, they had to wear

long robes
and something that's called

the breastplate of judgment.

Yeah, that breastplate
of judgment sounds like

a clear case of some
misunderstood technology,

because that breastplate

had these gemstones in it
that would light up and vibrate

when the high priest
was interacting with the Ark.

That's a communications device.

NARRATOR:
Petra, Jordan.

At the summit of Jebel Haroun,

a small white dome
marks the tomb of Aaron,

the brother of Moses.

According to the Hebrew Bible,
Aaron was chosen by God

to be the first high priest
of the Israelites,

a title that came with
enormous responsibility.

FEINSTEIN:
Aaron, Moses's brother,
served as priest of the people.

And then, following Aaron,
the line of the priests

followed his genealogy.

They were the ones designated
to carry the Ark.

And they were the ones permitted
to come close to it in worship.

CARTER:
The attire of the priests
was beautiful,

but it was also there
for their protection.

They had to wear a miter.
They wore a breastplate.

They had to wear a long robe.

They had to keep certain areas
of the body protected.

The head, the lungs,
the heart, the genital area.

TZADOK:
The high priest
would have to have

these on to approach the Ark.

And when he approached the Ark,
he had to have

a rope tied around his leg. Why?

So if and when something
ever went wrong,

and the Ark struck him
or he died...

...no one would be allowed
to go in to retrieve his body

'cause they would suffer
the same fate.

FEINSTEIN:
On top of the Ark were
the figures of two angels.

And it was said in the Bible
that God's presence

came to rest
in the tiny space between them.

That was the place
where Heaven and Earth touched.

NARRATOR:
The space between the angels
on the lid of the Ark

was known as the mercy seat,

upon which the image of God
would allegedly sit

when communicating
with a Levite priest.

But did the Israelites
really witness

an otherworldly presence
between the two angels?

And if so, was it literally
the image of God

or something else?

Based on the numerous accounts
of the Ark's awesome power,

some ancient astronaut theorists
have proposed

that it may have been
an electrical capacitor,

a device used for storing
and transmitting energy.

Some of the stories
that have come out of history

about the Ark of the Covenant--
that it erupted in sparks

and flames
and people would touch it

and die instantly,
or that it leveled cities.

And many people have theorized
that this is some type

of actual
large energy capacitor.

Capacitor is exactly
the right word to use.

It relies on static electricity.
It's the simplest device.

You just need two conductors
with an insulator between them.

You've got the outer gold,

a very nice conductor,

and then, if you open this up
and look to the inside,

you'll see a second electrode.

So, what that's
gonna look like...

Okay, you have
the outer side of your Ark.

That's gonna, say,
charge positive.

Then you have your inner wall
of the Ark coated in gold.

And then you have
an insulator in between;

that's just the wood
you make the Ark out of.

Now, what you got to do
is get negative charges

here on the inner side.

And the question is,
how do I get my positive

and negative charges
onto my Ark?

This is where
the cherubs come in,

you have one sitting on top here

that's attached
to the outer side,

and you can put charge on it
and get your positive charge.

The other cherub
is gonna be sitting here.

It won't be connected
to the outer layer,

but it'll come in from a rod
and connect to the inner side.

And this is where
we'll put our negative charge.

So, what that looks like

over here at the Ark
is this cherub

will not actually be attached
to the outer conductor.

There'll be an insulator there,

and then it can have a rod
that goes through and attaches

to the inner conductor.

Now, the Israelites claim
to have actually been able

to see the presence of God
between the two cherubs.

A representation of God.

Now, if they weren't actually
seeing a representation of God,

could this arc of energy
have been some type

of other energy device
that they were seeing?

So, when we're thinking
about the Israelites

seeing the image of God
between the two cherub wings,

one of the things
to keep in mind, I think,

is how the image of God
was often described.

We have smoke, fire...

There's very rarely
an actual, like,

visual picture of a person.

And so, if you picture what arcs
of electricity will be doing,

there'll probably be
a little bit of smoke,

um, there will be
the really bright light,

there'll be a crackling noise.

That could certainly be
something that would be

interpreted as an image of God.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that accounts
of God's presence atop the Ark

were actually describing
electrical discharge?

And if so,
might someone, or something,

have been sending
electrical signals

through the Ark of the Covenant

to communicate
with the Israelites?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe such a notion

is not only possible,
but all the more plausible...

...given the Biblical
descriptions of a device

known as
the breastplate of judgment.

According to the Book of Exodus,
it was worn by the priests

when entering the tabernacle

and was adorned
with 12 sacred gemstones

called the stones of fire,

which represented
the 12 tribes of Israel.

And according to detailed
accounts from sacred texts

known as the Talmud,

these gemstones
played an important role

when communicating
with God through the Ark.

Somehow, there would be
a pulsating sound

emanating from on top
of the cherubim.

And these pulsating,
high-pitched sounds

would cause vibration in
the stones on his breastplate.

The stones would actually
start to light up.

There seems to be a very complex
but very specific code

happening here that God
is communicating through.

It was like some
extraterrestrial Morse code

that was being received
from the Ark of the Covenant.

NARRATOR:
Jerusalem. 995 BC.

Nearly a century
after the Philistines

returned the Ark to Judah,

King David transports it
to the capital city

with plans to build an enormous
temple in order to house it.

FEINSTEIN:
It's Solomon, David's son,

who built
the Temple of Jerusalem

and installed the Ark
in the inner sanctum,

the Holy of Holies.

NARRATOR:
Once installed
in the Temple in 955 BC,

the mysterious Ark continued
to serve the Israelites

for another
three and a half centuries.

Until suddenly...

...it vanishes from history.

Book of Kings describes
the destruction

of the city of Jerusalem.
Says nothing about the Ark.

It disappears
from the literary history

in the same way
that it disappeared

from material history.

NARRATOR:
But what happened to it?

Was it stolen?

Destroyed?
Or was it deliberately hidden?

The fate of
the Ark of the Covenant

remains unknown to this day.

And similarly,
a lesser-known biblical artifact

of immense power has also
been lost to history:

Solomon's Ring.

NARRATOR:
Temple Mount, Jerusalem.

Summer 2013.

Just 164 feet from the
Temple Mount's southern wall,

archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar
makes a stunning discovery:

An inscribed earthenware jug
that dates back 3,000 years...

...to the time of King Solomon.

The discovery may confirm what
many historians have suggested,

that Solomon's Temple once stood
at this exact location.

In addition to
the historical significance,

the find intrigues
treasure hunters,

as it may indicate that other,
much more valuable relics

may also lie buried
at Temple Mount.

Solomon's Temple was built
in the tenth century BC

by the great
king of Israel, Solomon.

And it was built, initially, to
house the Ark of the Covenant.

NARRATOR:
According to the Hebrew Bible,

Solomon's Temple was constructed
upon direct orders from God.

Although it is best known
for having housed

the Ark of the Covenant and
possibly even the Holy Grail,

some treasure hunters
believe another relic

of profound
historical significance

may lie buried at the site,

a relic that ancient
astronaut theorists claim

is of extraterrestrial origin:

Solomon's Ring.

McGOWAN:
One of the lesser known
great treasures of history

is Solomon's Ring.

And it is said that this ring

had the name of God
engraved upon it

in a very secret
and cryptic way.

The ring was representative
of the authority

from beyond this world.

The wielder of that ring
would be able to compel

any and all who recognized

that source of extraterrestrial
power to do whatever he wished.

YOUNG:
In the Islamic records,
the Ring of Solomon

was given to him by angels.

It gave him magical powers.

Through this ring, he-he could
control the jinn or genies.

NARRATOR:
According to both the Quran
and the Hebrew Talmud,

Solomon's Ring also aided him in
constructing the temple itself.

MIKE BARA:
Somehow, this ring gave him
the power to control

otherworldly beings,
for want of a better term.

Demons, you can
call them genies,

or you can call them
extraterrestrials.

TZADOK:
Solomon was in need
of a higher technology

in order to build his temple.

He knew that he had to
contact Ashmodai--

later known
by the Greek name Asmodeus--

who was the head of the daemons.

With this ring,
clearly not of human origins,

Ashmodai was hereby
compelled and required

to provide for Solomon
whatever he needed

to fulfill the building
of the temple of God.

So, Ashmodai gave to Solomon
something called a shamir.

Now, the shamir is described
in traditional literature

as this little worm
that you put on the stone

and it would cut it precisely.

The shamir was a "worm"

that could cut and drill

through even the hardest
of stones rather with ease.

What if the shamir was some type
of laser cutting device?

NARRATOR:
Is it possible
that Solomon possessed

an extraterrestrial device
wielding incredible power?

Power that gave its bearer

control and command
of otherworldly beings?

And if so,
might this explain the mystery

surrounding the disappearance
of Solomon's Ring?

TZADOK:
Solomon's Ring,

like many of
the other temple treasures--

like the Ark of the Covenant--

were considered too hot to
handle by average human beings.

These things were concealed
when the time was made proper.

(indistinct shouting)

MARTIN:
In 586 BC,

the first Temple, Solomon's
Temple, was destroyed...

(weapons clanging)

...sacked by Nebuchadnezzar,

-the Babylonian king.
-(shouting)

One theory holds

that the most fabulous treasure
we can almost conceive of--

gold, silver,
the Ark of the Covenant,

possibly Solomon's Ring--

are buried in a secret chamber
beneath the Temple Mount.

NARRATOR:
Was Solomon's Ring
more than just a myth?

And is it possible
that this ancient artifact

was, in fact,
an extraterrestrial device?

Perhaps further evidence
can be found

by examining
the seemingly magical tools

of the Greek gods.

One of my most favorite quotes
was written

by the sci-fi author
Arthur C. Clarke,

when he said that "any
sufficiently advanced technology

is indistinguishable
from magic."

Now, we have
multiple examples of that

in the ancient world.

Yeah, like Perseus's
magical helmet

-from Greek mythology.
-Yes.

He puts this helmet on,
he becomes invisible.

I mean, this sounds exactly like
what modern scientists

are currently developing
with the invisibility cloak.

CHILDRESS:
Yeah, you have to ask

whether these ancient Greek
writers are talking

about some kind
of alien cloaking device.

We talked about this in an
Ancient Aliens episode in 2013

called "Magic of the Gods."

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
Dallas, Texas.

2011.

Researchers at the University
of Texas's Nanotech Institute

discover a process

that can actually make
objects invisible.

These scientists spin tiny
carbon fibers into sheets...

...and submerge them into water.

An electrical charge
heats the material

and changes the way the
surrounding water bends light,

making an object appear to
vanish at the turn of a switch.

RAY BAUGHMAN:
We are not actually seeing

around the object
we're cloaking.

What we're doing is we're, uh,

using the heated
carbon nanotube sheet

to bend light.

So when we think we're looking
in a particular direction,

we're actually looking
at neighboring seawater.

We're using
very extraordinary materials

to accomplish
our mirage cloaking.

NARRATOR:
But as innovative as
this remarkable technology is...

...stories of devices
with similar powers

can be found throughout history.

Serifos, Greece.

-(seabird calling)
-It was here,

on this tiny island
in the Aegean Sea,

the ancient Greeks
believed the hero Perseus

set off on
a seemingly impossible mission

to kill
the fearsome gorgon Medusa.

So, Perseus had
this incredible challenge,

because Medusa was powerful

and you just look at her
and die.

So it is a true dangerous
situation for the hero.

(whispering voices)

NARRATOR:
According to mythology,

Perseus is given
a magical helmet

that ultimately ensures
his success.

Called the Helm of Darkness,

the cap belonged to Hades,

the god of the underworld.

BRIAN SOWERS:
Perseus goes

on this adventure,

with the help of a number
of the-the Greek gods.

He is given a number
of mythological items

that are gonna help him
on his journey.

He is given the Cap of Hades,

which will make him invisible.

(hissing)

He then successfully kills
Medusa.

(roaring)

And the other two gorgons
try to-to find him,

but they can't see him
because he's wearing

the-the helm of invisibility.

NARRATOR:
Did the Helm of Darkness
really make Perseus disappear?

Or might there be another,

perhaps more scientific
explanation?

WILCOCK:
This could be

an ancient example
of an advanced technology

using the bendable nature
of light

and laws of physics
that we're now aware of

to make something that seems
to be impossible very attainable

and with a technology
that anyone could use

if they wanted to.

NARRATOR:
Is Hades' helmet evidence
of an alien technology

once used in ancient times?

And if so,

might the tales of other magical
devices in the distant past

offer proof
that our ancestors had access

to other,
even more highly advanced,

extraterrestrial tools?

Ponza, Italy.

Located
in the Mediterranean Sea,

this crescent-shaped island is
thought to be the legendary home

of the Greek goddess Circe,

a goddess thought to possess
a wand with remarkable power.

But the notion of a wand
as an instrument of magic

can be traced back even farther,

back to the very origins
of magic itself.

YOUNG:
The idea of magic comes from

the area known as Persia,
or Iran.

This is from Zoroaster,

the Zoroastrian traditions
and rituals.

The magi,

the priest
of that belief system,

would use a-a handful of wands

as a magical intercession,

a way to connect
the unseen world and the seen.

Magicians and leaders
of all kind use staffs

and verges and rods
and-and wands,

scepters, maces--

all from similar traditions.

The ancient accounts
of Circe's famous wand

describe it
as a formidable weapon,

capable of producing astonishing
physical transformations.

TSOUKALOS:
According to Greek mythology,

Circe was
the daughter of Helios,

the god of the Sun.

And according to those legends,

she was incredibly beautiful.

In fact, she was radiant.

She was glowing, because
she was not of this Earth.

The ancient Greeks considered
her the goddess of magic.

The stories surrounding Circe

usually refer
to her powerful wand,

with which she was able to
transform people into animals.

Many different ancient legends

describe some sort
of handheld device

that had incredible capability

to do things that would seem to
be magical or even impossible.

We see Vishnu's spear.

We see Thor's hammer.

We see Zeus' thunderbolt.

This could very well
all be examples

of a handheld technology

that extraterrestrial humans
who look like us did possess.

NARRATOR:
Might Circe have come

from a divine, possibly
extraterrestrial lineage?

And if so, could her wand
have been based

on highly advanced
alien technology?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe such an idea is possible

and suggest more evidence

of an otherworldly connection
in ancient Greece

can be found
upon closer examination

of a device used
to communicate with the gods.

When we're talking
about ancient devices,

some of them are coming
from the realm of mythology,

and so people can argue
that it's all just fiction.

But some
of these ancient devices

are coming
from the historical record.

HENRY:
Right. Like the famous

omphalos described
in ancient Greece.

It sat next
to the Oracle of Delphi

and relayed messages
from the god Apollo.

Right, and it's described
as this giant egg-shaped stone.

And according to legends,
god Zeus descended inside of it

at Delphi.

And so you have to wonder,
did the ancient Greeks encounter

some extraterrestrial device

that was used both
for transportation

and communication?

(birds chirping)

NARRATOR:
Delphi, Greece.

Near the Gulf of Corinth,

on the slopes
of Mount Parnassus,

a religious shrine known
as the Sanctuary of Apollo

was established
sometime before 1200 BC.

It was here that
the legendary Oracle of Delphi,

a succession of priestesses
of Apollo,

prophesized
for the people of Greece.

According to
the Greek author Plutarch,

the oracle would enter a small
chamber in the Temple of Apollo,

take her seat on a tripod,

and inhale
sweet-smelling vapors,

inducing a trancelike state

from which she could communicate
with the gods.

RICHARD RADER:
It was the seat
of Apollo's oracle.

So he was the one
who provided prophecies there.

The priestess is there
just as a conduit for it,

and in fact
she has no power of her own.

(horse neighs, sputters)

So Apollo himself
is not gonna show up

to actually deliver the oracles.

He's on Mount Olympus.

He's with
the other Olympian gods.

His line is open
for-for questions,

but he's not gonna
show up himself.

Lots of people came to visit,

looking for answers
to questions that they had.

And these are people
not only in mythology

but, in fact, actual people
in history coming to visit.

If you go to Delphi today,

you can see inscriptions

of the answers
that were given to questions.

NARRATOR:
Although the oracle
made her final prophecy

over 1,600 years ago,

for many,
the Sanctuary of Apollo

remains an important site

because of the relics
and offerings

that may still lie there
to this day.

But some believe
that among these riches

lies a much more profound
treasure:

an omphalos stone.

In Greek, the word "omphalos"
literally translates to "navel."

And while there were
numerous omphalos stones

throughout Greece,

the egg-shaped omphalos stone at
Delphi was the most significant.

RADER:
This navel

really just represents, sort of,
the center of the Earth.

Now, not the center of
what we think of as the Earth

but the center
as in the most important place

for the Olympian gods.

One story is that Zeus sent

-some birds flying
in different directions...
-(hawk cries)

...and where they met
was the omphalos.

That was the navel of the Earth.

This is where this oracle
would be established.

NARRATOR:
But in addition to marking
the center of the Earth

for the Olympians,

in some ancient Greek accounts,

the omphalos stone was also the
source of her prognostications.

RADER:
Sometimes the omphalos stone
exerts some power.

Sometimes it's just a vessel

for gaseous fumes
that get you high

and put you in the right mindset
to talk to the gods.

Sometimes it's just a stone.

TSOUKALOS:
If true communication took place

between our world
and extraterrestrials,

which
the ancient Greek gods were,

then I prefer to think
that some type of transmitter

was used and only the oracle
knew how to operate it.

Why?

Because she was the chosen one.

It may be that the omphalos
stone is a depiction

of a working
technological device

that was not made
of stone at all.

NARRATOR:
Could the omphalos really
have been a technological device

that enabled humans
to communicate

with extraterrestrials?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

and suggest a similar device

once existed half a world away,

in South America.

You know, just like
the Greek omphalos

and the biblical Ark, there are
stories from ancient Peru

about an object that
could be used to communicate

with divine beings.
In this case,

it's the Inca god Viracocha,

and the object is called
Pachacuti's mirror.

Yeah, and King Pachacuti
would look at this device

and see the image of Viracocha,

who would then speak to him.

I mean, this to me
is an ancient description

of a modern-day video call
on a smartphone.

Right. And the Incas also talked
about an object called

the golden sun disc, which was
hung in the Coricancha Temple

in Cuzco, and it apparently
did the same thing.

I went there in 2017,

and you can still see
the holes in the wall

where they hung the sun disk.

That episode was called
"The Alien Disks."

NARRATOR:
Cuzco, Peru.

Today, the Church
of Santo Domingo

sits on the foundation stones
of what was once considered

the most important temple
to the ancient Inca,

the Coricancha Temple
of the Sun.

The original structure,
which is believed

to pre-date
the Incan civilization,

was rebuilt in the 15th century
by the ruler Pachacuti

after he came into possession
of a mirrored disk.

Pachacuti is the first Inca

who really created
the Inca as an empire,

not just as one
of many cultures in the Andes.

ASHLEY COWIE:
A legend has it
that Pachacuti traveled

to a spring
to the east of Cuzco.

A disk was said to have fallen
from the sky into the spring.

And when Pachacuti
lifted it out of the water,

he saw an image

of Viracocha the creator.

The apparition told Pachacuti,

"You will win many wars."

(yelling)

COWIE:
Within ten years,
Pachacuti expanded the empire

in a way that's never been seen
in history before.

The myths say
that he held that mirror

with him
for the rest of his life,

and any answers he wanted,

to look into the future
or what to do,

he consulted the mirror and
the mirror told him what to do.

COWIE:
The disk that Pachacuti found
truly was his key,

and his driving force to become

one of the most powerful
emperors in history.

NARRATOR:
Pachacuti began the expansion

of the Incan territory
from the valley of Cuzco

to encompass 2,500 miles of
the west coast of South America;

from Quito, Ecuador

to Talca, Chile.

Worldwide-- it doesn't matter
what ancient culture--

there's some type of a worship

of a disk

that came from the sky.

It is possible that this disk

had some type of
an extraterrestrial connection,

and that this disk
was a technological device.

CHILDRESS:
You have to wonder,

was it some kind of
extraterrestrial object

that Pachacuti was now
carrying around with him

that allowed him to communicate

with these extraterrestrial gods
that were guiding him?

WILCOCK:
We've already had smartphones
that have come out

in our own history where it's
a lot more than what it appears.

You're looking at
all of your apps,

you can watch movies on it,

you can send e-mail,
you can have telephone calls,

you can have video calls,
all kinds of things.

So, that disk
may have been something

with a great deal
of computer circuitry in it.

Something that had
far more capability

than we could ever
normally imagine.

NARRATOR:
If the accounts of
Pachacuti's magic disk are true,

could it have contained
some sort of alien technology?

According to
ancient astronaut theorists,

further evidence
that alien disks exist on Earth

can be found in the Hayu Marca
mountain region of Peru.

At the site, known by the locals

as the "Puerta de Hayu Marca"

or "Gate of the Gods,"

is an enormous 23-foot-high
door-like structure

carved into the solid rock face.

Contained within it
is a smaller, T-shaped opening

just under six feet in height

with a circular
depression inside.

Local legends tells us
that the gods

would use this as a gateway,
or a stargate,

through which they would
come and go.

They opened the doorway
through this disk

that was placed
in a little alcove

or etching place
inside the doorway.

CHILDRESS:
One of the stories, too,
is that a high priest

named Amaru Meru utilized a disk

to open this door.

And so, this was his computer

or key that opened
this dimensional doorway.

Once again, the disk is the key.

Here we have an apparent
extraterrestrial technology

in the form of a disk,
and you would then pop the disk

into where the door is,
and that would open the portal.

This circular area
has been found

where the door is located,

and so, it does suggest
that there may be some veracity

to these ancient legends.

NARRATOR:
Interestingly, the disk
of Puerta de Hayu Marca

and Pachacuti's mirror
are just two

of a number of mysterious disks
that are said to have existed

throughout Central
and South America.

And legend has it that
the very same Coricancha Temple

that Pachacuti rebuilt

housed the empire's
most prized possession,

a golden sun disk.

The artifact
allegedly disappeared

just before the conquistadors,
lead by Francisco Pizarro,

sacked the city
in November of 1533.

Nearly five centuries later,
in March of 2017,

author and world explorer
David Childress

visited the site
to see the very spot

where the legendary disk
once hung from the wall.

It's thought that this spot here
in the Coricancha Temple

is where the seven-foot-wide
sun disk was held,

and a long rope was fastened

through these many holes,

and it held
the sun disk in place

here in the center of
the Coricancha Temple in Cuzco.

NARRATOR:
According to Inca legend,
the sun disk had existed

since the birth
of human civilization.

They described the artifact
as being made

from a translucent gold material
that came from the heavens.

The disk was said by the Inca

to represent

Viracocha, the creator deity,
the apex deity.

And in point of fact,
just about every culture

in the ancient Andes
also recognized Viracocha--

under various names--
as the creator deity.

COWIE:
Legend has it that after
Viracocha created the Moon

and the Sun, he created
the first man and woman,

Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo.

The first thing Viracocha
commanded Manco Cápac to do

on Earth was create
the Incan golden sun disk.

The sun disk was
an actual manifestation

of the creator on Earth.

They truly believed
it was imbued

with supernatural,
transdimensional forces,

and it was the
point of communication

with the creator himself.

It was like a broadband
connection to Viracocha.

CHILDRESS:
The Incas believed
that they could

go to this sun disk
and ask it for help.

So you have to ask yourself,

was the Inca sun disk

some kind of communication
device with extraterrestrials?

NARRATOR:
If the Incan sun disk was
a technological artifact--

one that was deliberately
hidden by the Inca--

might it one day be found?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

and suggest that
remnants of other

advanced-- perhaps
extraterrestrial-- devices

have already resurfaced.

You know, with all the devices

that we've discussed,
most of them,

all we have are descriptions,
but archaeologists

found some amazing devices
that we can actually examine.

One of the coolest
is the Antikythera device.

HENRY:
Absolutely.

Discovered off the coast
of Greece in a shipwreck.

It's considered the world's
first analog computer,

and it's got
all these gears in it.

They think that the sailors
would use it

to navigate by the stars.

This thing's
over 2,000 years old.

Right. Archaeologists
were stunned

when they found it.

In fact, it's one
of the first devices that

we've covered on the 2009

original special
of Ancient Aliens.

NARRATOR:
Did aliens really inspire
our ancestors

to build ancient temples
and pyramids?

And if they came here,
did they leave behind

any advanced knowledge
of physics,

astronomy or mathematics?

If so, is there any evidence
that remains to this day?

One example might be this one,

often described as the world's
first mechanical "computer."

It dates back over 2,000 years.

The Antikythera device
was found in 1900

by sponge divers
diving off a-a small island

in the Aegean
called Antikythera.

There was a shipwreck there,

and in it was
a coral-encrusted box,

and it was made of metal alloys,

and it then went
to the Athens museum, where,

a good 50 years later,

they were able to
X-ray this box,

and they were able to discern

cogged wheels
that were interconnected

and give us
a very good depiction

of what this thing was,
and it is a computer.

It's a really
sophisticated machine.

MARTELL: It's a very interesting
piece of technology

because it served two purposes.

One was that it was
an astronomical device

where you could, by using it,
chart your position to the stars

and navigate your way
through the seas.

It was also
an astrological device,

so that someone could tell you,

ah, if you were born
on this date

and your planet sign is this,

then certain things
were going to happen to you

when the planets
are in this alignment.

So, it was a very interesting
piece of technology

that literally had
more complicated gears

and inner workings
than a modern-day Swiss watch.

And it's found to be dated,
I think, like, 200 BC.

So, it's really an anomaly
as to who could've created that

and what it was being used for.

When archeologists

first started to examine
this thing in the 1950s,

they said that they
never could conceive

of the ancient Greeks having
such complicated machinery.

And in fact,
they said this was tantamount

to finding a jet airplane
in the tomb of King Tut.

NARRATOR:
Even older than
the Antikythera mechanism

are these carvings on a wall

at the Dendera Temple complex
in Egypt.

To some, the strange designs
look eerily similar

to objects
very much in use today.

In Egypt, there is
this underground crypt

at Dendera
that was always secret,

and only the high priests

had access to that crypt.

It's very hot in there,
very narrow, low ceiling.

And on the walls,
you have these reliefs

of what looks like
ancient light bulbs.

Because we have to
question one thing,

how did the ancient Egyptians
light the inside of their tombs?

NARRATOR:
According to most
mainstream archeologists,

torches were used
by the ancient Egyptians

to light the pitch-black
chambers of tombs and temples.

Yet nowhere
on the ceilings is there

even the slightest evidence
of soot or smoke residue.

But if torches weren't used,

how else could
these ancient rooms

and hallways
have been illuminated?

Another theory that was proposed

is that the light was directed
from outside by copper mirrors.

And then there was... light.

Hey, that is a neat trick.

And they've actually tried
to recreate that theory,

but unfortunately, they failed,

because only
after a few corners,

the sunlight dissipated

because the copper mirrors
were too weak.

Also, there isn't enough oxygen

inside those tombs

with which to support
or feed a flame of a torch.

I was once inside
the King's Chamber

inside the Pyramid of Giza,

and somebody turned off
the lights,

and immediately,
we were in pitch darkness.

And I said, "No problem.

I'll just take out my lighter
from my satchel."

And I turn on the lighter,
and it didn't work.

So, how were the insides
of their temples lit?

I mean, the only
remaining solution is,

by some sort
of an artificial light source.

And that is, for example,
a light bulb.

So, at an underground crypt
at Dendera,

we find reliefs
of such light bulbs.

CHILDRESS:
Egyptologists'
explanation of this...

And they have
to have some explanation.

There's got to be one.

It has to be pretty mundane.

It can't be
that it's an electrical device.

Their explanation is that

it is a lotus flower.

And what appears to be a bulb
around is the aroma

of the lotus flower.

And so it's just a very
odd depiction of a flower.

But another explanation,
of course, would be,

they actually had
electrical lights.

NARRATOR:
But if the Ancient Egyptians
had used some kind

of electric light
to illuminate their passageways,

why does
the visual evidence exist

only in the Temple at Dendera?

In Egypt, you had
different areas of specialty.

And Dendera was the area

where the knowledge of the
light-giving source was kept.

And this secret knowledge was
kept by the high priests.

And they're the only ones
who were privy

to this type of information,

because Dendera was
the special place

where this specific knowledge

was guarded and kept.

NARRATOR:
But how could
the ancient Egyptians

have used anything resembling
a modern-day light bulb

without access to electricity?

After all, electricity
wouldn't be discovered

for thousands of years.

That is, of course,
with the exception

of what scientists call
"The Baghdad Battery."

MARTELL:
The Baghdad battery was
discovered in ancient Iraq.

Scholars today say
there's no way

that ancient man was using
electricity or light bulbs.

So, they look
at this Baghdad battery--

and there's about
a dozen of them

that have been found in Iraq--

and the only
mainstream theory is

that they were using it
for electroplating jewelry.

NARRATOR:
Two major proponents
of ancient alien theory--

Jason Martell
and Giorgio Tsoukalos--

demonstrate just how
the Baghdad battery

could generate electricity,

using a modern mock-up
of the device.

Well, basically,
this is made out of a clay pot,

clay just found naturally in
that region in Southern Iraq.

And then they would use
a small copper lining,

and something along the lines
of an asphalt stopper

wrapped around an iron rod.

And these all applied together,

and the combination
of some weak acidic acid--

vinegar, grape juice,
orange juice,

in this case, wine--

would be able
to generate a charge

by combining these elements
with the rod,

the iron rod and the copper.

And the combination
of that creates

an abundance of electricity.

So, what we're going
to do is basically

just fill the clay pot
with some orange juice here.

-I'll try not
to spill it too much.
-Okay.

And then we'll go ahead and put
the copper rod back in there.

Copper and iron rod.

We'll give it a moment to kind
of fill that copper area there.

And then,
by turning on the volt meter,

and applying this to each side,

we should be able
to generate a charge.

And there it goes,
into the positive.

TSOUKALOS:
Mm-hmm.

MARTELL:
And if we give it some time

to get the electrolytes
really buzzing in there,

you'll see that this volt
will actually continue to rise.

It is a battery.
Everybody agrees with that.

But nobody knows
why they made it

and how they made it.

What mind would think of that?

You know, electrical current

back several thousand years ago?

It's very strange,
but it's clearly a battery.

CHILDRESS:
The whole idea

that ancient civilizations
actually had knowledge

of electricity
and used electricity

is an accepted
archeological fact today.

Just like
in our own civilization,

where, about 200 years ago,

Benjamin Franklin and other
scientists began experimenting

with simple electrical devices,

we now have evidence

that over 3,000 years ago,

people were also experimenting
with electrical devices.

Where might it have led them?

What other devices would
they have been able to create?

(birds singing)

NARRATOR:
Belize, Central America.

In 1924,

British adventurer
Frederick Mitchell-Hedges

travelled here
with his daughter Anna

to explore the ruins of the
ancient Mayan city of Lubaantun.

One afternoon,
Anna climbed to the top

of a crumbling pyramid,
hoping to see the ocean.

BILL HOMANN:
It was high noon,

and she was at the top,
and the way the sun came in,

the way the rocks had moved
in that,

there was just a small opening,

and the light
from the sun went through,

and it hit the top of the skull.

And she ran down,
and she was all excited.

And she said, "There's someone
in there with a flashlight."

NARRATOR:
Anna's father and others

in their party were too large

to fit inside the small
opening of the pyramid,

so they tied a rope around Anna
and lowered her into the hole.

When she came back up,

Anna held the top
of a strange crystal skull.

A second search
uncovered a matching jaw.

The two-piece skull weighed
11 pounds, seven ounces,

and appeared to be carved from
a single piece of rock crystal.

PHILIP COPPENS:
It's the only crystal skull

which is almost
perfectly humanoid.

It is the only crystal skull
which has a detachable jaw.

And, when I say
"almost perfectly humanoid,"--

the one thing which is missing
is the sutures on the cranium.

It has a perfect cranium.

So, it almost suggests that,

even though
it's a human crystal skull,

those who were carving it
somehow felt

that this creature was not born.

It somehow came
into this world perfectly.

NARRATOR:
The skull's appearance
created an immediate sensation

among the local tribesmen.

HOMANN:
When the natives saw it,

it was like
their god had returned.

They all started crying

and kissing the earth
and everything.

They were just so excited.

And Mitchell-Hedges seeing this,

he presented it
to the high priest.

And they put it in an altar,
and for 24 hours a day,

they burned flames
around the-the crystal skull.

NARRATOR:
The Mayan elders believed

that in ancient times,

13 crystal skulls were buried

in secret places
around the world.

Currently, it is claimed
that seven have been found.

Four are in private collections,

and one each in
the British Museum,

the Smithsonian,

and the Quai Branly Museum
in Paris.

All have been the focus
of intense examination,

speculation and even worship.

WHITFIELD:
A lot of natives
and a lot of people working

with crystal skulls say that
the high-quartz-content skulls

and especially
the quartz skulls themselves,

is the highest frequency
or energy or vibration possible

on the physical plane.

And so, a lot of native people
kind of worshipped

or took care of these objects

because they knew that they had

or felt that they had
the highest energy possible

on the Earth plane.

NARRATOR:
But what are the exact origins

of these mysterious
crystal skulls?

Since their discovery,
scientific tests have determined

that the two owned
by the British Museum

and the Quai Branly
were not authentic

pre-Columbian artifacts.

Could it be

that the Mitchell-Hedges skull
was also a fake?

In the 1960s,
it underwent extensive testing

by art curator Frank Dorland
and the Hewlett-Packard Company.

HOMANN:
They used the most
advanced stuff that they had.

They could not find
any marks on it,

except for around the jaw,

and I think a little bit
around the eyes,

the only place they saw tool
marks using their techniques.

At the time,
Hewlett-Packard found

that the temperature
always stays

about the same temperature,

no matter
if it's in hot or cold.

It was carved against the lines
of the crystal.

If anybody tried to do that,

it would break
into a thousand pieces.

It's made out of a high-level
of electronic crystal.

And, uh, they're not really sure
exactly where it came from.

If you listen to the academics,

crystal skulls are all
modern fabrications.

Meaning, somebody has
gone on there with a wheel

and has carved them as such.

And this is where
the big divide is

between established academics,

and alternative researchers
like myself,

who feel
that the academics are not using

all the available evidence
to draw their conclusions.

And in short, we believe

that the academics are wrong
in their conclusions.

NARRATOR:
Are these skulls
really ancient artifacts?

And if not,
who-- or what-- carved them?

CHILDRESS:
Crystal skulls,

according to certain stories,
yes, they are alien artifacts.

Even... some people think
they're made on another planet.

WHITFIELD:
I think

there are links between crystal
skulls and extraterrestrials,

not necessarily
that they were carved

and created
by extraterrestrials.

And I've been told
they were created by humans,

but they were created
specifically

to hold records
from alien civilizations.

NARRATOR:
Could there actually
be some type

of coded information
stored inside these skulls?

And if there is,
how could it be retrieved?

WHITFIELD:
There's a legend
that there were 13 skulls,

and that when the 13 skulls
come together

then something significant
will change in the world.

TSOUKALOS:
Legends suggest

that there are 12
additional worlds out there,

planets which are inhabited
by intelligent species.

Now, we belong to those worlds,
or to those planets,

and our planet, Earth, is called
"planet of the children."

They also suggest
that these 13 crystal skulls

that allegedly exist
on planet Earth

were each brought here
from one of those 12 planets,

and the 13th skull is the one

that apparently contains
all of the information

of all those
12 different worlds.

CHILDRESS:
Within each crystal skull,
information is stored,

and, in fact,
IBM has shown that, too,

that quartz crystal
can store millions

of gigabytes of information.

And in fact, any quartz crystal,
or a crystal skull

could hold much more information

than any computer we have now.

So when these crystal skulls
would be brought together,

they begin
to interface with each other.

And ultimately,
a greater knowledge

and information is condensed
and brought to us,

and that's the legend
of the crystal skulls.

NARRATOR:
Could the mysterious
crystal skulls,

along with other
legendary devices,

offer the ultimate proof

of mankind's
extraterrestrial past,

and perhaps, one day, allow us

to reconnect
with our alien ancestors?

As our own technology develops,
and we're able

to see what we have

and then look back
at these ancient stories

-and see how, you know,
it could really be.
-TSOUKALOS: Right.

And that is why the ancient
astronaut theory makes sense,

because we can look
at the ancient world

from a modern perspective,

and then deduce,

perhaps we have
these ancient stories because

of our ancestors witnessing
some sort of technology.

It's like we are rediscovering
the original secrets of the gods

with this technology,
and we're finding out

it was all about technology.

We're rediscovering
this ancient technology,

and we ourselves are
becoming like the gods.

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