All language subtitles for m.f.a.s02e06.1080p.web.h264-cbfm_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: A sea monster of
unimaginable proportions.

- The sheer scale of this
thing is unbelievable.

It's like no living
creature I've ever seen.

NARRATOR: An enormous
human face set in stone.

- We're talking a feat of
engineering on par with the

Great Pyramids.

NARRATOR: A giant footprint cast
millions of years before the

dawn of humanity.

- This may be one of the biggest
discoveries of our time.

NARRATOR: And a gigantic
sinister-looking star shines

in the strangest place.

- Who on Earth put this thing
here, and why did they do it?

NARRATOR: Everywhere we look on our
planet, there's evidence of

the past.

In nature, in buildings, in relics.

Each holds a mystery that technology
now allows us to see from above.

What new secrets are revealed?

Our world is full of big mysteries.

Some so large they can only be
described as giant.

These enormous enigmas lie waiting
to be solved by a view from above.

In the Canadian Badlands of
Southwestern Alberta, one

such giant mystery reveals itself.

- Once a subtropical paradise, this
dry, rocky landscape is now

home to the world's largest
deposit of dinosaur bones.

NARRATOR: While giant creatures
roamed the region millions of

years ago, in 2005, satellite images
revealed a much larger giant

hidden in this barren landscape.

- Now this is quite unusual.

The closer you look, you start to
see a shape form like a face.

- It looks to be the bust or
portrait of an indigenous man

wearing a traditional headdress.

- It is absolutely uncanny how much
this looks like a human figure.

I mean, it's all there. Eyebrows,
eyes, nose, chin, mouth, a neck.

- Who or what is this?
And why is it here?

NARRATOR: Stretching half a mile
long and over a thousand feet

wide, this figure is known as the
"Badlands Guardian".

- Is this a natural formation or
was it created by someone?

- Those who have studied this figure
note the incredibly accurate

proportions found in the face.

If this is a geophysical
anomaly, it's uncanny.

- This thing is massive.

To construct something like this
would take a tremendous

amount of planning,
effort, and skill.

NARRATOR: Can a closer look from
above reveal any more information?

- First of all, I think the
position is really fascinating.

Its central axis aligns perfectly
with due north, and the face

itself is looking
directly to the west.

- This undeniably looks like a
human head and headdress.

So the real mystery is how
did it get here?

NARRATOR: Since the beginning of
time, humankind has etched

their likeness onto the
earth's surface.

From prehistoric petroglyphs
carved into rock walls to

large-scale geoglyphs scattered
across the globe.

- This is an ancient practice
that's been carried through to

modern times to commemorate great
leaders, freedom fighters,

former kings, and dynasties.

NARRATOR: Could the Badlands
Guardian be a similar

tribute, created in the image of
a once important person?

And, if so, by whom?

- The Badlands Guardian was
discovered in an area that

has traditionally been the home to
members of the Blackfoot people.

- The Blackfoot people have
lived in and protected a vast

territory that extends from the
North Saskatchewan River in Alberta

and Saskatchewan, all the way down
to the Yellowstone River in Montana.

- Some say the face represents an
important figure in Blackfoot

legend, known as Napi, which
means the "Old Man".

He's a spiritual being believed to
be responsible for shaping

the world in which the
Blackfoot people live.

NARRATOR: So is the badlands
guardian a giant homage built

to honour Napi?

- If this giant feature was indeed
human-made, it represents one

of the largest known effigy
earthworks in the world.

- The immense amount of organized
labour required to craft a

human form in these hills
would be astounding.

We're talking a feat of engineering
on par with the Great Pyramids.

- To put it into perspective,
Mount Rushmore, which was started

in 1927, took over 400 workers
14 years to complete.

And it's not even half the size
of the Badlands Guardian.

- You'd think the creators of
something this large would

leave traces behind, signs of tools
or nearby settlements, but no

such evidence exists.

NARRATOR: Is that because those who
were responsible weren't from

around here?

A search for connection leads to
a seemingly unexpected

discovery almost 4,000
kilometres south, in Mexico City.

- This is Cuauhtemoc, the last
Aztec emperor, whose memory has

come to embody Indigenous
nationalism in Mexico.

His image is found in statues,
artworks, and even coins.

- Many have noted the striking
resemblance between these

depictions and the
Badlands Guardian.

- Is the Badlands Guardian a
depiction of the eagle-headed

Cuauhtemoc or is this a
wild, crazy coincidence?

NARRATOR: Perhaps the answer to this
mystery lies surprisingly close.

Just over 3 kilometres to the
northwest, a view from above

uncovers something else astonishing.

- The Badlands Guardian doesn't
appear to be an anomaly,

because it isn't alone.

- It looks like the
Badlands Guardian has company.

- The second figure is the exact
same size and in the exact

same orientation as the
Badlands Guardian.

- Two giant figures within
two miles of each other.

Can this honestly be a coincidence?

- And while the Guardian has been
compared to the Aztec emperor

Cuauhtemoc, it’s been noted that his
friend also bears resemblance

to depictions from
Mesoamerica culture.

- If you look at the headpiece worn
by this figure, it almost

looks like a dragon or a snake.

- It does resemble images we see of
headdresses representing the

Mesoamerican deity Quetzalcoatl,
who's depicted as a feathered

serpent.

NARRATOR: Could the Badlands
Guardian and his friend be

depictions of Mesoamerican figures?

And if so, how did they end up as
far north in what is now Canada?

- There's a vast distance between
these two places and there's

virtually no evidence of Aztec
influence existing in the

land in between.

Surely there's something
else at work here.

NARRATOR: Perhaps a clue may be
found at another site, almost

5,000 kilometres away, in
Russia's remote Magadan Region.

Where a view from above reveals two
more giant figures emerging

from the landscape below.

- Once again, we see two faces
that look as though they were

carved into the terrain.

- They look like they're whispering
to each other, or maybe even

kissing.

- This looks like a Picasso painting
of two people coming together

for a close embrace and a kiss.

It's all right there, the lips, the
eyes, the nose, what more

could you ask for?

- The Magadan Region is one of the
least populated areas in Russia.

And just like the Alberta Badlands,
it's a desolate landscape.

You know, mostly a mountainous
desert with some forest and tundra.

- So what exactly
are we seeing here?

Have these figures been sculpted
into the land or is this a

natural formation?
What's going on?

- This might be an example of
what's known as false faces.

- False faces, or "face pareidolia",
is the human mind's tendency

to see human faces in
inanimate objects.

- So our brains are hardwired to
seek out and recognize human faces.

It's this evolutionary side-effect,
and it's part of the reason for why

we tend to anthropomorphize things
and see faces everywhere we look.

- This is why we talk about the "Man
in the Moon" or when images

came back from Viking 1's trip to
Mars in 1976, people were

amazed by the so-called
"Crown Face".

- And that's what these kissing
faces are, a trick that the

mind plays on itself.

- In fact, these faces in Russia
were discovered by an

AI-algorithm that was designed to
scan Google satellite images

for anything that resembled faces.

And it found several examples.

So, in essence, the program was
designed to mimic face pareidolia.

- And that's what we're
experiencing when we see the

Badlands Guardian and his friend.

NARRATOR: So what can explain the
uncanny physical likeness of

the Badland Guardian?

- The Canadian Badlands were formed
during the end of the last

ice age as glacial meltwater carved
out these slopes and valleys

in the clay rock and soil.

- The Badlands Guardian and his
friend are both natural

drainage features created
through years of erosion.

NARRATOR: And together they
provide one of the world's best

examples of face pareidolia.

But even more astonishing is what
closer view from above reveals.

- The Guardian's face and headdress
are actually concave features

defined by the surrounding
ridgeline.

They go in, not out.

- So in fact, what we're
experiencing isn't only a

case of face pareidolia, it's also
an example of "hollow-face

illusion", another one of our
brain's tricks, where we perceive

concave features, say in a backwards
mask, as a normal convex face.

- Even though it may only be a
giant illusion created in our

minds, the Badlands Guardian
is a sight to behold.

And one that can only be seen
with a view from above.

NARRATOR: From the Badlands of
Alberta, Canada,

to the western coast of France
another giant lies in wait.

This one, a colossal skeleton.

- What is it?

And how did it end up on
this shore in France?

- I've never seen a
skeleton this large.

- It sure doesn't look like any
creature I know of.

- Are these the remains of an
undiscovered prehistoric

animal or a living species that
we've just never encountered before?

- Whatever it is, it looks
absolutely terrifying.

NARRATOR: Measuring 130 metres in
length, is it possible that a

creature this size could have gone
undiscovered until now?

- Is the reason we've never seen
anything like this because it

lived deep under water?

- It's estimated that 90% of ocean
species have yet to be classified.

There are lots of animals out there
that we don't know about.

- So is it possible that this is
some type of undiscovered

aquatic species?

- The Earth's oceans and other
waters have produced some of

the largest creatures ever known:
giant sharks, whales, and

squids, and some that are only
rumoured to exist, like

Scotland's infamous
Loch Ness Monster.

- Is this what we're seeing,
evidence of some giant sea monster?

NARRATOR: Sea monsters are the stuff
of folk tales, but like many good

myths and legends, is there a kernel
of truth somewhere to be found?

- There is a type of sea
creature that may be related.

Eels are sometimes called the devil
of the sea because they can

grow to large sizes.

- Eels have been around for
over 65 million years.

There are more than 800
species in the world.

- Most have very few natural
predators, so some eels can

live up to 20 years and grow
to enormous sizes.

- The biggest eel in the world is
known as the European conger

and they can be found in the
Atlantic Ocean, up around

Norway and Iceland, as well as the
Mediterranean and Black Sea.

- One of the largest European
congers on record measured

almost 10 feet long and
weighed 350 pounds.

And while that's massive for an eel,
it's still nowhere near the

size of what we're seeing in
the satellite images.

NARRATOR: So if this creature
isn't an eel, what is it?

- This skeleton looks more
like some sort of snake.

NARRATOR: Of the more than 3,000

species of snakes on the planet,
perhaps the biggest and

baddest of those alive today can
help identify this mysterious form.

- Snakes, like all reptiles, are
cold-blooded. They're exotherms.

- And a snake this size would have
probably required a much

warmer climate than that offered
by the North Atlantic.

NARRATOR: Snakes grow their
biggest in warmer climates like

Southeast Asia, Africa, and South
America, and only just

recently the Florida Everglades.

- The Everglades is home to one of
the world's largest species

of snake. The Burmese python.

- Burmese pythons have been known to
grow as long as 20 feet and

to weigh up to 200 pounds.

- These are ambush hunters and
constrictors that squeeze

their prey to death.

- And if they don't have any natural
predators of their own, these

snakes can grow to take over
entire environments.

This is exactly what's
happened in the Everglades.

- These snakes are taking
over the Everglades.

In certain areas, they've decimated
anywhere between 90 to 99% of

the area's fur-bearing mammals.

That's things like rabbits,
raccoons, possums, and even deer.

- They've become
an invasive species.

By some estimates, there are
somewhere between a 100,000

and 300,000 of these snakes
living in the Everglades.

- But the strange thing is Burmese
pythons aren't native to the

area, they come from Southeast Asia.

- So how did the Burmese Python
come to dominate the area?

- The explanation is two-fold:
exotic pets and extreme weather.

- Miami has been known as a centre
for trade in exotic pets, and

dealers would import these snakes
from Asia by the thousands.

- Part of the theory is that some of
these snakes were released

into the wild by their owners who
may have realized they'd

bitten off more than
they could chew.

- But it's believed that the major
cause was a massive hurricane

that hit Florida in 1992
called Hurricane Andrew.

- Some reports blame
Hurricane Andrew for destroying an

exotic snake breeding farm in
Florida, which reportedly

allowed the snakes to escape and
breed out in the wild.

- Now, over three decades later,
these giant snakes have

become a big problem.

NARRATOR: Snake hunters use drones
to locate and remove the

elusive pythons.

- These Burmese pythons are some of
the largest known snakes, and

left to run rampant they'll grow in
numbers and physical size.

But these snakes don't reach
anywhere near the scale of

what's been found in France.

NARRATOR: Perhaps a clue to this
immense serpentine skeleton

lies in the homeland of another
infamous gigantic snake?

- If we're gonna talk big snakes, we
have to turn our attention to

the pound-for-pound heavyweight
champion of the snake world,

the green anaconda of South America.

- The green anaconda is
truly a giant snake.

Females can weight over 500 pounds
and grow to lengths of 30 feet.

That's almost as long
as a school bus.

- Primarily aquatic, anacondas are
apex predators, meaning they

prey on almost anything they can
manage to overpower,

including fish, birds, a variety of
mammals, and even other reptiles.

- Even at its largest, the green
anaconda only approaches a

length of 30 feet. Our French
serpent is over 10 times longer!

- So despite their fearsome
reputation, their enormous

size, and their impressive
skeleton, we're still no closer to

identifying what we see off
the coast of France.

NARRATOR: Could the secret lie
hidden in the past?

In an ancient, mythical creature
known to the people who share

the Amazon with the anaconda?

- One of the most legendary monsters
in the Amazon rainforest is

Yacumama.

- The Yacumama is said to be a
hundred feet long and she

consumes anything that passes
within a hundred steps.

- Now this definitely
sounds more like it.

I mean, Yacumama is at least
closer to the right size.

- So the next question is, does
this legend suggest the actual

existence of a far larger and
more powerful snake?

- Or maybe we're looking in the
right place, but we're just

not the right time?

NARRATOR: Perhaps the skeleton in
France represents a creature

that is not only much bigger,
but much older too?

Almost 8,000 kilometres to the
southwest, in the arid plains of

Northern Colombia, lies what could
be the most important clue yet.

- This is Cerrejon, a gigantic
open-pit coal mine.

And in 2009, this is where
researchers made an

incredible discovery.

- This may be one of the biggest
discoveries of our time.

What they found were fossilized
vertebrae of the largest known

snake in the world, a creature that
lived 58 to 60 million years ago.

They call it Titanoboa.

- Based on the size of the
vertebrae they found, they estimate

that the size of this snake
was well over 40 feet.

That's nearly twice as long as the
biggest snakes alive today.

- Titanoboa would have weighed as
much as 20 people, something

in the neighbourhood of 2500 pounds.

- The name Titanoboa comes from the
Greek word titan and boa,

because it's believed to be related
to the modern boa constrictor.

- And like the boa constrictor,
Titanoboa would've squeezed its

prey to death with an estimated 400
pounds of pressure per square inch.

Talk about a big squeeze.

- A snake that large would
certainly have been a titan of its

time, eating everything from
fish to entire crocodiles.

NARRATOR: While Titanoboa stalked
the tropics of South America,

could another giant snake have once
slithered across the European

continent?

- So if a snake this large were to
have lived anywhere, it

would've needed a wet and hot
tropical environment.

- Incredibly, there's evidence to
suggest that in the time of

Titanoboa - that's like 60 million
years ago - the area that is

now France was a tropical
rainforest.

- Researchers found amber deposits
near Paris dating back 55

million years. And that amber is
similar to what you'd find in trees

from the Amazon rainforest.

- And this amber also contained
fossilized plants and animals

that you'd expect from a
tropical environment.

NARRATOR: If France looked more like
the Amazon 55 million years ago,

could this enormous European snake
be related to the great Titanoboa?

- We know that Titanoboa
cerrejonensis existed, albeit

around 60 million years ago, but the
only fossilized evidence we

have puts the gigantic snake at
just under 50 feet in length.

What we see here off the coast of
France is way bigger.

- So if this isn't the fossilized
skeleton of a Titanoboa, what is it?

NARRATOR: Another titanic serpent
skeleton, this time half-a-world

away in Australia may hold the key
to cracking the mystery.

- In 2015, a giant skeleton
on display in

Brisbane, Australia,
makes massive waves.

- Social media users began
circulating this photograph

of a skeleton purported to be
that of a Titanoboa.

- And it looks an awful lot like the
one found on the shores of France.

- But as we know, you can't believe
everything you read on the internet.

As it turns out, this wasn't a
Titanoboa, or even a real skeleton.

It was a work of art.

- So it's a sculpture by
Chinese-French artist

Huang Yong Ping, who's known for all
sorts of large installations,

many of which are of animals.

- In 2012, Yong Ping made another
public art installation he

called "Serpent D'Ocean,"
or "Ocean Snake".

And he just so happened to install
it on the coast of France.

- It's a monumental sculpture made
of aluminium, measuring nearly

425 feet in length.

- It represents the twisting
skeleton of an immense

imaginary sea serpent.

- Completed in 2012, it's a
beautiful piece of modern art.

- The serpent to the ocean is a
monumental sculpture, and

okay, so it's not an actual
skeleton, but it is a nice reminder

of the amazing creatures that have
once slithered around on our planet.

There's a lot of art out there I
don't really care about, but

this one is great.

This truly is a masterpiece.

- It's a piece of art that can
certainly be admired from the

shore, but its elegance and sheer
size is even more impressive

when viewed from above.

NARRATOR: From the western shores of
France to the wildlands of

South Africa, a view from above
uncovers giant questions that

could challenge our
understanding of humanity.

East of the city of Johannesburg
lies the province of Mpumalanga.

Where a view from above of its vast
wooded plateaus reveals a

giant relic from the past.

A mysterious imprint preserved in
the Empuluzi Batholith granite.

- What is this depression in a rock
that's essentially out in the

middle of nowhere?

- To some people this looks like the
remains of a big footprint.

- It's a foot with five toes, a
perfectly formed left foot,

heel and arch, just over
one metre in length.

- This thing is huge. It's well
over a metre in length.

Like four times the size of
a normal adult's foot.

So if you do the math, this would
have had to belong to someone

who's around seven metres tall.

- That's like stacking four
average-sized adults on top

of each other.
I mean, it seems impossible.

- It almost does look like mud oozed
up between the toes and was

pushed up by the foot of a giant.

What is this really? And how and
when did it get there?

- We call it "Goliath's Footprint".

The local folklore is that it is the
footprint of Empuluzi of the

Anunnaki, which in fabled
history is a race of giants.

According to the legend Empuluzi
was running to her lover.

And as she was running, she stepped
into the soft volcanic ash

and her footprint stayed behind.

It's perfect in every single aspect
from the toes, the shape of

the foot, the shape of the heel, the
shape of the arch, it is the

perfect impression of a
woman's left footprint.

- The legend of Empuluzi makes
for a good story and neatly

explains how a giant left behind a
single, huge footprint, but

how can any of this be true?

NARRATOR: Prodigious in size and
strength, few comparisons

capture the imagination more than
the all mighty giant.

- If you look at legends from
anywhere in the world, you

get all kinds of stories about these
formidable warriors and their foes.

- We've all heard of Jack Spriggins
scrambling down the magic

beanstalk to escape the
ferocious giant.

- In Chinese mythology, the
primordial Pan Gu is said to

have created the entire universe.

- One of the most famous foes of
ancient Greece is the giant,

one-eyed, cave-dweller Cyclops.

- These ideas had to come
from somewhere.

Is there a semblance of truth to
these larger-than-life characters?

- It seems like a pretty big leap,
but it wouldn’t be the first time

we’ve seen these kinds of oversized
footprints around the world.

NARRATOR: Giant footprints can be
found on virtually every continent.

Can any of these help provide
insight into what we're

seeing in South Africa?

Roughly 6600 kilometres to the
northeast on Sri Lanka's

Delft Island lies a possible match.

- This horizontal impression is
about one metre long and it

looks like a right footprint of a
human, but it's just way

bigger than normal.

- It looks like we found the right
foot to Empuluzi's left.

Locals believe it's the imprint of
Hindu God, Hanuman or Lord Shiva.

- Could these footprints just be
human-made tributes to Gods

or other deities?

NARRATOR: So is this foot
human-made?

- Could Goliath's footprint have
been chiselled and carved out

by prehistoric humans
who lived there?

- Giant carvings and statues of
larger-than-life figures was

- and still is - an extremely
popular way to portray great

leaders and even gods.

NARRATOR: So what clues can these
other super-sized characters offer?

- One of the coolest finds in
archaeology is the elbow and

three-fingered hand of
Hercules in Amman, Jordan.

- It stands about 12 metres high,
and it's one of the biggest

marble statues ever crafted
by ancient tools.

NARRATOR: But marble is much easier
to craft than the exposed

stone of Empuluzi.

- If Goliath's footprint was carved
into the granite, wouldn't we

expect to see chisel marks, sharp
edges, and file impressions?

- We have asked ourselves many,
many, many times whether

somebody could have chiselled this.

But when you look at
this, this is granite.

Granite is a very, very hard rock.

It is almost impossible to chisel
this granulated granite.

And there's no marks.

NARRATOR: So if human hands aren't
responsible for this perfect

footprint - what is?

- So are we supposed to believe that
giant people once walked the

Earth and left one footprint?

NARRATOR: A remarkable discovery
in India may offer crucial

physical proof that giant humans
once roamed the earth.

- Apparently, there was exploration
in northern India that

supposedly uncovered these huge
skeletal remains of phenomenal size.

- Inscriptions found nearby
described the remains as a

race of giants mentioned in the
Hindu epic poem the

Mahabharata, written around 200 BCE.

NARRATOR: The ancient poem is
considered one of the longest

ever written, and its description
of giants only fuels speculation

about the huge skeletal remains.

- Superhumans are said to be very
tall, very big, and very powerful.

So they can put their arms around a
tree trunk, and without any

effort, completely uproot it.

NARRATOR: The skeleton appears big
enough for such feats of

strength, but the giant skeleton
has since been outted as a hoax.

- It certainly looks real, but the
photo placed third in a

competition to create a fake
archaeological discovery.

- Actually, what it is, is it's a
really clever superimposition

of a human skeleton over the
beastly remains of a mastodon.

- If you look closer, the giveaway
is a digging man holding a

yellow-handled shovel without
a spade on the end.

NARRATOR: The goliath footprint
does not suffer from the same

accusations of being a prank.

Although, how it was made
remains unknown.

Perhaps there's a scientific
basis behind the timeless

perception that much bigger
people once existed.

- Could a genetic mutation explain
some of the larger-than-life

characters we know from the past?

NARRATOR: Nearly 10,000

kilometres away in Northern
Ireland, there may be a clue.

- Researchers traced an unusual
cluster of gigantism in

Mid Ulster to a specific gene.

About one in 150 people carry a
genetic mutation to the AIP gene.

- This leads to an overproduction of
growth hormone in childhood,

and that excess causes the bones and
the muscles and other organs

to grow bigger than usual.

- The AIP gene related to Gigantism
was actually found in several

Irish families.

- They're all distantly related to
the Irish giant Charles Byrne.

In the 1700s, Byrne was a very
famous show giant, 'cause he

stood at an absolutely whopping 7
foot 10 - that's tall.

- The highest proportion of
giants in the entire world is

thought to cluster in that one
small part of Northern Ireland.

NARRATOR: But Ireland is far away
from Mpumalanga and there's no

evidence to suggest the two places
have a close genetic connection.

- In the last few hundred years,
people with known gigantism

peaked at around nine feet tall.

The owner of Goliath's footprint
would have to be twice that height.

So how do we explain it?

NARRATOR: A clue may lie
much closer to Empuluzi.

A 5,000-year-old find in Egypt
suggests that here an extreme

level of gigantism may
have once existed.

When in 1988, Swiss explorer Gregor
Sporri announced the discovery of a

15-inch mummified finger.

That's almost four times longer
than the average adult finger.

- Based on the proportions, this
finger would have to belong

to someone who is over
five metres tall.

NARRATOR: A figure of this stature
is certainly closer to the

proportions of the goliath
footprint.

Could it be the farther back in time
we go, the bigger the people were?

- The AIP gene variant has only been
traced back a few thousand

years, so we don't yet know if it
was present in Ancient Egypt,

much less in Empuluzi
millions of years ago.

- Humans that were much larger
than average have always been

among us, but it doesn't necessarily
mean Goliath's footprint was

created by one of them.

NARRATOR: So what is the secret of
this mysterious footprint?

Another hint lies yet again in
Northern Ireland.

Here, in County Antrim, is a place
where some believe giants

once lived, and the proof they
say is right under foot.

- Irish lore tells of the giant
Finn McCool created the causeway

by tearing up great chunks of the
coastline and hurling them

into the sea. Who would have put
them there if not a giant?

NARRATOR: But unfortunately for
true believers, the causeway's

connection to giants is
in name only.

- Scientists are confident that
the causeway was created by

natural volcanic activity between
50 and 60 million years ago,

which means not by the
hands of giants.

NARRATOR: Since the giant's causeway
can be explained by natural

geological forces, does that
mean similar natural causes are

behind the nearly anatomically
perfect footprint in South Africa?

- What could have created
something that looks like a giant

footprint on the sheer
side of a rock face?

- Geologists are absolutely
convinced that this imprint

was not left here by any
living being.

NARRATOR: For geologist and
anthropologist

Dr Robert Schoch the idea of
giants seems all too fantastic.

For him, the answer is
written in stone.

- You don't find fossils in granite.

You don't find footprints
in granite.

Why? Because granite is what
we call an igneous rock.

It's a rock that forms from a
molten state of rock.

- Which means the granite here
formed deep underground.

- So how are you going to get a
footprint in a magma chamber

ten kilometres below the
surface of the Earth?

- It's difficult to imagine any
sort of footprint or fossil

surviving that kind of process.

NARRATOR: That's because it can't.

- The Goliath footprint
really is an anomaly.

It may have partially formed when
the granite rock was brought

to the surface through this
geological process called

uplift eventually reaching the
Earth's surface in its

more-or-less present
vertical position.

- And then through natural
geological processes over

hundreds of millions of years,

it erodes, it crumbles and it
leaves the impression of what

could be interpreted as a footprint.

I think it is incredible and
it's wonderful, and I'm not

surprised that people recognize this
as looking like a footprint.

But I'm 100% convinced that it
is a natural phenomenon.

End of story.

- Visitors come from far and wide
to leave coins in Empuluzi's

heel, in exchange for health
and good fortune.

- People say this is a place where a
spiritual force comes out of

the earth.

- A site like this can be
incredibly important and that is

absolutely independent of whether
that footprint is a genuine

footprint from a genuine giant or if
it's simply a natural feature.

- The natural wonders our Earth is
capable of forging are truly

marvellous.

- And thanks to a view from above
we’re able to see and fully

appreciate the gigantic beauty and
mystery that surrounds us.

NARRATOR: From the wildlands of
South Africa to the vast

expanse of Central Asia, a view from
above reveals another giant mystery.

Nestled in a remote corner of
the landlocked nation of

Kazakhstan, satellite images
reveal a chilling oversized symbol

etched into the Earth's surface.

- It's unmistakable. There's no
way you could miss it.

- It looks like we have a star,
but wait, there's a circle

surrounding it.

- It looks like it's a
giant pentagram.

- This thing is enormous!

- But what exactly is it
and why is it here?

NARRATOR: And what will a
view from above reveal?

- A pentagram is a five-pointed star
that can be drawn with one

continuous stroke, and this one
measures more than a thousand

feet across.

- The first thing I notice about
this pentagram is that it's

surrounded by a circle.

And a pentagram inside a circle
is sometimes known as a

"pentacle", a symbol
that's used in paganism.

It's a symbol of unity and
protection.

NARRATOR: Have satellites uncovered
a place of prayer or ritual?

What else can a view
from above show us?

- If you look at the orientation of
the pentagram in relation to

the earth's longitude and latitude,
it appears to be upside down,

or what is known as an inverted
pentagram with two points

facing up and one point facing down.

- An inverted pentagram is often
associated with evil or

satanism, especially in
popular culture.

- These upside-down pentagrams are
commonly drawn with the head

of a goat inside and are referred to
as "the Sigel of Baphomet".

- Baphomet is a sort of demon
figure. He's half-human, half-goat.

- But aside from it appearing
upside down according to the

cardinal points on the map, there's
no other reason to think that

this symbol is satanic in origin.

- So what is it?

NARRATOR: Approximately 300

kilometres to the south, in
Kazakhstan’s Turgay Region, another

startling discovery from above leads
us down another strange path.

Satellite images reveal more
mysterious giant symbols

scattered across the landscape,
known as geoglyphs.

- Several of these symbols seem to
be geometric shapes made up

of connecting dots.

- The largest is a giant square
with a diagonal criss-cross.

- Another almost looks like a giant
three-pronged pinwheel etched

into the dirt.

- Now the incredible thing is before
they appeared on Google Earth

in 2007, these earthworks were
completely forgotten.

- Although these ancient symbols
were revealed through modern

mapping technology, researchers are
still trying to ascertain how

many actually exist
throughout Kazakhstan.

Some estimates run as high as
over 200 geoglyphs.

- But the big question is,
what are their origins?

And what might they tell us
about the giant pentagram?

NARRATOR: The purpose of these
earthwork geoglyphs remains unknown.

They may have been used as
sanctuaries, territorial

markings or to track the
movement of the sun.

And their age is equally elusive.

- It's believed that these
geoglyphs range in age from

Kazakhstan's Iron Age, about 3,000
years ago, to as far back as

the Neolithic period,
10,000 years ago.

NARRATOR: Is the giant pentagram one
of these ancient geoglyphs

left undiscovered for
thousands of years?

- It is possible, because as we
know, the pentagram is a very

old symbol dating back at
least 5,000 years.

- The pentagram was used in the
Liangzhu culture of China, as

far back as 3,000 BCE.

- And some of the oldest pentagrams
have also been found on

ancient artifacts from Mesopotamia
in what is now Iraq.

- Kazakhstan is relatively close
to these other ancient

civilizations, so it’s conceivable
that the symbol may have made

its way to this region.

NARRATOR: Perhaps an answer lies
with a bird's-eye view of another

giant pentagram half-way across the
world, in a place few would expect.

- If you look at the core of
Washington, DC,

from above, you'll notice its
streets don't form a simple

grid like you might find in
every other American city.

- What you find instead are these
diagonal avenues that are all

branching out from various
intersecting points.

- Starting at the White House, if
you trace a line up the

avenue towards Dupont Circle, then
down to Mount Vernon Square,

across to Washington Circle, up to
Logan Circle, then back down

to the White House, it
forms a giant pentagram.

NARRATOR: Is this pentagram
a mere coincidence?

Some sort of geometric accident?

Not everyone thinks so.

Some attribute its existence to
an ancient brotherhood.

- There's a secret society known
as the Freemasons and its

members are alleged to include
everyone from British Prime

Minister Winston Churchill and
Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of

Sherlock Holmes, to Gustave Eiffel,
designer of the Eiffel Tower,

and George Washington, the first
president of the United States.

- And like so many groups before
them, the Freemasons adopted

the pentagram as one of
their symbols.

- Individually, Freemasons are
known to have played a part in

building and designing much of the
capital, and that includes

George Washington who actually
appointed the engineer who

originally drafted the
plan for the city.

NARRATOR: Did the Freemasons plan to
incorporate a giant pentagram

into the framework of the
US Capital?

And could the pentagram found in
Kazakhstan be the work of the

same secret society?

- Given the vast distance
between Washington, DC,

and Kazakhstan, any
connection seems remote.

And, as far as we know, the Masons
didn't have a significant

presence in Kazakhstan until
relatively recently.

So a more probable and closer
influence would be from the

former Soviet Union
capital of Moscow.

NARRATOR: Where just a short
distance from the city centre

satellite images reveal some
now familiar symbols.

- Once again, you see what
looks like pentagrams.

- They appear to be decorating the
roofs of buildings, and

nearby, you see what resembles a
pentagram in pavement.

- What is this place?

NARRATOR: Could these symbols
hold the key to solving the

mystery in Kazakhstan?

- This area is home to an army base
and something called "Patriot

Park", a military theme park
opened by Russian president

Vladimir Putin in 2016.

- The complex covers more than
33 square miles and can

apparently host up to
20,000 guests per day.

Rather than thrill rides, there
are these firing ranges and

visitors can interact with grenade
launchers and Russian tanks.

- But what about these stars?

- The five-pointed star has long
been part of Russian

symbolism and architecture.

- The symbols started to appear in
the early 20th century.

Now, those five rays represent the
five continents, which it was

hoped would soon unite under the
banner of communism.

- And this star was prominent
throughout the Soviet Union

- Over the past hundred years, the
star has remained a symbol of

the state in Russia and of its
ruling ideology.

- And that's why you see these stars
in places like Patriot Park.

NARRATOR: Is this what we're
seeing in Kazakhstan?

A holdover of Soviet symbolism -

a vestige of its former
influence in the region?

- Kazakhstan used to be under the
rule of the Soviet Union, and

still has close ties to Russia.

NARRATOR: A closer look from above
reveals something scattered

along the lines of the pentagram.

Trees.

- Was this some sort
of lakeside park?

- What these tree lined pathways
show is exactly that - what

remains of a Soviet-era
patriotic park.

- By the looks of it, the park
hasn't been in use for a long time.

- It's not known who built the
park or when it stopped being

maintained, but it was clearly
designed around the Soviet star.

- I think this just tells us the
power of symbols and how

different vantage points can give us
different stories depending

on where you see them.

NARRATOR: A once-proud park now an
overlooked remnant of a bygone era

- all but forgotten if it weren't
for a view from above.

From a sculptured serpent that
harkens back to a prehistoric

giant, to huge human-like
features etched in stone, to an

imprint that defies the odds, and a
colossal symbol of power and

evil, the view from above provides
new perspectives and a chance

to answer some of the world's most
enormous questions.

Subtitles by Sky Access Services