Original subtitles

Narrator: eyes in the sky, Watching us from space,

Hundreds of satellites Showing us the world

Like we've never seen it before,

Capturing images which Are breathtaking but bizarre

Of objects and phenomena Which defy explanation.

What is that?

Narrator: A great scar on the desert.

Is this a clue in the hunt

For the last wonder Of the ancient world?

Podany: It's entirely possible

The hanging gardens Were not in babylon,

That we've been looking In the wrong place.

Narrator: a blazing inferno Devouring communist north korea.

It's like the whole southeast Of the country is on fire.

Narrator: or is this literally A smokescreen?

If this regime is preparing for War, this is serious business.

Narrator: And have satellites captured A deadly fuming supervolcano

Close to the ruins of pompeii?

Man: There are only a few scenarios

That are capable of causing Complete human extinction.

The eruption of a supervolcano Is one of them.

Narrator: baffling phenomena Seen from space.

What on earth are they?

-- captions by vitac -- Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by Discovery communications

October 2005,

Western canada.

Lynn hickox is navigating

The desolate plains Of the alberta badlands.

But as she drives, She gets hopelessly lost.

Hickox: my grandson was really Interested in dinosaurs,

And I knew there was A dinosaur museum in alberta.

And so, I went on A mapping program.

Narrator: Lynn's mapping program

Links to a series of satellites 300 miles high.

These beam a constant stream Of images to the earth below.

Scrolling through These satellite pictures,

She scans the area around her.

It's a 21st century map

Of barren slopes, canyons, And ravines.

But as she looks At the satellite images,

She sees something incredible.

It was a face. It just sort of Really popped out.

This is an amazing structure.

You look at it. You're certain It's been created by man.

The dimensions, the detail -- They're exquisite.

Really? I mean, it's absurd.

I was, like, "Wow."

Narrator: from ground level, It's impossible to make out

The huge head In the satellite image.

Her only point of reference Is a modern gas well,

Which she uses To find the rest of the head.

Over here, to the west,

Would be the features That make up the face.

Narrator: The head is vast.

From the forehead to the chin, It measures 2,000 feet,

And it's 1,300 feet across.

Unable to understand What she's looking at,

Lynn posts the image online, And it goes viral.

Experts attempt to explain it.

Geologist alan lester Is among those

Who think the head Was formed naturally.

The myriad and countless ways in Which planet earth gets eroded

Are very likely to generate Images just like this one.

And this is a really nice Example of erosion

In sedimentary rocks that are Alternatingly hard and soft.

The hardest regions produce The higher areas,

And the soft regions Produce the lower areas.

Narrator: the head looks almost Too lifelike to be natural.

But there are some experts Who argue

That it's just our brains Playing tricks.

Hohler: the brain is hardwired For recognition of faces.

So this one is a great example,

Because it is a structure That can be seen from far away.

And it has some specific, Pleasing characteristics.

The eyes, the nose, and The mouth are very important,

So, a nose centered In between the eyes

And a mouth below the nose.

That's the way that the mind Wants to see a face.

Narrator: But there's something else That makes this head puzzling.

It seems to be wearing Some kind of complex headdress.

The facial features

Closely resemble those Of a native american.

And the location of the head

Is right in the middle Of the alberta badlands,

The ancient Sacred hunting grounds

Of the native american Blackfoot tribe.

I'm astounded By how similar this looks

To an indian With a headdress on.

Narrator: more remarkable still Is the name of the nearest town.

It's called medicine hat.

This is a translation

Of the ancient Blackfoot indian word saam,

Which is the complex Eagle-feather headdress

Worn by medicine men.

Saam, or medicine hat,

Is not a common place name Among native americans.

Could it be That ancient tribal peoples

Were aware of the giant head?

Some locals are convinced

That there is some kind Of native american connection

And have called the head The badlands guardian.

Treffrey deerfoot is a real-life Native american medicine man.

[ grunts ]

[ shouts ]

Deerfoot: I asked the old people About badland guardian image,

Then, the elders were saying, "You know, our ancestors,

"They knew about it.

They knew of that image Long ago."

Narrator: but if the image Is only discernible

From high above the earth,

How did ancient tribal americans Know it was there?

Could it be that it was they

Who carved the head Into the landscape?

In native-american culture,

A medicine man Was not a tribal doctor.

He was more like a high priest Who had special powers

And who communicated With the gods.

Deerfoot: This is the place where our People go in the next life.

So this whole area within This place is very sacred to us.

Native americans believe that Nature was filled with spirits,

Both friendly and malign, To be feared and worshipped.

But among The gods they worshipped

Were beings whom they believed

Came from the stars And lived in the sky.

They called them The above people.

They undoubtedly Had a special relationship

With the sky god for the moon And the sky god for the sun

And all the other major planets.

Narrator: did the blackfoot Or some other ancient tribe

Carve out this image?

Were they trying to communicate

With the mysterious Above people?

Could somebody Have physically gone in

And chiseled out this face?

Narrator: It wouldn't be the first time

An ancient people has carved Huge symbols into the earth.

There isn't a continent on earth

That doesn't have An ancient glyph in its land,

Such as the nazca lines.

Narrator: but geoglyphs Like the nazca lines

Are relatively simple structures

Which could easily have been Formed using ancient tools.

if this is man-made, it's a project far beyond

The primitive glyphs We already know about.

It's a complex, Three-dimensional carving

Over a vast area.

The face is 30 times the size

Of the individual heads Carved into mount rushmore,

A project that took 14 years to complete

With 20th-century equipment.

But if this head is not the work of humans,

If ancient native americans

Did not carve it Out of the landscape,

The question remains, How did they know it was there?

Gough: clearly, this is way Before satellite technology.

But somehow, they had a way

Of seeing what was on the ground From above.

Narrator: this has led To some strange theories.

Gough: I believe it was a man-chosen, Shaman-chosen structure,

Where their shamanistic, Hallucinogenic experiences

Allowed them to see these images

From their out-of-body Experience.

Narrator: most scientists Would reject the idea

Of shamans Looking down from above.

Many geologists remain convinced

That this is A natural phenomenon.

But for many, This satellite photograph

Of the badlands guardian Remains a mystery.

You know, seeing the image Of the medicine man,

It's a bit shocking, Even for a scientist.

Woman: I love that image.

This geologic feature that Looks like a native american

Knocked my socks off.

Narrator: an immense And mysterious cloud of smoke

Hovers over north korea,

A country ruled by the most Tyrannical communist regime

In the world.

It's extraordinary.

You can't even see the land Through the smoke.

Narrator: Is this a natural disaster,

Or are they trying To hide something?

Pope: a smokescreen Is tried and tested.

It's been around for centuries, But that's because it works.

Narrator: april 2014.

As nasa's aqua satellite Passes over east asia,

Its cameras capture this image.

This is no cloud.

It's a giant blanket of smoke

Emanating From communist north korea.

It's not just covering Half of north korea,

But it's coming out To the sea of japan, as well.

So that's why we all noticed it On satellite footage right away.

Narrator: the cloud covers An area of 8,000 square miles.

Nasa moves in for a closer look.

It deploys modis,

The moderate resolution Imaging spectroradiometer.

This camera sees the world In infrared,

And it reveals Areas of ferocious radiation

Beneath the smoke.

The infrared cameras

Can see the actual fires Themselves and all the flames,

And invisible light cameras

Can see the smoke trails That they leave behind.

Narrator: Are these spontaneous wildfires?

It seems unlikely.

Wildfires break out

After periods of intense heat And drought.

But the image Was taken in april,

A time of year when north korea Is relatively cold.

Could the fires be the result Of field burning,

A primitive technique Used by farmers

With no fertilizer Or herbicides?

Pope: on this scale,

It's like the whole southeast Of the country is on fire.

Narrator: but crop burning Takes place after harvest,

Not in the spring.

Is there A more sinister explanation?

Communist north korea

Is ruled by one of the most Barbarous regimes on the planet.

The regime in north korea Is horrendous.

It's a brutal, Totalitarian dictatorship.

The supreme leader Rules almost as a god.

[ crowd cheering ]

Narrator: communist regimes Have often maintained control

Outside the towns by spreading Fear through the countryside.

Is this the cause of the smoke?

Is the regime instilling terror

By burning villages And destroying farmland?

There is another theory

Which has been put forward By military analysts.

Pope: Is it possible that a country

That is in some respects So high-tech

Could use a very basic tactic Like a smokescreen?

I think it's quite possible.

Narrator: the north korean Regime is well aware

That u.S. Surveillance Satellites

Are keeping watch from space.

Baker: north korea Is probably the best reason

Why satellite imagery Is so important.

You've got a closed, Very repressive society

With a very large military and A building nuclear capability.

Narrator: a smokescreen Is usually a metaphor.

Is the real thing Being employed here

To conceal the tactical movement Of nuclear weapons?

The logical question is, "What are they doing down there?

What don't they want us to see?"

Narrator: the blanket of smoke Is covering an area

Just above the border With south korea.

There is, in effect, A cold war taking place

Between north and south.

At the end of the korean war In 1953,

A demilitarized zone Was established

Along the 38th parallel To keep the two armies apart.

Schneider: north korea made On a very routine basis

Threats to turn Their neighbor's capital cities

Into a sea of nuclear fire.

Narrator: The smoke hangs in the air

Long enough to cover the Movement of troops or missiles.

When the smoke disappears,

Satellites scan The area beneath.

But their cameras find No obvious signs

Of weapons or men Close to the border.

But missiles can be camouflaged, And troops can be hidden.

If the smoke in this image Was generated

To hide something From u.S. Intelligence,

It seems to have succeeded.

We use all sorts Of high-tech ways

To perhaps mask What we're doing,

But a smokescreen -- Well, it's tried and tested.

It's been around for centuries. But that's because it works.

Narrator: a satellite snapshot Of moon-like terrain.

It's not a landscape that you Would expect to see on earth.

Narrator: but this isn't The surface of the moon.

It's italy.

Have satellites discovered A doomsday supervolcano?

It's flexing its muscles And getting ready to explode.

Narrator: a satellite Is orbiting the earth,

Collecting high-resolution Images and other data.

This will be combined With radar readings

To create a three-dimensional Picture of the planet.

When the satellite Passes over italy,

It picks up something strange.

It's not a landscape that you Would expect to see on earth.

Narrator: The moon-like landscape Covers 60 square miles.

Further analysis of the image

Reveals over 20 Crater-like depressions.

The smallest Is 1,300 feet across.

The largest, 2.7 miles.

But the mystery deepens At ground level.

Stories of animals Spontaneously dropping dead.

There are legends Of this smell of death.

Narrator: There are local reports

Of creatures suddenly dying For no apparent reason.

Birds falling from the sky, Dogs found dead in caves.

According to local folklore, The area in this satellite image

Has been associated with death Since roman times.

The reports center around The italian city of pozzuoli.

Could there be a connection Between the unexplained deaths

And the moon-like terrain Captured by satellite?

The satellite has recorded this Very strange-looking landscape

Because, essentially, These people are sitting

And living In a very large volcano.

Narrator: the size and structure Of moon-like terrain

Has raised concerns Among geologists.

This is no ordinary volcano.

Man: There are only a few scenarios

That are capable of causing Complete human extinction.

The eruption of a supervolcano Is one of them.

Narrator: Local journalist silvia pepe Is searching for evidence

That pozzuoli might be sitting On a supervolcano.

First, she investigates a cave

Where dogs are said To have been found dead.

[ pepe speaking italian ]

Narrator: she tests the air With a naked flame.

The fire is quickly snuffed out.

There is gas here,

Enough to kill any dog tempted To venture into the cave.

Lester: it's probably associated With sulfur gases --

Sulfur dioxide, Hydrogen sulfide.

Narrator: alarmingly, Pepe finds more poisonous gas

Bursting from cracks And potholes.

And there's not just gas.

[ pepe speaking italian ]

Narrator: Volcanologist dr. Brittany brand

Thinks the heat and the gas Is a sign of something worrying.

It's kind of A constant signature

Of an active magma reservoir At depth.

Narrator: But there's one sure sign,

And that's when the surface Of the earth begins to move.

A magma reservoir Is so powerful,

It pushes the ground up As the magma swells,

And the ground sinks When it recedes.

Local diver salvatore maione

Has noticed such changes In pozzuoli.

[ speaking italian ]

Narrator: in fact, the movement Of land here

Has claimed a whole ancient City, dragging it into the sea.

This is pozzuoli's atlantis --

Streets, statues, plazas, And buildings.

This 2,000-year-old roman city Has been sucked beneath the sea.

Pockets of sulfuric gases Still bubble around it.

Brand: the fact that the ground Has been inflating, swelling,

And deflating since roman times

Suggests that it is A very active system.

Narrator: on the ground, There are clues all around --

The dead animals, The foul-smelling gas,

The sunken city.

The moon-like terrain In the satellite image

Makes sense of all of them.

Typically, When we think of volcanoes,

We think of these tall peaks or Cones.

But there are other types Of volcanoes

That form huge depressions In the ground.

We call these calderas.

What you get when you have A very big volcanic eruption,

The magma chamber Beneath the volcano is emptied,

And the top of the volcano Collapses down

To form this circular, Bowl-shaped feature.

Narrator: this picture of a Caldera looks remarkably similar

To the depressions Captured by satellite.

But that's just one caldera.

The satellite image suggests

The magma chamber Has erupted many times,

Creating over 20 craters.

That raises One terrifying possibility --

A supervolcano.

Rampino: A supervolcano is able to have A very large magma chamber

That fills up with magma

And then is released In one big event.

Narrator: the human cost

Of a supervolcano in this area Would be immense.

There are as many as 700 million People in the kill zone.

But how realistic is the threat?

For sure, it's gonna happen Again in the future.

Brand: a super eruption would be The ultimate geologic hazard.

It's a catastrophic eruption

Of a tremendous amount Of explosive magma.

Narrator: If this is a supervolcano, Then satellites will be vital

In monitoring the rise and fall Of the surface.

Lester: volcanic eruptions Have precursor signage.

They have doming and tilting Of the entire region,

Which we can determine From satellite imagery.

Gas emissions are also Recognizable from satellites.

When we're dealing With supervolcanoes,

Satellites can be part Of the early warning system.

Narrator: and some believe the Warning signs are already there.

It's flexing its muscles And getting ready to explode.

Narrator: this top-secret image, Recently declassified,

Shows a 60-mile scar On the earth

Which may solve A 3,000-year-old mystery.

This could be a clue That this was

Part of one of the seven wonders Of the world.

Narrator: could this satellite Image reveal the whereabouts

Of the hanging gardens Of babylon?

Narrator: researchers analyze A top-secret image

Taken 50 years ago And recently declassified.

What they see Has huge implications

For our understanding Of the biblical world.

Could this image lead us

To the greatest lost marvel Of antiquity --

The hanging gardens of babylon?

Huston: The hanging gardens of babylon

Are one of the great wonders Of the ancient world,

One of the seven wonders Of the ancient world,

And the only one that really has Never been positively identified

On where it was.

Narrator: The 50-year-old satellite image Covers northern iraq,

Close to the borders of turkey, Syria, and iran,

An area today Wracked by violent conflict.

What it captured Half a century ago

Was a gigantic winding channel Cut into the desert.

The 50-year-old photograph Thrills modern scholars.

Some of them dare to believe That this could be a clue

To the final lost wonder Of the ancient world --

The hanging gardens of babylon.

Researchers Only have the photo at all

Because of a 1960s spy-satellite Program code-named corona.

Baker: The corona satellite program

Was born out of the early days Of the cold war.

It was a whole new way Of gathering information,

And it was critical To the times.

Narrator: in the '60s, iraq had Close ties to the soviet union.

U.S. Spy satellites extensively Photograph the middle east.

Those images reveal A landscape from the past,

A picture Hidden from modern satellites

By half a century of farming, Building, and warfare.

Altaweel: Since this time period,

A lot of these archaeological Features have been plowed up,

Destroyed by, essentially, Human activity.

A lot of these features Are now gone.

Narrator: But what could account

For the line in the desert Captured from space?

Could it be the result Of earthquake damage?

There are seismic faults In the region,

And earthquakes can create Fissures on the earth's surface.

But this scar in the ground

Looks too long To be a natural fissure.

What's more, the line In the landscape is too regular.

It's the same width All the way down.

This looks man-made.

Could this be a groove Worn away in the landscape

Of some long-forgotten Trade route?

Altaweel: This is not a road.

Roads tend to be more straight,

Often do not follow The contours of the landscape,

And are not usually Nearly as wide.

Narrator: the line more closely Resembles a waterway.

I think this is a canal.

Narrator: if this is a canal, Then it's a big one.

Researchers Examine more corona images

And trace a canal network Going south

From the zagros mountain 60 miles into northern iraq.

But why would anyone build A 60-mile-long canal

In the middle of the desert?

Altaweel: this could be a clue That these gardens existed,

Essentially because It was so massive.

It brought A huge amount of water.

It was certainly of a scale

That demonstrates This was not a simple project.

Narrator: this canal trench is Huge, even by modern standards.

The suez canal in egypt,

Which was considered A marvel of modern engineering,

Was 25 feet deep When it was built.

Parts of this channel Are twice that depth.

In places, this canal network Is 300 feet wide.

This is epic engineering.

Whoever built This spectacular canal

Was fabulously wealthy And powerful.

This is not a ditch Dug by farmers.

This waterway was feeding some Magnificent city in the desert

And, potentially, A wonder of the ancient world.

Huston: The hanging gardens of babylon

Were reputed to be Part of a magnificent palace,

Where this palace was on the Water or a canal,

And yet the gardens were Suspended above and in the air

And watered in elaborate ways That were unique to the time

And had trees and plants And flowers

That were so spectacular, people Came from all over to see them.

Narrator: the fabled Hanging gardens of babylon

Were said to be as awe-inspiring In scale and beauty

As the great pyramids of egypt.

But the gardens Would have devoured

An estimated 300 tons of water Every day.

It would've taken A canal this big.

But there's one problem --

Babylon is 300 miles south,

On the eastern bank Of the euphrates river.

Archaeologists Have spent centuries

Searching for any remains Of the ancient gardens there,

To no avail.

Some scholars have begun To doubt they ever existed.

This giant, ancient canal Captured from space

Cannot have fed The legendary hanging gardens...

Unless the hanging gardens Were not in babylon after all.

Podany: It's entirely possible

The hanging gardens Were not in babylon,

That we've been looking In the wrong place.

Narrator: There are many references

To the spectacular hanging Gardens in ancient texts.

But the curious thing is,

None of these references Actually come from babylonians.

Podany: there's no reference In any babylonian text

To a hanging garden

Or anything that could've been A hanging garden.

Narrator: but if the hanging Gardens weren't in babylon,

Where were they?

At the time when the gardens Were said to exist,

There were two great imperial Powers in ancient mesopotamia.

There were the babylonians, And there were the assyrians.

The assyrians were masters At water management.

They were building canals, Aqueducts, dams, weirs.

They were controlling water

In a way that had never Been done before.

Narrator: Could it have been the assyrians Who build the hanging gardens?

Podany: The hanging gardens of babylon

Was a name that was given to The hanging gardens much later,

At a time When the greeks and romans

Often confused Assyria and babylonia.

Narrator: if we trace this Winding network of waterways

Down through Ancient mesopotamia,

It heads directly For another great city,

A city to rival babylon In wealth and majesty --

The ancient assyrian capital Of nineveh.

Altaweel: the corona image Potentially points

To the hanging gardens Actually being at nineveh,

Because we see This massive feature

Bringing water To the city of nineveh.

So that certainly suggests to us

That nineveh could be a likely Site for the hanging gardens.

Narrator: But this is a dangerous region,

Too dangerous for an extensive Archaeological excavation.

[ men shouting indistinctly ]

Until that happens,

This satellite image From the past

Is our most tantalizing clue

In the hunt For the one remaining

Undiscovered wonder Of the ancient world.

A glowing blue vortex In the south atlantic ocean.

A whirlpool The size of an entire state.

Now, that's pretty scary.

Narrator: Whatever it is, it looks big, And it looks dangerous.

You wouldn't want to be Anywhere near that in a boat.

Narrator: december 26, 2011.

Nasa's terra satellite

Passes high Over the south atlantic ocean

And captures this image.

It appears to be a giant Whirlpool of glowing blue light.

I've seen Ocean whirlpools before,

But I've never seen anything On this scale before.

Who or what Is actually making this site up?

You can't believe That this is actually something

That exists for real In the ocean.

Narrator: the whirlpool, Or whatever it is,

Is located 500 miles Off the coast of south africa.

And it's huge, stretching As far as a 100 miles.

Nelson: The image seems to indicate

A whirlpool The size of an entire state.

Now, that's pretty scary.

Narrator: If it is a whirlpool,

It's thousands of times bigger Than any recorded,

Generating awesome power.

Countless tons of water Racing in a deadly spiral.

You wouldn't want to be Anywhere near that in a boat.

Narrator: the most powerful Ocean vortices are terrifying.

A super vortex on this scale

Would devour the world's biggest Ocean liners in an instant.

But it's not just the scale That's astonishing analysts.

Why is this thing, Whatever it is, glowing blue?

Nelson: one possible reason That you might be able to see

This phenomenon In the photograph

Is because this ocean vortex

Has sucked up millions upon Millions of microorganisms,

Otherwise known As phytoplankton.

Narrator: Phytoplankton are organisms That emit a bright, blue light.

But phytoplankton Are tiny creatures.

For them to create A glow this big this bright,

There would have to be trillions Upon trillions of them

Caught in the walls Of the vortex.

Oceanographer ryan abernathy Says that for that to happen,

The vortex would have to be Acting the same way

As a black hole.

[ doorbell buzzes ]

Just like light is trapped

Within the event horizon Of a black hole,

It's been proposed That there's a border

Around the edge Of some of these eddies

That really acts To trap material

And keep it stuck inside.

Everybody knows Black holes take in light.

They don't let it go.

But the reason for that

Is that it's kind of this Spinning, heavy thing in space

That's sucking in all the mass.

Narrator: just as black holes Suck in light,

Ocean vortices trap matter...

In this case, It would seem, glowing matter.

Everything in these Ocean vortexes are trapped.

So, they're spinning,

And you have millions of Billions of gallons of water

Carrying plankton, debris,

And they're moving across oceans From continent to continent.

And nothing gets out.

Narrator: But it's just a theory.

No one has seen anything Quite like this before.

A massive ocean vortex, If that's what it is,

Can be created by an earthquake On the ocean floor.

On march 11, 2001, A magnitude 9 earthquake

Takes place 43 miles Off the coast of japan.

The result -- one of the biggest Tsunamis ever recorded.

Waves 130 feet high Pummel japan's mainland,

Creating deadly whirlpools Along the coast

Which suck fishing boats Down beneath the waves.

But these whirlpools are tiny

In comparison to the glowing Monster captured on satellite.

And no tsunami or earthquake

Has been recorded Off the coast of south africa.

The blue spiral of light Caught on satellite camera

Looks like something From a sci-fi movie.

Analysts have not encountered Anything quite like this before.

It looks too big To be a whirlpool.

There have been no recorded Earthquakes in the area,

And there are no unusual Weather reports

From shipping in the region.

The blue vortex Remains a mystery.

Strange mounds In the egyptian desert

Are photographed from space.

It's possible It could rewrite history.

Narrator: Have satellites discovered The lost resting place

Of a great and mighty pharaoh?

Narrator: 2012.

Maiden, north carolina.

Amateur archaeologist Angela micol

Is examining satellite images Taken over egypt,

Looking for anything Out of the ordinary.

Micol: I have been looking For archaeology from space

Since about 1997.

And with the use Of satellite imagery,

You can see a site In a completely new perspective.

Narrator: that perspective comes From the quickbird satellite.

From high above egypt,

It photographs an area of desert 20 miles west of the river nile.

6,000 miles away In north carolina,

Angela is scanning Satellite images,

Mile upon mile of Scorched desert sand and rock.

Then she sees something.

Micol: I was just amazed,

Because I knew that I had Something very special,

And I knew that it's possible It could rewrite history.

Narrator: the satellite has Captured a series of mounds

Rising from the flat Desert floor.

Micol: two larger mounds Of a similar size,

And then you see two smaller Mounds of a similar size.

And this doesn't really Occur in nature.

From space, It looks very planned.

There is a possibility that what We are looking at with this site

Is a very eroded Potential pyramid.

Narrator: A number of ancient pyramids

Have been discovered By satellite,

But not on this scale.

The largest is 300 feet wide, Comparable in size

To the pyramids at giza, Wonders of the ancient world.

And that's not The only similarity.

At giza, the larger pyramids

Are aligned diagonally With smaller structures.

This layout is repeated in the Mounds in the satellite image.

Micol: there could be A lost pyramid complex in egypt

That no one even knows about.

Narrator: Could satellites have revealed Something totally unknown

To egyptologists Working on the ground?

The image causes a sensation,

Receiving worldwide Media attention.

But the experts are cautious.

It requires A lot more investigation

Before you can just say, "It's A mound," or, "It's a pyramid."

Narrator: many geologists too Have expressed caution.

Not every pyramid-shaped rock Is a pyramid.

I see the image, And I see a natural process

Which has carved the landscape Into a striking feature.

I don't think that's man-made.

[ car horns honking ]

Narrator: but then, in cairo, New evidence comes to light.

Two collectors of antique maps,

One of them a former advisor To the egyptian president,

Revealed the existence Of historic maps

Which make reference to pyramids At the exact same site.

Micol: they claim That they do have proof

That they are pyramid sites.

Narrator: determined To explore the mounds further,

Micol contacts A researcher in egypt,

Who travels to the site To investigate.

He returns With extraordinary footage.

The shaky video shows two mounds Protruding from the desert,

But it seems there are also Cavities and shafts and tunnels.

Gough: what's exciting

And lends a lot of credence To the satellite images

Is that the on-site exploration Has found shards of pottery

And other physical, Man-made evidence

That would lead you to believe

That this was An inhabited, sacred site.

Narrator: The ancient egyptians were here, But are these pyramids?

Moser: the peak You can see in the image

Certainly looks suggestive,

But it's not clearly Delineated enough

To make any firm conclusion.

Narrator: if these are pyramids,

They've either been Heavily eroded by the desert

Or else partially destroyed.

But why?

There's a long history of trying To eradicate people from memory.

Gough: one famous example Of an attempt to airbrush

A very legendary pharaoh From history

Is akhenaton.

Moser: akhenaton reigned 3,500 years ago.

He was a religious revolutionary

Because, instead of worshipping The whole pantheon

Of egyptian gods, he decided To replace them with only one --

Aten, the sun disk.

And in doing so, he caused a lot Of rupture to egyptian society.

And as a result of that, When he died,

People were very quick to erase His memory from history.

Narrator: as recently as 2014, Archaeologists discovered

A previously unknown Egyptian king.

Could this be the pyramid

Of some other great pharaoh Erased from history?

What we might have here is an Example of the new civilization

Wanting to airbrush The old civilization,

Wrap it up, Close it down, hide it.

Narrator: Angela micol is convinced

These are pyramids that have Been deliberately destroyed.

The site seems to be Completely covered over.

There is almost, like, A cement type of concretions

Which are all over The surface of the site.

Narrator: archaeologists Are still to be convinced.

Moser: if it is a pyramid Out there on its own,

Not connected to anything else, It seems unlikely to me.

Narrator: Micol is now raising funds

For a full archaeological Expedition.

She is setting out to prove That these are indeed pyramids

And to explore their secrets.

Micol: who knows what kind Of knowledge we could gain

Just from being able to open a Site no one's been near before?