All language subtitles for Ancient Aliens Origins - S01E01 - Extraordinary Engineering

NARRATOR:
Ancient structures built

with enormous stone blocks.

Solid granite cut
with laser-like precision.

And accounts of astounding
technological capabilities.

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.

A lot of these sites
that we've featured,

most people haven't even
heard about beforehand.

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.

♪ ♪

How cool is it
to be able to look back

ten, 11, 15 years ago

of Ancient Aliens?

We know have

about 300 hours

worth of content.

Yeah, it just goes to show you
just how much evidence

there is
for ancient astronaut theory.

And what strikes me
as I look back over the years

is the number of fields that
the evidence crosses through,

from art, religion,
archaeology, astronomy,

-mythology...
-JASON MARTELL: And engineering.

I-I love that "wow" factor

when we look at a lot
of the sites like Sacsayhuamán,

Göbekli Tepe, Baalbek,

we have to wonder
how they could stack

hundred-ton stones perfectly.

Yeah, and that is
one of the reasons

why ancient engineering was
one of the first topics

that we covered
on Ancient Aliens.

And starting
with the Pyramids of Giza.

Yeah. No, look, by now,
it's clear that we've all aged

-like fine wine.
-(chuckles)

But the great Pyramids
of Giza have retained

their magnificence
for thousands of years.

And it's all just
as mystifying and exciting

as it was at the time.

NARRATOR: In today's
largest construction sites

and quarries,

huge megamachines are
used to dig,

cut and lift stone.

These man-made creatures
dwarf their creators

and perform the work
of thousands of men

using modern
hydraulic technologies.

Without such equipment,

builders could never construct
modern skyscrapers.

Yet, thousands of years ago,

ancient civilizations were
accomplishing the same work

while constructing
their monuments and temples

using massive stones.

These enormous blocks--

many weighing
in excess of 100 tons--

would be a challenge
even for today's engineers.

Yet, thousands of years ago,

people cut them
out of solid rock,

transported them for miles

and then lifted them
precisely into place.

But how?

Did they cut these massive stone
blocks with hammers, chisels,

and copper wire, as mainstream
archeologists suggest?

Could they have lifted
and transported them

without a pulley system,
or the wheel?

Or did ancient civilizations
possess advanced technologies

that have since been
lost to science?

ROBERT BAUVAL: At Giza, you
just don't have the pyramids.

Linked to the pyramids are

what Egyptologists call
valley temples.

It doesn't take
a rocket engineer

that when you go there,

there's something
not quite right here.

Whereas the pyramids are
built with blocks

of two to three tons,

these temples,

which are minute
compared to the pyramids,

are built with blocks
of 100 tons

and some of them 200 tons.

Let me tell you what
a 100-ton block is.

If you take a 100 family cars

and you squeeze them together,
you get one of these blocks.

First of all-- let alone
how they move these blocks--

is why would they want
to use 100-ton blocks?

It simply doesn't make sense.

♪ ♪

There's no reason for them

to want to build out
of granite blocks

the size of a semitruck.

It's like
"Okay, let's do something,

but let's do it as difficult
as we could possibly do it."

The reason why I am convinced

that sophisticated
technology was utilized

in these ancient rocks
is because

if we go to a stone quarry today

and look at the scope
of machinery required

to accomplish similar things,

those machines are huge.

NARRATOR: Subscribers
to ancient alien theory

do not believe extraterrestrials
built these amazing monuments

but instead provided some type
of technological know-how

or tools to our ancestors.

Engineering expert Chris Dunn
has spent several decades

researching
the construction tools used

by the ancient Egyptians.

We're normally taught
by Egyptologists

that the ancient Egyptians had
simple tools.

They went to work every day
using stone balls,

copper chisels or copper tube

and sand to-to grind holes in,

in diorite and granite,
extremely hard rock.

From what I have actually
gathered over the years,

is information that seems
to actually argue

against that notion
that they had simple tools.

NARRATOR:
In Egypt, Dunn was able

to examine
ancient sites firsthand.

What he found has proved

to be both revolutionary
and controversial.

DUNN:
If you look at the Giza Plateau

and all the stones

that they actually placed
in the Great Pyramid

and Khafre's pyramid,
Menkaure's pyramid,

two and a half million
blocks of stone

in the Great Pyramid alone.

They had to have
some efficient means

of cutting them to size
and putting them into place.

They had to have had
somebody on site

who's saying, "Okay,
I need a block this size."

And then getting a block
to them that size.

Stat. Like, immediately.

NARRATOR: While searching several
miles north of Giza at Abu Rawash,

Dunn stumbled upon a clue
when he spotted a granite block

containing a deep cut.

DUNN: When I first saw it, I just
didn't know what to make of it.

And it was only after

puzzling over it for days,

and sometimes waking up
at 3:00 in the morning

scratching my head and thinking,

"Well, how did they make
this cut?"

And finally to realize
that the only way

that they could have
actually cut that thing was

with a saw that was
35 feet in diameter.

The idea that ancient Egyptians
used giant saws

provoked much resistance
from mainstream archeologists.

Dunn, however, was convinced.

As an ex-machinist,
I look for tool marks.

I look for them everywhere I go,

and I could be accused of,
"Well, you know,

"if you're gonna look
for something,

"you're probably gonna find it
because you're looking at it

through a certain filter."

Accepted, I agree.

But the question is,
why is it there?

Clearly, to me,
that is a machine mark.

But there were
no machines back then.

So, what-what do I do?

I just go looking
for more machine marks

and-and they're
all over the place.

♪ ♪

You find them on statues,

you'll find them, particularly,
in the Luxor Museum.

There seems to be an impression

on the side of Amon's buttock

where it meets the bench...

...where there is an undercut.

It was a slip of a tool.

And, therefore,
it must have been

a tool that was quite efficient.

NARRATOR:
Dunn also believes

that the large depressions
in the ground at Giza

are not boat pits--

as is claimed
by mainstream archeologists--

but were actually used
to hold the 35-foot saws.

I speculate that they were
actually saw pits.

The saws were mounted
in these pits

and that they ran
the blocks through the saws

before they put them
in the Great Pyramid.

Another mystery involves
how mega stones were lifted up

and placed
into a precise position.

What you find
in modern construction is

that to build big buildings,

you need to build
big instruments,

which help build
these big buildings.

And that is something

which archaeology has
never addressed.

NARRATOR: The three largest
man-made stones in the world

are found at The Temple of
Jupiter at Baalbek in Lebanon.

Each weighs
an estimated 1,000 tons

or two million pounds.

A nearby quarry contains
an even bigger stone

known as the Stone
of the Pregnant Woman.

This giant rectangular block
weighs an incredible 1,200 tons.

To move it today
would take the strength

of 21 heavy lift cranes.

PETER PALUTIKOF: Being in
the construction industry,

if a certain project is
being constructed somewhere,

particularly
in mountainous areas,

how would we carry
this machinery?

These cranes and all that?

They are so heavy
that it is virtually impossible

to take them to the site.

ROGER HOPKINS:
This stone came off of a,

a project in Palm Springs,
where they were...

had one of the largest
excavators

they could rent.

They had trouble loading it
into the truck.

It's well in excess
of five tons,

ten thousand pounds.

Small in megalithic terms,

but basically

what we can handle
with modern machinery.

We're supposed to accept

that the people
who built the pyramids

did not have the wheel,
did not have the pulley,

did not have iron,
in fact, they had nothing.

With brutal manpower
and pieces of strings,

the context
does not fit the evidence.

NARRATOR:
Ancient man's method

of moving large blocks
is only one mystery.

Another surrounds the techniques
of their stonemasons.

How did
pre-historic civilizations

cut such intricately designed
patterns in solid granite?

NARRATOR: Master stonemason
and sculptor Roger Hopkins

uses a variety of advanced tools
to cut and shape hard stones.

Powered implements such
as diamond-tipped wires

and polishers enable him
to fashion works of art

out of huge granite blocks
obtained from nearby quarries.

Yet even with
these high-tech tools,

Hopkins cannot replicate
what ancient civilizations

accomplished
thousands of years ago.

Could these
advanced engineering methods

be the smoking gun that proves

humans had help
from alien beings?

HOPKINS: The precision on some
of the work that I have seen

is just incredible.

It's possible to do by hand,

but it'd take
an incredible amount of time.

Plus, you have
to have years of experience

to be able to pull it off.

TSOUKALOS: In my opinion,
the most tangible pieces

of evidence that we have

regarding possible
extraterrestrial technology

is when we look at the ancient

stonecutting techniques.

Because, in some instances,

we ourselves today
could not replicate

what our ancestors
allegedly accomplished

with stonemasonry.

NARRATOR: Puma Punku is
a large temple complex

located on a high plateau
in Bolivia.

(sheep bleating)

Mainstream archaeologists
date the site

from approximately 200 BC.

The people who lived here
had neither a written language

nor the wheel, yet somehow

they built one of the world's
most complex structures.

Ancient alien theorists
view Puma Punku

as clear proof
of extraterrestrial influence.

TSOUKALOS: The ruins we find
at Puma Punku are simply

extraordinary.

Puma Punku defies logic.

COPPENS: The interest
of Puma Punku is not so much

that the individual stones
sorted together perfectly,

but the fact that the stones,

as such,
are of such tremendous design

that it requires
concepts of mathematics

which are far beyond anything
we are actually using right now.

Yet somehow, in the past,

somebody has made that
for a specific purpose.

And in a way which
even computer programs today

would kind of go,
"How is this possible?"

TSOUKALOS: In the highlands
of Bolivia, Puma Punku,

some of these blocks are
over 40 to 50 tons each.

What can you tell us about this?

HOPKINS:
Boy, they, they had

their, uh,
stonecutting abilities,

you know, pretty well
fine-tuned for 5,000 years old.

I mean, uh...
it's almost unbelievable.

But the-- these cutting planes

that they have on here
are very impressive.

And some of the incised cuts.

See, like in-in here,

all these interior cuts?

-Very hard to do.
-TSOUKALOS: Mm-hmm.

HOPKINS:
I mean, it would be difficult

for us with the-- our equipment

to get that kind of precision.

TSOUKALOS:
Let's talk a little bit about

-inside boxes.
-Ooh.

I was afraid you were gonna pull
something like this on me.

That is
a hell of a piece of work.

I mean, if we were to do
something like that today,

we'd use what they have--

these, uh, computer-driven

CNC machines which are--
have diamond tips and,

uh, you have a template that,
you know, the computer follows.

And even then,
it may not come out as perfect.

Because even though
you can tell that, obviously,

this piece broke off...

-HOPKINS: Mm-hmm.
-...nowhere in here

can you see any imperfection.

It's like-- and by the way,
when you're there,

if you go with your finger
over these edges,

and you put a little pressure
on your fingertip,

you can cut yourself.

This is how sharp the edges are.

NARRATOR: But where could
the ancient peoples

have developed such technology?

Is it really possible
that extraterrestrial visitors

provided different
construction methods and tools?

When I saw these blocks,

I didn't really think
that they were cut.

The first thing really
that I thought of was

this appears very similar
to Frank Lloyd Wright's

textile block system
of construction,

which he used
in his California houses

in the early 1920s.

Now, what he did was

he took concrete,
poured it into molds.

There actually are
ancient Incan legends

that suggest
that they had the capability

of softening the stone.

At Sacsayhuamán, for example,

we find
these gigantic stone blocks,

gigantic stone walls,

where it looks as if
those stones were molten,

put into place,

and then
the stone hardened again.

NARRATOR: Several hundred miles
north of Puma Punku,

Machu Picchu sits high
atop the Peruvian Andes.

Built by the Incas
in the 15th century,

this stone citadel

was suddenly abandoned
about 100 years later.

Like Puma Punku,
Machu Picchu also has signs

of advanced engineering

and possibly molded stones.

DUNN: I can't help but think
that whoever was behind this,

thought the process
through from beginning to end.

They didn't quarry the rock
and then decide,

"How the heck are
we gonna transport this?"

They knew, from beginning
to end, what needed to be done

with whatever
techniques and technology

they were going to use.

So that this was no big deal.

In industry today,
there's a... kind of an adage:

"Keep it simple, stupid."

NARRATOR:
Based on his experience,

Mike Dunn believes
the simplest way

to build the great walls
of Machu Picchu would have been

to transport
small rocks to the site,

then melt them
and use molds to fashion

the exact size and shape needed.

MICHAEL DUNN:
That would solve a lot

of difficulties
of constructing this wall first.

You have your shapes,
all the same size.

Each shape.

So you're guaranteed
that they would fit together,

as opposed to being cut
by different artisans.

HOPKINS: Melting the rocks,
and then pouring them

into place would take
an incredible amount of heat

just to spall off
pieces of stone.

I have a-a stone torch,

which I use for sometimes
shaping granite.

And, I mean,
it generates a temperature of--

in excess of 3,000 degrees.

3,000 degrees.

That's a lot.

MICHAEL DUNN: When we look
back at the ancients,

and we see a technology that
they couldn't possibly know...

...there's only
two possibilities:

that either God did it,

which we really don't think
happened,

or some high-tech civilization

from another planet came
and showed them how to do it.

Then took their materials
and tools and went back home.

The idea behind that is that

none of these ancient monuments
were constructed

or manufactured
by extraterrestrials.

It was us, humans, who built it

with extraterrestrial
technology.

HOPKINS: It's entirely possible
that there were visitations.

That they pointed out
ways to do things,

and that they wanted
to leave some kind of a record.

And, I mean, if you're gonna
leave a permanent record,

the only way
you can do that is in stone.

There must have been
thousands of ancient structures

made of mud and wood

that we'll never know existed.

But when you build with stone,
that's for the ages.

-Mm-hmm.
-And stone is much harder

to work with
and build structures,

especially megalithic stones.

HENRY:
Right, and these massive

stones were transported,
in many cases,

from miles and miles away.

Yeah, and that is
one of the smoking guns

of the ancient astronaut
theory: transportation,

and also the stonework.

I mean some of,
the stonework is so perfect

you can't even put a dollar bill

in between the fittings.

NARRATOR: Peru,

home of the world's
longest mountain range,

the Andes,

the spine of South America.

Here, in a high river valley,

among peaks
towering over 20,000 feet,

the Inca established

their capital city of Cuzco,

which thrived
for over 300 years...

...until Spanish conquistadors

arrived in the 16th century.

Above Cuzco, at an elevation

of more than 12,000 feet,

looms the ancient fortress
of Sacsayhuamán,

whose immense stone walls

may hold secrets which
pre-date the Inca themselves.

GRAHAM HANCOCK:
My feeling, very strong feeling,

is that we're looking at

a two-phase,
uh, construction site

in many of the so-called,
uh, Inca stone monuments.

And that the Inca structures

sit on top of much more ancient

rock-cut structures
and megalithic structures

that we just don't know
who built them.

And this actually fits
with the Inca's own view.

NARRATOR: Like many Inca
sites, Sacsayhuamán features

astonishing stonework,

but not all of it
credited to the Inca.

According to
conventional archaeology,

the Killke culture built
the older sections of the site

approximately 1,000 years ago.

But the Inca themselves

believed the site
was constructed

by an earlier,
unnamed race of people

led by a powerful god

who descended from the skies.

MARTELL: Throughout time,
there has been witness

to a god named Viracocha

that visited
the South American people,

and blessed them and gave them
all types of technology.

And some of his
physical characteristics

make him stand out from
the indigenous population

because he was a very tall,

pale-skinned,
white-haired being.

But did this god Viracocha
actually exist?

Could he have been, as ancient
astronaut theorists suggest,

a visitor from an alien world?

If so, it might help to explain

just how the ancient site
was constructed.

This rock weighs about 20 tons.

This is miniscule compared
to many of the rocks

at Sacsayhuamán.

Today, we have heavy machinery
to move such stones,

but in the ancient times,
especially the Inca,

they would've used
massive human work forces

working for
massive amounts of time.

A rule of thumb is
it takes about ten to 20 men

to move a one-ton rock.

So when you're talking
hundreds of tons,

you're talking thousands of men.

CHILDRESS:
What we see is a culture

who have got the technology

to quarry giant blocks of stone,

move them to, uh, the site
where they want to build,

and then, to stack and cut

and articulate
these massive blocks

into, in some cases, almost
indestructible structure.

Talk about granite,
you're talking about

a composition of feldspar,
mica and quartz,

so you'd need diamond
to actually abrade it or cut it.

We would use diamond today
to cut granite.

Those are the kind of
discoveries that lead one

to question whether
they were really

using the tools
in the ancient toolbox,

or whether there was
something else at work.

NARRATOR: Shaman Jorge Delgado
has spent most of his life

studying the mysterious
structures of Peru,

many built prior to
the rise of the Inca Empire.

JORGE DELGADO: It's amazing,
all the weight of the stones.

You know? It's, uh, difficult,

definitely, for any human
to move, even in groups.

And the other aspect is the--
how it's put together.

In some stones,
we will see, still now,

there is, like, some marks that
it seems that it was dissolved.

HANCOCK: The walls are put
together with blocks of stone

weighing 50 or 100 tons,

cut and shaped like
the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle,

so that they lock together
so tightly

that you can't even get
a sheet of paper between them.

There are signs
in many of these stones

that show very large
amounts of thermal heat

have been applied
to mold the stones

in such a way
that they fit perfectly.

And so, it really does
raise a lot of questions.

TSOUKALOS:
If you look at the style

the Sacsayhuamán wall was built,

the blocks look as if
they've been molded like putty.

If you can
mold stone into place,

then all of a sudden,

as crazy as this sounds,

it makes more sense because

there is no mortar
that has been used.

NARRATOR:
According to local legend,

a bird was responsible
for the seamless construction.

Legends say the winged creature

carried a powerful chemical
in its beak,

a substance capable
of melting stone.

DELGADO:
Sacsayhuamán means,

the head of the falcon.

"Falcon's head."

But, maybe was some falcons,

or maybe some bird people,

who could connect
with the place.

NARRATOR:
But is it possible,

as ancient astronaut
theorists suggest,

that the mythical bird

might actually
have been a spacecraft,

piloted by alien visitors

known to the locals
as "space brothers"?

DELGADO: I believe that
it's a combination

of the space
brothers' technology

with other kind
of possibilities.

Nowadays, we know
different kind of tools.

We didn't had before,
these kind of tools.

Or maybe we had
more sophisticated.

So, the thing is that
this place, Sacsayhuamán,

it continues as a mystery.

MARTELL: So, looking
at all of these sites

with these perfectly
stacked stones,

we're looking at a type of
technology that's not used

anywhere else on Earth.

I don't discount
human ingenuity,

but that type of engineering,

that we still can't
duplicate today,

must raise a flag
for further consideration.

It's almost
extraterrestrial in a sense.

Someone had to have
taught them these techniques.

NARRATOR: But whether the
process of forming the large

megalithic stones involved
the use of thermal energy,

or a mysterious chemical,

one thing is certain.

The ancient builders used
the technique on a vast scale.

But why?

What was the intended
purpose of creating

such intricately-built
stone structures?

MARTELL: So, we can't
really give an answer as to

what they were
being used for other than

we know that
the extraterrestrials,

more than likely, are the source

of what they call "gods."

How did they get here?

More than likely,
in some type of craft.

And very possibly,
they could've been

using these large megaliths
as platforms to land on.

NARRATOR: But if
Sacsayhuamán was, in fact,

constructed by alien visitors,

might there be
additional evidence

of their time on Earth

at other ancient sites
around the world?

Perhaps there is.

When we talk about
megalithic sites in Peru,

we really have to
include Puma Punku

just to the south in Bolivia.

Yeah, and as any fan of
Ancient Aliens knows by now,

Puma Punku is, by far,

my most favorite place
in order to illustrate

the ancient astronaut
theory because

Puma Punku
is unparalleled on Earth.

There is no other place
like Puma Punku.

I remember, in 2013,
we did an episode

where we sent
David Childress there...

-Yes. -HENRY: Yeah.
-...on location,

and he's, you know,
examining the blocks,

and it's interesting
to see how those blocks

fit together
so perfectly in the past,

but today,
the blocks are scattered

-all over that location.
-That's right.

Yeah, but even in ruins,

it is clear that that place

was an incredible ancient piece

of magnificent engineering.

NARRATOR: Bolivia,
South America.

Here, 45 miles west of La Paz,

isolated high
in the Andes Mountains,

lie the mysterious
ancient ruins of Puma Punku.

Spread across a desert plateau

at an altitude over 12,000 feet,

the megalithic stones found here

are among
the largest on the planet...

...measuring up to 26 feet long

and weighing
more than 100 tons each.

These are the mysterious
ruins of Puma Punku,

nearly 13,000 feet

in the Altiplano of Bolivia.

What you have here

are massive blocks of granite

scattered like
some kid's toy blocks

around the site.

It's like some giant cataclysm

just wiped out this entire area.

Archaeologists are baffled
by what Puma Punku was,

how it looked
and what the purpose

of this enormous structure
would have been.

NARRATOR:
Mainstream scientists believe

the site was
originally constructed

about 2,000 years ago.

But in 1945,

archaeologist
Arthur Posnansky proposed

that Puma Punku was
much, much older.

By examining the structures
and what he believed were

their original alignment
with the stars,

he dated the ruins to 15,000 BC.

HUGH NEWMAN: Arthur
Posnansky was a researcher.

He was part Bolivian,

and he worked at the site
for many decades

and he concluded
that the site must've been built

about 17,000 years ago

by studying the archeoastronomy
of that particular site.

COPPENS: We don't know
how old Puma Punku is.

We have had
some circumstantial dating,

but we have been unable

to date the stones
of Puma Punku themselves.

They could be thousands,

if not hundreds of thousands
of years old.

We don't know.

GEORGE NOORY:
I think the fascinating thing

about Puma Punku is how did
these structures get built?

We're talking about stone
that is 25 feet high.

Stone that is hundreds of tons.

FOERSTER:
Puma Punku is so unique

in the way
that it was constructed

and shaped and positioned

that it is the most intriguing
ancient site on the planet.

Of all the places
I've ever visited,

Puma Punku is the one
that I go back to

time and again

because no one can
solve the mystery.

NARRATOR:
Mainstream scholars believe

the andesite blocks found
at Puma Punku

were formed by hand
with primitive stone tools.

But some researchers
point to the intricate stonework

as evidence of the use of
advanced precision technology.

One of the amazing things
here at Puma Punku is

the precision of the blocks.

You can see
with this block of granite

that it's really been cut

at very accurate right angles.

Not only
do these granite blocks have

precision corners

but they also have
these difficult drill holes

that are going
right through the rock.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: But how could
such primitive people,

living perhaps
tens of thousands of years ago,

have produced
such flawless stonework?

Might the ancient builders
of Puma Punku have fabricated

the megalithic stones
with advanced technology,

technology of
an otherworldly origin,

as ancient
astronaut theorists believe?

If you look
at the stones carefully

and you get a magnifying glass
on some of them,

you can see
some intricate stonework,

as though they're using
machine tools

or even lasers.

It's absolutely incredible.

I've seen nothing like it
anywhere on the planet.

When an architect or an engineer
looks at Puma Punku,

one thing jumps out
immediately...

that whoever built this place

had knowledge of planning,
of logistics,

and had access
to advanced technology.

You know, Brien, this is one
of the most interesting

and unusual stones

here at Puma Punku.

It's got these
perfect right angles.

And then, each of these
small drill holes are

basically evenly spaced
along this routed groove.

To me, it's clear
that power tools have been used

on this unusual block
of stone here.

Well, exactly. And this surface
is as smooth as a tabletop,

like in your kitchen.

There's no wave to it
or anything.

It's-- This was machined.

But who machined it?

It's an astonishing piece
of work.

And how anyone could think

that primitive human beings
could have done this,

you know, it's just crazy.

If anything looks like
ancient aliens,

it's this stone.

NARRATOR: But if otherworldly
technology was used at Puma Punku,

where is the proof?

In Danville, Illinois,

machinist and toolmaker
Chris Dunn

has put the Puma Punku stone

through the ultimate
cutting test,

using both laser technology

and a modern diamond saw.

We've got a sample
of the laser cut.

This is the diamond wheel cut.

And the top surface
is the original cut surface

from Puma Punku.

So now we can compare
the difference

between all three cuts.

NARRATOR: Looking at the
stone under a microscope,

Dunn compares the two
modern cutting techniques

with the part of the stone
cut thousands of years ago.

Though age has worn the surface
of the ancient example,

the comparison
reveals distinct differences.

You've got vitrification
on the laser cut side.

And then, of course,
you've got circular tool marks

on, uh, the-the side cut
with the diamond saw.

And then whatever tool they used
to cut the ancient surface

must have been
a different method.

Now, do you think it's possible

that some type
of a diamond precision tool

was used on the old surface,

but because it was such
a long time ago

that, over time, the surface
became a bit more rough?

And we're talking 10,000
or even 15,000 years ago.

DUNN: That is
a reasonable speculation.

I think we have
to start examining, um,

a little more sophisticated
tools that no longer exist.

NARRATOR:
What did the ancients use

to cut the andesite stone
so precisely?

Might evidence
of advanced technology be found

by further study
of the construction

of the Puma Punku stones?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

and point
to what they call H-blocks.

Seems like every one of these
H-blocks is exactly the same.

So it's like
a prefabrication process,

where they needed
x-hundred of these.

And whatever machinery it is
that they had was able,

with amazing accuracy,
to replicate

one after another after another.

That's very sophisticated.

CHILDRESS:
Yeah, it's an ingenious way

of building a huge granite wall.

And, again, the whole thing
is just so incredibly precise--

doing these kind
of inside corners like this.

This-this just can't be done,
really,

with-with copper chisels
and-and stone hammers.

The whole thing is...

is-is just so incredibly
high-tech,

even beyond
what we would do today.

NARRATOR: But how could the
ancients have managed to move

the incredibly heavy
andesite stones to the site?

After years of research,

mainstream archaeologists
have said the massive stones

were hewn at quarries
over 60 miles away

and then rolled
to Puma Punku on logs.

What nobody talks about
is the irrefutable fact

that we are at an altitude
of 12,800 feet,

which means we are above
the natural tree line.

No trees ever grew in that area,

meaning no trees were cut down

in order to use wooden rollers.

-The wooden roller theory...
-(snaps fingers)

...falls by the wayside.

NARRATOR: Could there have been
another, more profound method

of moving these
megalithic stones into place?

And if so, how could such
an advanced engineering feat

have been accomplished without
the help of modern machinery?

CHILDRESS: How these
massive blocks of granite

were moved from their quarries
and brought here to Puma Punku

would have required
some kind of super technology.

Levitation and antigravity,

huge lifting vehicles--

something that ancient aliens
would have had.

NARRATOR: Might the ancient
city of Puma Punku

really have been built
by alien beings,

as ancient astronaut theorists
contend?

And if so, for what purpose?

Perhaps by piecing together
the precision-cut blocks,

profound new possibilities
will be revealed.

NARRATOR:
January, 2011.

Researchers survey and measure
the monolithic stones

and H-blocks scattered
around the archeological site

of Puma Punku, hoping to solve

the mystery of what these
structures were used for

and why.

TSOUKALOS: The evidence
that something extraordinary

happened at Puma Punku

is in front of our very eyes,

because at Puma Punku,

we find evidence of stone cuts

that we today
could only replicate

if we used the most
sophisticated of technologies.

FOERSTER: That is part of
the great mystery of Puma Punku.

It seems as though some kind
of factory was set up there

to make these
almost exactly the same.

It's almost like a Lego system
of interconnecting blocks

and that is unique
on this Earth.

ERICH VON DÄNIKEN:
Many of the blocks

were prefabricated blocks.

Prefabricated blocks
means planning.

You have to make a design.

Planning means writing.

Now the archaeologists
say that Puma Punku

are the ruins of temples
made by the Aymara.

Aymara are
the highland Indians up there.

But the Aymara
were Stone Age people.

They had not even writing.

So not planning,
it's absolutely impossible.

Prefabricated blocks
in Stone Age

doesn't fit with Stone Age.

And the precision of the blocks
is absolutely baffling.

NARRATOR: In Danville, Illinois,
toolmaker Chris Dunn

uses measurements
taken at Puma Punku

to create a one-eighth-scale
model of an H-block

to better understand

how they may have
originally fit together.

So you actually went
to Puma Punku

to measure the H-blocks.

What was your conclusion?

What did you find?

For me, it was important

to find out
what the measurements were.

Uh, what I found was
that the internal cavities

were not parallel to each other.

And by internal cavities,

you're referring to these
two parts right here, right?

-Exactly.
-Mm-hmm.

These two surfaces right here,

both top and bottom, uh,

they are smaller at the front

than they are at the back.

TSOUKALOS: Essentially
suggesting a dovetail.

-DUNN: Creating a dovetail.
-TSOUKALOS: Mm-hmm.

Why do you think a dovetail
shape was carved or used?

Really, if we look at the way
we have used dovetails,

we use them
for mechanical purposes.

To hold things together.

So essentially what
I'm saying is that they were

using these H-blocks
for a mechanical purpose.

Probably to hold
hinges for a door.

NARRATOR: To test his theory,
Dunn created a door hinge

that would connect
to a small-scale model H-block.

DUNN: So if we put this together,
we put the one in the bottom.

Like so.

One in the top part.

Like so. And then...

this piece fits in there.

Put a hinge pin in it.

And now you have your hinge.

TSOUKALOS: Yeah, I mean,
i-it's absolutely spectacular.

And of course, the most
fascinating question is,

what tools were used
5,000 years ago?

Because something
very sophisticated was used.

And not chicken bones.

Not chicken bones, not, uh,

copper chisels,
not, uh, stone chisels.

The tools that were used
to create these blocks

at Puma Punku do not exist
in the archaeological record.

NARRATOR:
According to Dunn,

the H-blocks may have
been used to mount

hinges for a massive door,

perhaps for one
of the largest temple complexes

in the ancient world.

TSOUKALOS: It's a spectacular
discovery that Chris Dunn made.

This lends a whole new meaning

to the H-blocks at Puma Punku

because, possibly,
they held something in place.

The question is what?

Puma Punku is definitely

one of the most mysterious sites
on Earth.

And it's really clear
those blocks

were made to fit together.

MARTELL: Yeah, you know but
there's sites all over the world

-that still defy explanation.
-Yeah.

I know one of my most favorite
sites would have to be Malta.

Megalithic structures that are
some of the largest on Earth.

And some of the oldest,
and there's evidence

that the builders knew
the science of acoustics.

And that might give us a clue

about how these megalithic sites
were built.

Yeah.
Possibly acoustic levitation.

NARRATOR:
Malta.

A small island nation in the
center of the Mediterranean Sea

just south of Italy.

Scholars believe the first
inhabitants migrated here

from the nearby
island of Sicily in 5200 BC.

Today, stone structures
on the Maltese island of Gozo

are considered by archeologists

to be among the greatest
achievements by ancient builders

anywhere in the world.

The temples on Malta and Gozo

are more than 1,000 years older
than the pyramids of Egypt.

They are the earliest monumental
architecture in the world.

There are engineering features

in these temples
that are just astonishing.

We're talking
about walls enclosing space...

paved walkways.

They were ceilinged at one time.

Definitely much more
complex than anything else

that was appearing on Earth
for a very long time.

NARRATOR: Built before metal tools
or the wheel had been invented,

experts are baffled by the sheer
scale of the construction

and the use of vertically
arranged monolithic stones,

each weighing over 20 tons.

FLANAGAN:
It's only been in recent years

that we've developed instruments

that are accurate enough
to appreciate

that some
of these ancient societies

were able to shape stones

to optical accuracy.

Optical accuracy greater than
what we're able to do today.

And so they must've had some
kind of advanced technology

in able to do that.

But if the ancient builders
of Malta

had used advanced technology,

where did it come from?

Researchers believe
answers may be found

among Malta's
numerous mysteries,

including
the so-called cart ruts

which can be found
all over Malta.

ENEIX: These parallel
incisions in the bedrock

have been identified
as cart ruts

because that's
what they look like.

What they really were,

what their purpose was,

we don't know.

There's nothing written.

ARLAN ANDREWS:
The cart ruts on Malta

are about four feet wide.

They're uniformly spaced.

Some of-of them
run hundreds of yards.

Some of them run miles.

According to the studies
on them,

they probably were there
up to 10,000 years ago,

because some
of the ancient temples

are built right on top
of the, uh, ruts.

NARRATOR: Ancient astronaut
theorists believe

the cart ruts
may in fact be evidence

that Malta was one of Earth's
earliest industrial work sites.

It seems like what
these cart ruts really were

was some kind
of ancient, uh, railway.

And this railway was then
to move heavy machinery,

much as we would use today
in a mining operation.

Even the way rockets are
rolled out onto a launchpad.

NARRATOR: Further evidence of the
use of advanced technology on Malta

can be found underground.

In 1902, construction workers,

while building the foundation
for several houses,

accidentally discovered

a mysterious
underground sanctuary

dating to 2500 BC.

Called the Hypogeum,

the subterranean structure

was revealed
to be three levels deep,

all hewn from solid stone.

ENEIX: It's been estimated
that they removed

more than 2,000 tons of stone
from these subterranean chambers

to create a space
that beautifully replicates

the temples aboveground.

NARRATOR: Perhaps one of
the greatest mysteries

concerning the Hypogeum

involve
the acoustical properties

in what is called
the Oracle Room.

ANDREW COLLINS: The acoustical
properties within this

are absolutely extraordinary,

because what happens is the--
if a person

is within the Oracle Room,

the-the way
that their voice is carried

is heard within
the whole of the complex.

HENRY: The ancients were using
this profound sound technology

in order to put themselves
into a deep state of trance

in order to access
higher human consciousness.

They wanted to go deep within

in order to connect themselves
with star energy.

NARRATOR: Might the Oracle
Room have been used

to communicate
with ancient gods...

...or perhaps
celestial ancestors?

Or do its advanced acoustics
suggest

that early Maltese people

had mastered the science
of sonic manipulation,

the ability
to manipulate solid matter

through audio frequencies?

FLANAGAN: One of the main
things that I've realized

is that they're using something

called fractal
nonlinear resonance.

And we're now discovering
in the field of material science

that nonlinear resonances
of sound waves,

microwaves, magnetic waves,

that we are able to
actually change matter in ways

that we never dreamed possible.

NARRATOR:
If the Oracle Room

was used to harness
the power of audio waves,

as many ancient
astronaut theorists believe,

is it possible
the prehistoric builders

used sonic technology

to help build
Malta's mammoth temples?

CHILDRESS: The builders had
this advanced knowledge

of sonic technology.

And in fact,

sound technology can be used

for all kinds of applications,

including levitation,
or antigravity.

COLLINS:
All around the world,

there are myths and legends

relating to how
large structures,

um, came into being.

They talk about
the movement of stones

through the use of sound,

about the use of instruments,

or-or the banging, the ringing,

that will elevate stones enough
so that they can be pushed

as if they've become
completely weightless.

CHILDRESS: It would appear
that the builders at Malta

had very advanced knowledge
of things

we're just now discovering.

And you would think
that they got this knowledge

from extraterrestrials.

It's very possible that
what we're seeing at Malta

is some type of sound
levitation technology.

And if that's true,
there's many other sites

that may have been built
in a similar fashion.

Right, because our ancestors

were all taught
by the same teachers.

Now, if we really want to talk
about acoustic levitation,

then one place comes to mind,
and that's Nan Madol.

Which is truly extraordinary

because you have
these giant basalt structures

in the middle of nowhere in
the ocean on tiny, tiny islands.

HENRY: Yeah, I remember when we
first featured it on the show,

and the locals actually said
that those giant basalt columns

were actually floated
through the air.

Yes, and I got to listen
to these accounts firsthand

when I visited Nan Madol
with David Childress

a few years later.

And, uh, let me tell you,
the moment that you stand

in front of Nan Madol,
in person,

it just blows your mind.

NARRATOR:
The island of Pohnpei.

More than 2,500 miles
southwest of Hawai'i,

completely isolated
in the Pacific Ocean,

this Micronesian landmass
is home to just 34,000 people,

mainly farmers and fishermen.

But there is one area
of the island

that is completely uninhabited:

the lost city of Nan Madol.

The native islanders believe
this ancient site is cursed...

and it is also home
to some of the most mysterious

archaeological ruins
in the world.

Built on a coral reef just off
the eastern coast of Pohnpei

and sprawling
more than 200 acres,

Nan Madol consists
of 92 smaller man-made islands

connected by canals.

According to historians,
this ancient city,

often called
the "Venice of the Pacific,"

was the capital
of the Saudeleur dynasty

that ruled from
about 500 to 1628 AD.

BEARDSLEY: This ancient
city housed the Saudeleurs,

the kings of that time.

So, it has their houses,

it has feasting areas,
it has tombs.

So there's
a whole number of areas

that each of these islets
supported.

NARRATOR:
Most archaeologists agree

that construction
of these artificial islands

began sometime
in the 13th century.

Each has been formed
with columnar basalt,

a black rock that forms

when basaltic lava
from a volcano

cools in the form of columns.

There are a number
of columnar basalt outflows

across Pohnpei itself.

And we know of several
of these outcrops

that were used
to mine the basalt.

They were then transported
to the area of Nan Madol

and then placed
to create these small islets.

NARRATOR: But how did the native
people living here 800 years ago

manage to build 92 islets
out of giant basalt columns?

Researchers estimate
that each stone log

used to construct
the megalithic structures

weighs between five to 50 tons.

Stacked to form walls
as high as 25 feet tall

and 17 feet thick,

archaeologists believe
that it was an undertaking

that most likely
would have required

all 25,000 island inhabitants
to complete.

Around the ruins of Nan Madol
are many canals,

which researchers
and archeologists say

were the routes taken by boats
to move these basalt columns

across and around the island

to construct
the huge megalithic site.

NARRATOR: Mainstream scholars insist
native people built Nan Madol

using ropes, rollers and rafts,

but attempts to prove
this theory have failed.

BEARDSLEY: So, if you add
up all of the stone logs,

you have a weight
of 750,000 or so metric tons.

That's a lot.

If you were to move maybe

2,000 tons a year,

you might be able
to get it built

over about three centuries.

We're talking about
a major, massive effort here.

The kind of effort
that you would see

in the construction
of the pyramids in Egypt.

NARRATOR: But could there
be another explanation

for how these ancient people
were able to move

such massive rocks
miles across the island

and into place in the ocean

without the help
of modern machinery?

According to local legends,

the ancient builders

used a much more profound
method of construction,

an advanced
antigravitational technology

that ancient astronaut
theorists believe

may explain many of the world's
mysterious megalithic sites.

Some legends state that
the stones were actually flown

from one part
of the island to another,

or levitated some way
to get them up

to such high areas
of the main construction.

BRAD OLSEN: This is very reminiscent
of what researchers call

auditive levitation,
which was a technique

of raising heavy stones
by matching

the sound frequency of matter,

rendering it weightless

and moving it into place.

TSOUKALOS:
The people themselves,

who still, to this day,
live there in Pohnpei, say

that this place
"was not built by us.

It's been here
before we arrived."

TSOUKALOS:
Man, oh, man.

I mean, look how tall that is.

NARRATOR: While visiting the
ancient site of Nan Madol,

ancient astronaut theorists
Giorgio Tsoukalos

and David Childress,

along with
their guide Gus Kohler

and structural engineer
Dr. Henry Burton,

have traveled
to the site of Nandauwas,

the royal mortuary
said to belong

to Nan Madol's
original builders.

This is supposed to be
the biggest stone here

-at Nandauwas.
-This corner stone right here?

This thing, it's-it's supposed
to be the biggest of all

-the stones here.
-TSOUKALOS: Henry,

do you think you can
calculate the weight of this?

Yeah, we can
certainly estimate it.

Um, I have a measuring tape,
we can estimate the volume,

and we know the density,
so that can give us the mass.

All right, let's do that.

BURTON: Yeah, so, this
is about four meters.

All right, here's, uh,
the far corner here.

NARRATOR: Using the
dimensions and the density

of one of
the basalt stone blocks,

Dr. Burton calculates
its weight.

TSOUKALOS:
250. Two meters, 50.

BURTON: All right, so based
on the measurements,

you're looking at a weight
of about 54 tons.

-54 tons? -Yeah, so 50
tons, give or take.

And you have
one, two, three, four

of those monoliths essentially
stacked on top of each other...

-BURTON: Mm-hmm.
-...at a height of 40 feet?

CHILDRESS: So, Gus, what
is, then, the oral history

of moving this stone
on the island?

Well, according
to the legends, uh,

the stones were flown up here.

NARRATOR:
For generations,

the people of Pohnpei
have told the story

that Nan Madol was constructed
by strange visitors

through a process of levitation.

It is this legend
that has suggested

to ancient astronaut theorists

that Nan Madol is not only
an ancient megalithic structure,

it is also
an extraterrestrial one.

We have in the oral traditions

story about two brothers...

NARRATOR:
According to legend,

the twin sorcerers
who created Nan Madol

were of giant proportions,

much like the legends

of Easter Island,
where it is said

that giants magically floated

the stone Moai statues
into place.

Similar stories involving
levitation are associated

with numerous
other megalithic sights

like Stonehenge in England,

the Great Pyramid
in Giza, Egypt,

the Uxmal Pyramid
in the Yucatán Peninsula

and Puma Punku in Bolivia.

There are other stories
around the world

that say the exact same thing...

...how gigantic stones were
moved into place as if by magic.

And you have to ask yourself,
is there a connection?

Did all of our ancestors receive

the same knowledge
from the extraterrestrials?

And the answer to that is
a resounding yes.

Okay.

CHILDRESS:
They don't know.

I think they don't know
where it came from.

-TSOUKALOS: Aha! -But it's-it's
not from here, right?

So, yeah, 60% of the stones,
they don't know

-where they came from.
-That's incredible. That...

the 60% is essentially
still a mystery, yes?

Huh.

NARRATOR: For decades, mainstream
archaeologists have been

frustrated by their failure
to identify the source

for much of the basalt used

in the construction
of Nan Madol.

But recently, a growing number
of scientists have

become convinced that it came
from a volcanic outcropping

located 25 miles northeast
of Nan Madol

called Pwisehn Malek.

The unusual formation extends
over 400 feet into the air,

and, incredibly, the rock used
to construct Nan Madol

appears to have been extracted

from the least accessible
part of the mountain:

the very top.

But how?

According to the oral
history of Pohnpei,

the basalt was taken
by what the natives referred to

as "a giant bird."

There's one story that says
that at some point

there were these giant roosters

that lived
on top of that mountain.

And this rooster took

these basalt blocks
and flew them over to Nan Madol.

Now, monster roosters
do not exist.

So my mind always goes
to misunderstood technology.

Machines that were provided
by the extraterrestrials.

CHILDRESS: I believe that
the islanders are correct

when they say all those stones
were flown through the air,

because I can't see how
it was done in any other way.

NARRATOR: As far as ancient
astronaut theorists are concerned,

the local legends,
along with hard evidence

that basalt appears
to have been excavated

from the top of Pwisehn Malek,

add credence to the idea

that advanced
alien technology was used

in the construction
of Nan Madol.

And to help prove their theory,

Giorgio Tsoukalos
and David Childress,

along with structural engineer
Dr. Henry Burton,

travel 25 miles
across the island

to visit
the nearest basalt quarry.

TSOUKALOS:
Man, look at this.

-BURTON: Wow.
-TSOUKALOS: What a quarry.

So, how does one free
the basalt from, from this wall?

Yeah, no, it-it would,
it would certainly require

some specialized tools,

some type of excavator,

some type of drill tip.

And once you start
taking rocks off,

depending on how much room

you have to drive things up,
depending on the size

of the blocks,
you might need a crane

to sort of move things around.

You would need some
type of machinery

to be able to do that today.

TSOUKALOS:
How did people

from at least
a thousand years ago

remove these blocks
from this quarry?

CHILDRESS:
They had to somehow

pry these columns
out of the cliff,

and, you know, remove them

so that they would be,
yeah, stand-alone

piece of prismatic basalt

and then, and then move it,

millions of tons of it.

I would think that,
yeah, there was

very much a-a special survey
done of this island

looking for material

-that could be used to build.
-TSOUKALOS: Right.

And I would say
that an aerial survey

-would accomplish all of that.
-Yes.

Yes, or any type of, you know,

advanced radar technology
that, in my opinion, existed

with the extraterrestrials
at the time.

NARRATOR:
For Giorgio and David,

the more they learn
about Nan Madol,

from the weight
of the basalt columns

to the distance
they had to be transported,

to the tools that would be
needed to quarry the rock,

the more difficult it becomes
to explain how all of this

could have been accomplished
without the help

of advanced
extraterrestrial technology.

♪ ♪

For me, Nan Madol ranks
right up there

alongside Puma Punku
and the Great Pyramids of Giza

as far as evidence

for the ancient astronaut theory
is concerned.

Because we, today,
would have a hard time

replicating these sites,
even with modern-day technology.

And you know,
the ancients tell us

that there's a much older
structure under Nan Madol.

And you can see that
there's still underwater columns

-at that location.
-Right.

HENRY: There's sites
literally all over the world

where the ancients were
building impressive sites

on even more ancient,

even more impressive sites.

Look at Baalbek, for example,

where you have
the Roman Temple of Jupiter

that is built on top
of this platform composed

of these massive stone blocks.

And the perfection
of that platform is

beyond astonishing.

NARRATOR:
Eastern Lebanon.

The Bekaa valley.

Here, at
this archaeological site,

stand the ruins of Heliopolis,

built in the fourth century BC

by Alexander the Great
to honor Zeus.

But beneath
the Corinthian columns

and remnants of both
Greek and Roman architecture

lie the ruins of a site
that is much, much older.

According to archaeologists,

it dates back
nearly 9,000 years.

The ancient city of Baalbek...

...named after the early
Canaanite deity, Baal.

HANAN CHARAF:
Baal is the god of life,

the god of the sky,
the god of the sun.

He was the god
that was venerated

on the site of Baalbek

during the Canaanite
and the Phoenician times.

ROBERT MULLINS: And so because it
was already sacred to the god Baal,

then, later, the Greeks

and the Romans
then would build temples

on this very same spot.

NARRATOR: Archeological
surveys have revealed

that the enormous
stone foundation

that lies
at the base of the site

dates back
tens of thousands of years.

Baalbek, as we know from
the archaeological evidence,

must have existed during
the Neolithic period,

between six
to eight thousand years,

or even nine thousand years BC.

NARRATOR: But even more significant
to ancient astronaut theorists

is their belief that
the colossal stone platform

may once have served
as a landing pad

for space travelers.

CHILDRESS:
We don't know why

Baalbek was chosen
as this specific site.

Uh, it may well be some kind
of special power place.

♪ ♪

But what was originally there,
before the Roman temple,

was this spaceport platform

that was apparently used
for extraterrestrials

coming and going
on planet Earth.

NARRATOR:
As evidence, researchers point

to the gigantic
megalithic stones

incorporated
into the foundation,

each weighing
between 800 to 1,200 tons.

And perfectly fitted together.

COPPENS: This is the
real mystery of Baalbek.

How these stones came
to be there,

why they were placed there
and, specifically,

how they were transported
into place,

because some of the stones
are of such magnitude

that modern machinery is
incapable of putting them there.

But somehow our ancestors
were able to do this.

TSOUKALOS:
Some have suggested

that this stone alone weighs

in excess of 1,200 tons.

How was it moved there?

Because, obviously,
it's situated

on top of these stone rows

that we can find down here.

Which means that this stone had
to be lifted

and then set on top

of these stones down here.

CHARAF: And because these
stones were gigantic,

ancient people assumed

that extraterrestrial
or unknown forces brought them

to the site itself.

BIRNES:
It is one of the oldest,

oldest megalithic sites
on the planet.

And it has
these huge stones laid out

in a precise geometrical shape

at a time

when the prehistoric people
who would've lived there,

who would've gone
to the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon,

would have no concept of how
to move stones of that nature.

NARRATOR: But if the moving,
hoisting and setting

of such massive stones
was so incredibly difficult,

then who, or what,
placed them there?

And perhaps more importantly,
why?

We know that the ancients
always went to power places,

and Baalbek, clearly,
is one of them.

It is a place
where the gods were worshipped,

where the gods
were said to be present.

And so,
when it comes to Baalbek,

this platform was built there
for a reason.

For what purpose it was used
is a question

we can't answer
at this moment in time.

But what we do know is that
whatever was happening there

had a great
religious significance to them

and was linked
with worshipping deities.

Deities which clearly are
of an otherworldly origin.

You know, it is awesome

that we now have
over 250 episodes

of Ancient Aliens,
in which we've featured

some of the most magnificent
megalithic sites.

And what's also cool
is that a lot of these sites

that we've featured
are megalithic places

that most people haven't
even heard about beforehand.

And they're not
all ancient, either.

I mean, one of my favorite,

or most fascinating
megalithic sites...

-Yeah.
-...is Coral Castle in Florida,

-and it was built in the 1920s.
-Mm-hmm.

MARTELL: And it was just
done by one person.

-Ed Leedskalnin.
-MARTELL: Yeah, and you know,

Ed claims that he knew
the secrets of the pyramids.

And whether
you believe him or not,

Coral Castle exists.

You can visit it to this day.

So it's possible we have
this megalithic site in Florida

that was built with
an extraterrestrial technology.

Mm-hmm.

NARRATOR:
Homestead, Florida.

30 miles south of Miami.

This former agricultural town

is home to one of the most
mysterious structures

in North America, a stone garden

made of sculpted blocks
of ancient coral,

some weighing 30 tons.

It's called the Coral Castle.

Spread over several acres,

the complex formations
and intricate designs

of the stone walls
and sculptures marvel tourists.

But unlike other great
structures around the world,

this site is not ancient.

CHILDRESS:
Coral Castle in Florida

is often said to be, uh,
the only modern

megalithic structure ever built.

NARRATOR:
In 1923,

Ed Leedskalnin,
a Latvian immigrant,

began building
what he originally called

Rock Gate park.

But believe it or not,
Leedskalnin insisted

that he was not using
modern machinery

to build
the impressive structure.

He also claimed
that he was working alone.

McCLURE:
Well, Ed was a hermit

and Ed was a loner

and he was a foreigner

and he was a recluse

and a scientist.

NOORY:
He was in love with a woman

and he wanted to build
this facility in memory of her.

And he waited for her
to come from Europe,

and he waited and he waited,
and she never did.

But the big question is,

is how did this
frail little man move

these thousands of pounds
of block by himself?

NARRATOR:
Barely over five feet tall

and weighing just 100 pounds,

Leedskalnin is said to have
carved, moved and hoisted

huge multiton stones
using only a makeshift tripod.

McCLURE: He has a tripod--
three pieces of Florida pine--

and he's got some chains,

and he's now gonna lift 30 tons.

Ten tons of rock.

Can't be done.
No one could do that.

NOORY:
He would work at night.

He wouldn't
let anybody watch him.

And he said that he knew
the secrets of the pyramids.

NARRATOR: But what exactly was
Leedskalnin referring to?

Had he rediscovered
the same advanced technology

used to build
megalithic structures

like Carnac and Sacsayhuamán?

McCLURE:
Ed, over and over again,

would tell people
that he knew the secrets

that helped the Egyptians
build the pyramids.

What was he talking about?

Why was he constantly harking
back to the Egyptians?

We don't know.

NARRATOR: Leedskalnin continued
work on the Coral Castle

until his death in 1951.

In the journals he left behind,

the builder explained
that he had discovered

the ancient secret
of transforming stones

into weightless objects.

McCLURE: Ed says this in his
pamphlet Magnetic Current,

that real gravity
is actually real magnet.

So if you reverse
the magnet forces

with a force of

some kind of electromagnetic
radio-- perhaps-- frequency,

you can then make these rocks

not as heavy
as they seem otherwise,

and therefore,
you can lift them.

NARRATOR:
But if Leedskalnin

had developed a device
that could modify gravity...

...what was his secret?

Some suggest the answer lies
in a mysterious black box

that can be seen
in various photographs.

A box that has
since disappeared.

McCLURE:
The black box sitting on top

is the element
that no one has ever seen,

except in those pictures,
and no one has today.

We believe that black box
has something to do

with how he got these massive,

heavy, brittle pieces of rock
up in the air

in a way that no one
can duplicate.

NOORY: He had some kind
of magnetic machine

down in one
of his other house areas

that has since been dismantled.

But it had a revolving ability.

He may have been
having that thing spin.

The whole place
could have been antigravity.

He probably just
pushed these into place.

SARA SEAGER: Levitation is
the only way that I know of

to hold up very heavy objects.

Very, very high-speed trains
are magnetically levitated.

These high-speed trains

don't have wheels
that touch any tracks.

They're literally
suspended above the track

using magnetic forces.

BRANDENBURG:
We can speculate at this time

that there are techniques

for using electromagnetism
to nullify gravity.

Uh, this was
the great quest of Einstein.

The motivation for
such technology is, of course,

to lift a large spaceship
out into space

and across space.

-ASTRONAUT: Oh, we have arrived.
-(laughter)

(indistinct comm chatter)

NARRATOR: Could it be
that Ed Leedskalnin

utilized antigravity
to levitate and distribute

the enormous rocks used
to build Coral Castle?

If so, where did this
incredible knowledge come from?

COPPENS: And he died, taking
this secret to his grave.

The question is,
did he invent it?

Or did he himself
somehow inherit it

or learn it from a tradition

or maybe from some visitor
from another realm?

McCLURE: The only thing
that is explainable

is that someone
with a higher form of physics

and understanding of gravity

has created the ability
of one person to lift stones

that modern technology
could not do the way he did it.

It had to come from a different
place in this galaxy.

TSOUKALOS:
The fact that one guy

created these massive structures
is absolutely fascinating.

Am I suggesting that he did this

with extraterrestrial
technology?

No, because I don't know.

Am I excluding
that possibility? No.

NARRATOR: If aliens visited
Earth in ancient times,

perhaps the world's
unexplained structures

provide clues to unlocking

not only the secrets
of our past...

...but a glimpse
into our future.

VON DÄNIKEN:
I think that extraterrestrials

would not have left
our solar system

some thousands of years ago
without any proof.

They wanted that,
in the far future,

we start to reflect,

"Have we been visited
by outer space?"

Worldwide, on every continent,

the most ancient of structures
all essentially feature

the same type of masonry,
or stonework.

And you can't just
attribute this to coincidence.

Either our ancestors
all went to the same school

or they were visited
by the same teachers.

MARTELL: The ubiquitous knowledge
seems to be coming from

either one source
or a shared source

that is influencing
the whole globe.

HENRY: Humanity has had
a hidden past

where we were building
these megalithic structures

by unknown means.

But now,
we're starting to develop

is a more accurate picture
of this megalithic civilization

that was global, that was
highly advanced, intelligent,

probably working
with extraterrestrials,

and now we're beginning
to learn the true purpose

of those megaliths.

CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY
A+E NETWORKS