All language subtitles for Ancient Aliens Origins - S01E08 - Alien Observatories

NARRATOR:
Massive standing stones

that track celestial events.

Prehistoric structures aligned
to the same constellations.

And entire ancient cities
that seem to mirror the stars.

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.

Why would the ancestors,
all around the world

align their temples
with particular star systems?

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.

♪ ♪

Our ancestors clearly had

a deep relationship
with the stars.

They used them to harvest.

They used them to navigate.

But they also talked about

encounters of visitors

from the stars, who helped
them jump-start civilization.

Yeah, and it's
fascinating to think

that even today we're using

the stars to try to date
these civilizations

based on these
ancient alignments.

-Right.
-HENRY: Right. I mean

it was only in the 1990s

that Robert Bauval
first observed that

the three pyramids
of Giza in Egypt are

in perfect alignment

with the three belt stars
of Orion

at a very specific date
in ancient times.

We covered this
in just the third episode

of Ancient Aliens,
"The Mission."

NARRATOR:
The stars.

Since the beginning of time,

man has gazed in wonder
at the night sky.

Stars became
the stuff of legends,

home of the gods,

and sometimes
man's final resting place.

It is no surprise then,

that ancient man built monuments

dedicated to these
celestial wonders.

When we look at ancient
monuments around the world,

these megalithic structures,

we find that many of them are

aligned astronomically...

...to the sun,
to planets, to stars.

Numerous examples can be listed.

Stonehenge is essentially

an ancient
astronomical observatory.

Yes, it may have been used
for ritualistic purposes.

It may have been used
for religious purposes.

But it's very clear
that it was also used

for astronomical purposes,
for observations.

We're not surprised
whether it's Stonehenge,

pyramids,
or perhaps the Nazca lines,

that ancient people understood

events that were going to happen

in the sky
and when they would repeat.

NARRATOR: But why was ancient
man so fixated on the sky?

And why did they construct
elaborate stone monuments

and temples in order to track
the movements of the stars?

Was it simply to help farmers
know when to plant their crops?

Or might
there have been another,

perhaps more profound purpose?

Could they, as some believe,
have been constructed

as a type
of extraterrestrial GPS system?

Nabta Playa, Egypt.

500 miles south of Cairo,

in Egypt's Nubian Desert,

sits one of the oldest
astronomical sites

ever discovered.

In 1974,

archaeologist Fred Wendorf
almost passed it by

before noticing
its small tone artifacts

and toppled rocks.

ROBERT BAUVAL: It's a very
intriguing site. It's just...

strange stone formations.

Circles.

Uh, stone alignments.

Bizarre tribalized with,
with strange rocks around it.

NARRATOR:
Later excavations put the date

of the astronomical device
at approximately 5000 BC,

making it close
to 1,000 years older

than the remarkably
similar formation at Stonehenge.

BAUVAL: When they brought
an astronomer there,

they realized that it was
a ceremonial site,

very intensely astronomical.

The intriguing thing
about this site is that it shows

that they were tracking stars
over thousands of years.

And to track stars
over that period,

they must've have been aware
of what we call precession,

which means they weren't--
they weren't simply

astronomers
or ancient astronomers.

They were
very sophisticated astronomers.

NARRATOR: Could the people who
built Nabta Playa 7,000 years ago

have possessed
an advanced understanding

of physics and astronomy,

one that rivals or perhaps,
surpasses our own?

And why were they
tracking Orion and Sirius?

In 1994,
the mystery of Nabta Playa

took on
even greater significance

when Robert Bauval announced
a surprising discovery

along Egypt's Giza Plateau.

The Great Pyramid contained
four long interior shafts.

Bauval determined that they
were each precisely aligned

with specific stars in the sky.

BAUVAL: The southern ones
aligned to the belt of Orion,

and Sirius,

and the northern ones aligned
to the second polestars.

Again, this is very intriguing.

In terms
of construction engineering,

that's-that's bull's-eye.

As an engineer, I know

that it's one thing
building a pyramid.

But it's another thing
building a pyramid

with that kind of precision.

NARRATOR:
Bauval also proved

that the three pyramids of Giza

were laid out in the precise
order and position

of the three stars of
the Orion's Belt constellation.

But what exactly
is the significance

of the shaft alignment
and the layout

of the pyramids themselves?

BAUVAL: I mean,
we're deciphering a message.

The question is
whether it is religious

or whether
it is a stellar message.

The fact is that
what we have on the ground

is an image of a constellation

that we know now
is the birthplace of stars.

Literally stars
are being born in there.

And the Egyptians themselves
believed that their gods

had descended from the stars.

GEORGE NOORY: That could be either
a knowledge of ancient astronomy

or it could also be a roadmap

to where these ETs
may have come from.

NARRATOR: But why were
the ancients so fixated

on the Orion
and Sirius constellations?

Some believe
the answer can be found

on the other side of the world,

in North America.

Cholula, Mexico is home

to the largest pyramid
in the world.

More than 3,000 years old,

it is estimated
that it took approximately

1,400 years to complete.

TSOUKALOS: Even though the Cholula
Pyramid doesn't look like much

because
of the overgrown vegetation,

it is in fact
the world's largest monument

ever constructed by human hands.

In fact, the volume
of the Cholula Pyramid,

the whole pyramid complex,

is 4.45 million cubic meters.

The Great Pyramid in Egypt
only has

2.5 million
cubic meters in volume.

So, the Great Pyramid at Giza

is way taller
than the Cholula Pyramid,

but volume-wise,
the Cholula Pyramid

is by far the largest
man-made structure

ever created on planet Earth.

NARRATOR: Originally built by the
Olmecs in the third century BC,

the pyramid was later
added onto and used

by the Toltecs and the Aztecs

as a place of religious ritual
and human sacrifice.

But along with
its history of bloodshed,

an examination of the pyramid

reveals that the ancient
cultures of the region

had a remarkable understanding
of astronomy.

MICHAEL CREMO:
It's interesting to consider

what the Aztec people
thought about its origins.

They did not think
it was built by humans,

like us, which is
our theory today.

According to
the ancient Aztec tradition,

the Cholula Pyramid was built

by a being they called a giant.

If you look
at the Aztec cosmology,

you'll see
that these giant beings

were identified with
different celestial objects.

The one in particular

that is said to have built
the Cholula Pyramid

is identified
with the planet Venus.

NARRATOR: Both the Aztecs
and the ancient Egyptians

charted most of the planets
in the solar system

thousands of years
before European astronomers.

But why?

And even more compelling
is the fact

that the two cultures
were thousands of miles

and half a world apart.

CHILDRESS: Mainstream
archaeologists are telling us

that all of these
civilizations around the world,

in the Americas,
on remote Pacific islands,

in Asia and Africa and Europe,

that they're all disconnected
with each other

and that there wasn't
some contact

with South America and Egypt,

or any of these
ancient civilizations.

But really, it has to be
the other way around.

All of these
ancient civilizations

were connected in some way.

NARRATOR:
But were these holy sites,

as ancient astronaut proponents
suggest,

really connected to each other?

And if so, why?

Are they evidence of aliens...

coming to Earth?

If you want to talk
about celestial alignments,

-you have to talk about Stonehenge.
-Right.

It's one of the oldest
structures on the planet,

and the more we learn about it,

the more evident it becomes

it has this connection
to the stars.

Yeah, and if you're looking
at Stonehenge from above,

it even looks like it's
a replica of our solar system.

Right. And the only way

people from thousands
of years ago

could've known what
our solar system looks like

is if extraterrestrials
told them so.

NARRATOR: Stonehenge, England.

Here, on the Salisbury Plain
in the county of Wiltshire

stands the most sophisticated

prehistoric stone circle
in the world.

According to radiocarbon dating,

this striking
arrangement of monoliths

was placed on this wide plain
in Southern England

more than 4,000 years ago.

Consisting of more
than 100 stone blocks,

the monoliths
create a larger structure

known as a megalith.

There is a period in time,
several thousand years ago,

which is known
as the megalithic time.

And it is defined by the fact
that our ancestors,

pretty much in every part
of civilization,

began to build
with gigantic stones.

ALAN BUTLER: These cultures, which
were known as megalithic cultures,

are something
of a mystery to us.

We have to ask ourselves,
why all of a sudden, virtually,

human beings across a broad
stretch of Europe and Asia

suddenly started to prize
large pieces of rock free,

drag them around the landscape,

and then piling them up

in very exotic and unusual ways?

NARRATOR: Stonehenge, the world's
most famous megalithic structure,

derives its name from the
material used to construct it,

and also from the term "henge,"

which refers to a circular
or oval-shaped bank

that surrounds
a central flat area.

Stonehenge, it's just 25%

of the original monument.

75% has been destroyed forever.

Originally,
they had 60 huge blocks

that formed a perfect circle.

The question is,
who was able to move them

and what was the purpose?

NARRATOR: Although the
specific origin of the site

has eluded researchers
for centuries,

the physical construction
of Stonehenge

is believed to have
taken place in different stages

over a period of
several thousands of years.

It's now believed the very first
part of Stonehenge

is three great wooden postholes,

which are now in the car park

and there's blobs of paint
on them.

These are dated
to at least 10,000 years old.

The next phase of construction
at Stonehenge

was around 3200 to 3400 BC,

where they built
the great earthen henge

and there was just
a couple of stones there.

Then a few hundred years later,
they brought in the blue stones.

And these are the ones that
were brought over 100 miles away

from the Preseli Mountains
in Wales.

The major monoliths there,
the great Sarsen stones,

they were brought
from much closer,

about 20 miles away.

But then, some of them
weigh up to 50 tons.

NARRATOR: Multi-ton stones being
carved from the landscape

and transported distances
of up to 100 miles.

Is it really possible
that a prehistoric people

could accomplish
such an enormous

and seemingly impossible task?

The theories really range from

they either used rollers
and tree trunks...

...which is kind of unlikely
when you look

at some of the terrain
they would've had to go through.

There have been teams of Brits

who have tried to recapitulate
these things.

How did they get them
across the rivers

between Wales and Stonehenge?

How did they go up and down
through valleys and over hills?

BUTLER: One explanation
associated with Stonehenge

dates back
to the Arthurian legend.

And the legend says that, um,
the stones at Stonehenge

were brought from Ireland
by Merlin,

who was King Arthur's magician.

NEWMAN: Merlin was said
to transport the stones

by levitating them
and pushing them along...

...just with his bare hands,
all the way across the landscape

from Wales to Stonehenge.

The great 20th-century French
philosopher and historian,

Jean Marcel, wrote over 40 books

on the life of Merlin and Arthur
and the Celtic traditions.

And Marcel was adamant
that Merlin was a real person.

He was also adamant that Merlin
was an incredibly powerful

otherworldly being who was here
to teach us to move beyond

the human restrictions
and boundaries.

(thunder crashes)

NARRATOR:
Could the legend of Merlin

really be proof of contact
with extraterrestrial entities

in the ancient past?

And that they provided
advanced technology

to help transport
and place the monoliths?

If so, why would stone
be the ideal material

needed to construct the site?

BUTLER: Probably it was
worth using as a medium

if you wanted
to impress the gods.

Because it was quite likely
that people saw stone

as being synonymous with gods,

because it seemed to them
to last forever.

TOK THOMPSON: If they're
gonna build a monument

to provide a testament to how
long-lived their culture is,

stones are the best way to go.

Stones were recognized to have
very spectacular properties

of toughness, of hardness...

...and some of them,
other properties

such as quartz crystals,
which we see

with a particular use
in a lot of these cultures.

EVANS:
The blue stones that create

the outer and inner circle
of Stonehenge

contain quartz crystal.

The properties of those stones
have been found

to have effects
on the human body,

to impart vibration

and beneficial effects
to the holder of those stones,

to have healing properties.

CHILDRESS: And in fact,
it's often been said

Stonehenge was some
healing place

where people came and, uh,

with their ailments to be cured.

NARRATOR:
For some researchers,

further clues to Stonehenge's
extraterrestrial connection

can be found
in one of the site's

most striking features:

the precise position
and alignment

of each stone
that makes up the megalith.

TSOUKALOS:
Seen from the air,

Stonehenge is actually a replica
of our solar system.

All those concentric circles,

they all represent one planet
in our solar system.

How did they know this?

And according
to the ancient texts

and the ancient traditions,

this knowledge
was given to our ancestors

by none other than
extraterrestrials, by the gods.

MIKE BARA: Some people think Stonehenge
was some sort of calendar marker

so that ancient cultures
could know

when was the right time
to plant.

Other people think
that it actually was

a-a celestial calendar
that was designed

to show when
we would pass through

certain very, very intense
meteor streams.

OSMANAGICH: We know that through the
position of different monoliths

they were able
to watch the summer solstice,

the winter solstice,

even the movement
of some star systems.

CHILDRESS:
So, who was it then who needed

these astronomical calculations?

Would it be
the extraterrestrials?

Or rather the priestly groups

that the extraterrestrials
were cultivating here on Earth,

and training them to monitor

the stars and the heavens,

and the Moon and the eclipses?

NARRATOR: Is it really possible
that otherworldly beings

designed Stonehenge
so ancient man

could gather data
about the stars?

If so, why?

And what was
the ultimate purpose

behind obtaining
this celestial knowledge?

NARRATOR:
The Boyne River Valley...

...30 miles north
of Dublin, Ireland.

Here, within
this archaeological site,

lie the ruins
of the Newgrange Passage Tomb,

built around 3150 BC.

This is Newgrange, which
is Ireland's foremost monument

in terms of its mythical
and historic significance.

It was constructed here
by a community of farmers

and astronomers
who inhabited this valley.

And together,
they enshrined their spiritual

and scientific beliefs
monumentally in stone.

NARRATOR: Constructed with
over 200,000 tons of stone

quarried 75 miles away,

Newgrange is known
as a passage tomb

because the enormous mound
has one passageway

that leads
to a centralized chamber

in which bone fragments
have been found.

This is the central chamber

of Newgrange with its massive

corbelled ceiling,
which has kept the chamber dry,

completely bone dry,
for 5,000 years.

At the end of the chamber here,
it opens up into this opening

with the three recesses
and there are three

very large basin stones
in each of the recesses.

And it was in these basins
that the remains

of the dead
would have been placed.

The amazing thing
about Newgrange is

what they've managed to do
with these giant stones is

create an opening in the chamber

which accepts sunlight on
the dawn of the winter solstice.

NARRATOR: In fact,
the structure's main chamber

remains in darkness except
for one day

at winter solstice,

when the sunrise illuminates

the 60-foot-long passageway

and central chamber
for a mere 17 minutes.

They saw the other world
as lying amongst the stars,

and they believed
that in placing the bones

of their deceased relatives
in the chamber, that the souls

of the dead would be brought
into the other world on the dawn

of the winter solstice when
the light of the sun came in

and perhaps drew the spirit
out into the other world.

NARRATOR: The remarkable layout
of the tomb's ground plan

is an achievement
many researchers believe could

only have been accomplished
with advanced knowledge

of constellations.

The passage and chamber
are cruciform in shape.

They're shaped like a cross,

which we think is
very significant

because it seems to be based

on the shape
of the constellation Cygnus,

which is the swan constellation
of the sky.

Cygnus is
one of the most important

constellations to the ancients.

We know it probably better
as the Northern Cross.

And these set of stars
seem to mark

where the Milky Way
actually breaks into two.

And universally,
for prehistoric societies

around the world,
this point in the sky,

known as the Cygnus rift,
has been seen as an entrance

and exit
into some kind of sky world.

We call it heaven today,

and it was seen
as the point in the sky

of cosmic creation.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
the ancient people at Newgrange

received knowledge
of our solar system

and distant galaxies
from another,

more otherworldly source,

as ancient astronaut theorists
believe?

And might the ancient builders
have intentionally

left a code for future
civilizations to decipher?

If so, what were
they trying to tell us?

They were experts in astronomy.

Uh, they were also experts
in building.

How they possessed both,

I find to be very uncanny.

Because they are
supposedly doing this

without high-tech equipment
and instruments.

But they did look
toward the heavens,

and they tried
to copy the heavens.

When we look at
the ancient people themselves,

and ask why they did it,

they are quite straightforward
in answering this question.

And that answer is simply
because this has

to do with the gods
and figuring out

when the gods
would come in the future.

NARRATOR: Throughout the world,
there are numerous ancient sites

that were built in precise
alignment with constellations,

primarily Cygnus

and Orion.

Perhaps the most
famous example can be found

at the Giza Plateau,
in the layout

of the three
great pyramids of Egypt.

You have two large pyramids,
aligned with each other,

and a third smaller one
offset from that alignment.

Well, that's the same way
you have the stars.

NARRATOR: Other ancient sites
built in close alignment

with the constellation
of Orion include:

the ancient city of Teotihuacán

in Central Mexico,

established in 100 BC...

...the layout
of the ancient Hopi villages

in the American Southwest...

...and the Thornborough Henges,

a Neolithic landscape complex

in Yorkshire, Northern England,

dating to between 3500

and 2500 BC.

The Thornborough Henges are
believed to be a copy

of the stars of Orion's Belt.

Their accuracy is just stunning.

Now is that coincidence?

I mean, you know,
it really is exact.

NARRATOR: But why were
so many civilizations

around the world
focused on Orion?

ADRIAN GILBERT:
Constellation of Orion

has a special magnetism for us,

partly it's because
it does look like a man.

And certainly the Egyptians
claimed that their gods

came from there,
and there is a sense

that this is where we come from,

that somehow the human race has
been implanted on this planet.

And that that's
where our father lives.

NARRATOR: Some researchers
believe in addition

to mirroring
the three stars in Orion's Belt,

the pyramids at Giza
also encode, in their placement,

a significant message about
the origin of their culture.

BAUVAL:
The position of Orion's Belt

relative
to the Milky Way is the same

as the pyramids
relative to the Nile.

When you look at the two images,
they look the same,

except one is
stellar and one is earthly.

What adds to this,
is that the alignment,

the-the pattern of Orion's Belt,

matches what is on the ground,

not at the time
that Egyptologists tell us...

...but in 10,500 BC.

When you look
at the sky in 10,500 BC,

the lock is almost perfect.

JASON MARTELL: At that same
date, the constellation Leo

is aligned perfectly
with the gaze of the sphinx.

So at 10,500 BC,
even though the pyramids

were built in 2500 BC,
we see a terrestrial alignment

of the monuments on the Earth
mimicking the stars in the sky.

BAUVAL: So you have
two constellations locking

themselves with
two sets of monuments,

the Sphinx and the three
pyramids in 10,500 BC.

It cannot be a coincidence.

BARA: Was it something
they intuitively channeled?

Or, did somebody else,
someone from higher up,

teach them all this stuff
and help them to build

these monuments,
and help them to create these

messages from ancient times,

to try to get us to appreciate

who we really are,
where we really came from,

and why we're really here?

NARRATOR: Might the builders
of Egypt's pyramids

and of the
Newgrange Passage Tomb

really have embedded
in their structures

a secret code

telling us about
the otherworldly origins

of the elite rulers
of their societies,

as ancient astronaut theorists
believe?

If so, might there be
hidden messages contained

in other ancient monuments found

around the world?

You know, there are
several ancient sites

in Western Asia that have
clear connections to the stars.

One that is
particularly fascinating

is Carahunge in Armenia.

Right, they call it
the Armenian Stonehenge.

And they've determined
that the placement of the stones

corresponds
with the constellation Cygnus.

Right, and what I find even
more intriguing: at Carahunge

we find thousands of carvings
of strange, humanoid figures.

We actually covered this
in season 2 of Ancient Aliens.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
The Syunik province.

Southern Armenia.

Approximately
140 miles southeast

of the nation's capital,
Yerevan,

lies the city of Sisian.

Nearby sits a high plateau

where hundreds
of ancient stones,

some weighing more than 50 tons,

stretch over a third of a mile.

This is Carahunge,

also known
as the Armenian Stonehenge.

Estimated to be
approximately 7,500 years old,

Carahunge predates
the British Stonehenge

by more than 4,500 years.

The site is made
of 203 slabs of basalt.

At the structure's center
stands the stone circle...

or henge.

NICHOLAS HOWRATH: When most
people hear of stone henges,

they think
of the Stonehenge in England.

But there are hundreds
of these henges,

or stone circles,
scattered all across Europe.

What they were,
and how they were used

is still a mystery.

TSOUKALOS: Mainstream
archaeology still doesn't agree

on who lived there,

or who the builders were
of that site.

What we do know though,
is that the entire site is

definitely a part of some type

of an astronomical model.

NARRATOR: But how could this
simple circular array of stones

have given early man
information about the stars?

Is it possible that Carahunge

might be the world's
oldest observatory?

In September of 2010,

England's Oxford University

sent an expedition
to investigate.

HOWRATH: What makes this exceptional
megalithic monument unique

are the small holes

which have been
bored into the rock

at different angles.

There are 85 stones with holes.

They're like telescopes.

What we see with these holes

is that they're pointed
at different alignments

to positions on the horizon

or into the night sky.

What they're pointing at
is still a mystery to us.

But we can say with certainty,

from the
archaeological evidence,

that they were some
sort of way to connect

man and his life on Earth

to the heavens above.

And this would be the first time

that we can say that people

were systematically
trying to understand

their place in the solar system.

WILCOCK: This site is also
called the Zorats Karer

which means
"the stones of the powerful."

And what has been determined
is that the outline

of these stones
actually does correspond

to the constellation
known as Cygnus, or the Swan.

Which in certain cultures is
also referred to as the Vulture.

COLLINS:
Cygnus has always been seen

among cultures around the world,

for many, many
thousands of years,

as a point of entry and exit

into the sky world.

This belief in
a power in the stars,

the idea that
we come from the stars

and actually
return there in death.

NARRATOR: The early Greeks,
Chinese and others

also believed that Cygnus
had a special power

or unique significance.

But why?

Why would so many ancient
cultures around the world

have similar myths
about the same constellation?

The only reason
why I would do this

if I were on a foreign planet,

is to give a message
to future generations,

to say, "Hey, nudge, nudge.

This is where we came from."

NARRATOR: Although today,
it is no longer possible

to see Cygnus through
the notches of Carahunge,

many theories exist
as to why the position

of the constellation
has changed so drastically.

WILCOCK: This site dates
back to antiquity,

where the Earth's axis
was in a different position.

And you had the constellation
visible in the sky

at that time because
of the fact that

the Earth was on a different
tilt of its axis entirely.

NARRATOR: Mainstream
scientists have calculated

that the Earth's axis
slowly changes, or wobbles,

over a 26,000-year period.

But there are other
researchers who believe

these shifts happen
more suddenly and dramatically.

They claim
that when these events occur,

they cause
major climate changes...

...flooding
of biblical proportion...

...and the widespread
destruction of life.

But if these rapid
shifts did occur,

might Carahunge
have been designed

to provide
something of a warning?

WILCOCK: It's possible that
the Armenian Stonehenge

was one of the initial sites
where ETs came to visit,

and if there had been
some sort of shift

on the Earth's axis before,

if there were
periodic cataclysms,

then maybe there is a time cycle

in which those
cataclysms happen.

And maybe these ancients
were very concerned

about watching
the astronomical alignments

because they wanted to make sure

that this wasn't
going to happen again.

NARRATOR: But could alien
visitors from other worlds

have come to this spot

even before Carahunge was built?

Perhaps petroglyphs in the area,

much older than
the standing stones,

offer even more clues.

HOWRATH: The petroglyphs go
back to a much earlier time,

so I think my first point
is not to confuse

the petroglyphs, which are from

10,000 years before Christ,
with Carahunge itself.

When the stones went up,
it was probably

3,000 to 2,000 years
before Christ.

There are thousands,
if not hundreds of thousands

of images of humanoid figures
on these sites.

Some of them are quite
distorted and difficult

to understand and interpret.

MARTELL: The Armenian Stonehenge
also has some interesting

carved wall reliefs

that show
humanoid-looking beings.

Now, many people
have speculated that

these could be
possibly extraterrestrial.

We look at the very
bulbous-shaped heads,

slanted eyes...

...very similar to what we see
in a modern-day Grey alien.

TSOUKALOS:
Look at the eyes,

look at the shape of the head.

What's interesting in
this carving right here,

those extraterrestrials
are holding some type of a disc.

You've got this sphere

that's sort of just
floating there in midair.

Is it possible that these here

represent flying discs?

And the answer is yes,

because, again,
this is a human rendering

of something that they
witnessed a long time ago.

And it had to have been
compelling enough

for them to
carve this into stone.

NARRATOR: Could these
ancient stone carvings

actually be primitive portraits
of visitors from the sky?

Did extraterrestrials
really use Carahunge

as some sort of landing site
or earthly portal?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

at another ancient observatory

that was dedicated to the gods.

Just west of Armenia, in Turkey,

is a mysterious ancient site
on top of a mountaintop

that's associated with
the Persian King Antiochus I.

And what's fascinating
about him is that

he had himself portrayed

shaking hands with the gods.

TSOUKALOS:
Yeah, and some people

even have suggested that
he was able to predict

certain events
based on the stars.

CHILDRESS:
Yeah, and some people say

that the entire site is designed

to connect with star travelers.

NARRATOR:
Southeastern Turkey.

7,000 feet high,
atop a barren mountain called

Nemrud Dagi lie the ruins

of the lost kingdom
of Commagene.

Here, in 62 BC,
a mysterious royal sanctuary

was built by King Antiochus I.

Colossal statues were
created of lions and eagles,

and Persian and Greek gods,

as well as
two massive sculptures

of the king himself.

GILBERT: Now, what
Antiochus was trying to do

was to produce a synthesis,

a new version of
the old religions.

And what he basically did
was to take the Persian gods

and put them into Greek dress.

So, you've got
a synthesis happening

of the Persian gods with
their Greek equivalents.

DONALD SANDERS: The reason he built
a colossal statue of himself

among the gods was, I guess,

a presumption on his part
that he would indeed

ascend to heaven and
eventually be among them.

NARRATOR: The conical peak
was the highest point

in the kingdom
of King Antiochus.

Measuring 150 feet high
and 500 feet wide,

it is man-made with
countless small limestone rocks,

and was said to be the location
of the king's royal tomb.

Researchers believe
the memorial was

originally built
as two large plazas.

The one on
the east side was used

to celebrate
the birthday of King Antiochus.

The one on
the west side was used

to commemorate the day in 62 BC

when Antiochus became
the leader of a secret society.

GILBERT: I think it's meant
to symbolize Mount Olympus,

the home of the gods.

Because you've got
the gods seated round it

and then you've got
a peak above them.

I think this is all
very symbolic.

It's a stage for carrying out

certain rituals
and performances.

SANDERS: And he also shows
himself in the relief stelae

shaking hands to all the gods
as if the gods

recognize him
as one of their own

and are welcoming him
into heaven.

Mysteriously,
both the site and the kingdom

were abandoned
in the first century AD,

and so far, the king's
legendary burial chamber

has never been found.

But another question
still remains,

just why did King Antiochus

build this mysterious and
massive monumental sanctuary?

According to researchers,
evidence found

at Nemrut Dag suggests the king
had a profound interest in

and understanding of
star sciences.

One example
of the advanced knowledge

of astronomy that they had
is actually the lion horoscope,

which gives us
a very precise date.

We know that the position
of the stars on the lion's body,

um, fits with the positions
of stars of Leo

given in a book of Eratosthenes,
who was a Greek astronomer

from Alexandria who wrote
a book about the stars.

NARRATOR: The arrangement of
stars on the lion horoscope

represented
the constellation of Leo

as seen in the sky
in July 62 BC,

a configuration that
wouldn't be visible again

for 25,000 years.

Further evidence
of the exceptional knowledge

of the stars
was found in a nearby shaft

that Antiochus
built into the mountain.

GILBERT: The shaft runs into
the mountainside there,

uh, at an angle of 35 degrees
to the horizontal,

and it's about 150 meters long,

and there's nothing
at the bottom.

NARRATOR: Computer analysis reveals
that on two days of the year,

the sun's rays would illuminate
the bottom of the shaft--

once when in line
with the constellation of Leo

and once
when in line with Orion.

GILBERT: Now, that is a very
interesting point in the sky

because it's the path
where the sun

crosses over the Milky Way,
our galaxy,

and that, to the ancient world,
was known as a gate of heaven.

And there were two of these, one
where they cross in the north

and the other where
they cross in the south.

There were two gates to heaven.

So, we can understand that,

that gateway would be
where the soul of the king

is going back to heaven
through heaven's gate.

NARRATOR: Given the fact that
neither Antiochus's tomb

or remains have been found,
is it possible that the king

actually journeyed to the stars
through a heavenly gate,

as ancient
astronaut theorists contend?

During his life, researchers
believe Antiochus studied

with a priestly sect of eastern
astrologers called the Magi,

who were thought
to be able to predict

and even manipulate events

based on their knowledge
of the stars.

The Magi were renowned priests
from the far Near East

who had advanced
astronomical knowledge,

and it's well-known
that most of the astronomers

from the Near East, specifically
ancient Iraq, Sumer,

recorded series of events
happening in the heavens

over hundreds
of thousands of years.

This information was kept
on stone tablets,

held very sacredly and only
passed down to the high priests.

NARRATOR: According to the Gospel
of Matthew in the New Testament,

it was three of these Magi
who followed celestial signs

and stars to the birthplace
of Jesus in Bethlehem.

A coincidence?

What's interesting
about this story is that

the Star of Bethlehem wasn't
used as a navigation point.

It is clearly stated
as it guided the wise men

to the place of Christ.

A star cannot guide someone.

It can only be used
as a navigation point.

So, this brings up the idea

that the star
was possibly a UFO.

Today, we think that
the Magi were magicians,

and that is actually why
we have the word "magic" today.

But when I hear
about magical powers,

that raises a flag

because magic as such
does not exist.

So were these Magi
in fact in possession

of some type of an
extraterrestrial technology?

Because, according
to the ancient texts,

it was the initiates
of each culture

who were in touch
with extraterrestrials.

And it was the initiates

who later became
priests or Magi.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that
Antiochus was in fact a Magi?

One who learned
celestial knowledge

from extraterrestrial sources?

If so, might
the monumental sanctuary

at Nemrut Dag have been
built as a place

to contact star travelers?

The answer may have been found
among the ruins of Nemrut Dag.

The head of Antiochus
is placed on the statue,

which is appropriate
for Mercury,

and that's because Mercury

is the planet of initiation
for priests,

and he's one himself,
so he models it on himself.

And people think
this is him being boastful,

sitting among the gods.
It's not.

It's actually a code to say that
he's one with the priests.

NARRATOR: Eventually annexed by the
Romans in the first century AD,

King Antiochus and his court
became scattered

throughout the region.
Or were they?

According to
ancient astronaut theorists,

they may have instead
used a heavenly gate

to depart through
to a distant realm.

An audacious idea? Perhaps.

And there are those who believe
further evidence can be found

on the North American continent.

One of the most
fascinating places on Earth

is Teotihuacán in Mexico
because what you have there

is essentially an entire city
that's lining up with the stars.

Yeah, you've got alignments
with the Pleiades

and the three
major pyramids there

are mirror images of the
three belt stars of Orion,

just like the pyramids of Giza.

Nobody knows who built it
or how old it is.

There's all kinds
of celestial information

encoded at Teotihuacán,

and we covered this in a 2017
episode "City of the Gods."

NARRATOR:
March 2017.

Archaeologists continue to dig
under the pyramid complex

in an attempt to answer the many
mysteries of Teotihuacán.

The discoveries of liquid
mercury, walls lined with mica,

and strange artifacts
like golden spheres

point to the possibility
that an advanced society

once occupied this city.

But some researchers suggest
even greater clues can be found

by examining the layout
of the entire complex.

Three of the major structures
contained within Teotihuacán

have been found to line up with
the three belt stars of Orion,

a connection that is
also mirrored in the layout

of the pyramids
at the Giza Plateau in Egypt.

And the positioning
of the main thoroughfare,

known as the Avenue of the Dead,

is directed toward
the Pleiades star cluster.

But perhaps the most
intriguing connection

was proposed in the 1970s

by American engineer
Hugh Harleston Jr.

WILL HART:
In 1972, Hugh Harleston

undertook a study of the site.

And he was trying
to determine mathematically

if he could break down
or discover

a standard unit of measure
at Teotihuacán.

The conclusion that
Harleston came up with

in all his measurements,
he found consistent numbers.

And he discovered that

they reflected mathematical
principles that involved

units, intervals,
and the spacing of the planets.

WILCOCK: He found the actual
derivation of the solar system

with the planets, their correct
distances from one another,

actually laid out in the
spacings of the monuments

at this complex.

NARRATOR: Harleston noted
that the intervals

between the major structures
corresponded exactly

to the distances
between the various planets.

WILCOCK:
There is a very clear rationale

for the positioning
of these artifacts,

and it's only once you get
into their measurements

that you start to see
compelling proof that this is

intended to be an accurate map
of our solar system.

NARRATOR: Even the distance
of the asteroid belt

between Mars and Jupiter
was correctly plotted

by the diversion of the
San Juan River through the site.

CHILDRESS: Harleston believed
that a man-made canal

that was cut through Teotihuacán
represented the asteroid belt,

which was not something known
to ancient peoples.

Whoever built Teotihuacán,

they had full knowledge
of our solar system

and knowledge that ancient
people could not have had.

NARRATOR:
Three and a half miles away,

on top of the
Cerro Gordo mountain range,

Harleston also located the ruins

of the Temple of Xochitl,

which fell directly in sightline

of the Avenue of the Dead.

CHILDRESS: Harleston
believed that this temple

was mathematically showing

that there was a planet beyond
Pluto, twice as far as Pluto,

that was somehow orbiting
around our solar system.

NARRATOR:
Curiously, in 2016,

planetary scientists

from the California Institute
of Technology

announced that they had found
preliminary evidence

of the existence of
an unknown planet beyond Pluto.

Would such a revelation give
further credence to the idea

that the inhabitants
of Teotihuacán

had intimate knowledge
of our solar system

and that the site served
as an ancient spaceport?

One that might still be active
today?

(birds chirping)

May 4, 2015.

A tourist visiting the ancient
pyramid complex of Teotihuacán

takes a photograph featuring
the Pyramid of the Sun.

He thinks nothing of it
until he later reviews the photo

and notices two strange objects
hovering over the pyramid.

Upon closer examination,

they appear to be
silver disc-shaped craft.

What's strange
about the two UFOs

photographed above the Pyramid
of the Sun at Teotihuacán

is that, only ten seconds later,

a second photograph was taken

and those two objects were gone.

So, clearly, we are not talking
about Mylar balloons here.

There is nothing floating
in the sky anymore.

And if they would have been
Mylar balloons,

well, they don't move that fast
to just...

(mimics whooshing)
disappear.

There has been a long history
of UFO sightings

and unusual events
in Teotihuacán,

particularly around
the pyramids,

which perhaps
are somehow attracting UFOs

and extraterrestrials.

There's many things in our past
that we just don't understand.

But it's possible
that the answers--

or some of them--
are at Teotihuacán.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that the
ancient complex of Teotihuacán

has a profound connection
to the cosmos?

Did it serve not only as
a celestial observatory on Earth

but also as a gateway
to other worlds?

Perhaps further evidence
can be found

at other ancient
ceremonial sites

that point to the stars.

When we're talking
about ancient civilizations

and their connections
to the stars,

certain star groups
come up again and again.

-Like the Pleiades star cluster.
-TSOUKALOS: Right.

Australia, Japan, Hawaii--

pretty much
all around the world,

you have ancient stories

of physical beings
coming from the Pleiades.

Yeah, the Maya of
Central America talk about this.

And you really have to wonder
if our ancestors

actually had contact with beings
from this star cluster.

NARRATOR:
Tikal National Park, Guatemala.

Here, deep in the northern
jungles of South America,

lie the ruins

of one of the largest cities
of the Classic Maya.

Starting around 800 AD,

their sacred sites
were abandoned

one after the other.

Palenque.

Copán.

Naranjo.

And then, finally, Tikal.

Tikal was perhaps
the largest city

of the entire
Classic Maya period.

It really was
the signature city of the Maya.

It was also one of the last
cities to be walked away from.

So you get the impression
that whatever happened

that compelled people
to walk away from the cities,

Tikal was the last one to do it.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Scholars believe
that, at its height,

the Classic Maya population

may have been as large
as 20 million.

But after the collapse,

up to 95% of the Maya
were unaccounted for.

We still do not know
why they left their cities.

Because, all of a sudden,
they disappeared.

And it was not a war,

because you find
no traces of a war,

no traces of destruction.

They left.

We don't know why
and where they have gone.

HAWKES:
The question remains,

why? Where did they go?

And why did they leave
their cities?

Of course, there's a lot
of practical reasons

that have been brought forth--

possibly overpopulation,

quite possibly drought,

deforestation,

a lack of water
and so forth and so forth.

But, nonetheless, it remains
quite interesting to think

that so many people disappeared
all at about the same time.

(birds chirping)

NARRATOR:
Historians have noted

that the disappearance
of the Classic Maya

seems to correspond with the end
of one of their calendar cycles.

But the priestly class seemed
to have made a new calendar

called the Long Count.

We're still not really sure
why they created this calendar.

But I do note that its timing

seems to time with major events.

The Maya are leading their lives

based on
this Long Count calendar.

NARRATOR: The Maya constructed
the Long Count calendar

to count down 5,125 years,

or one "Great Cycle."

The calendar was further divided

into 13 units of approximately
400 years each called baktuns.

At the end of each baktun,

the Maya held
a major celebration.

But, curiously,
on the tenth baktun,

they did not.

Their Maya calendar

has this very important juncture
called a baktun.

It's a 400-year period
that comes up in 830 AD.

And they
should have celebrated it.

But it's odd.
We know at Tikal, for example,

that there was no celebration
of that tenth baktun.

HAWKES: The Maya were the
best timekeepers possibly

of any civilization,
uh, of all time.

So if they know so much
about time

and they knew when to do things,

was their disappearance
from their cities really planned

according to their calendar?

Now the Maya of today
that have survived

talk about how their ancestors
went home.

Where is home?

NARRATOR: Is it possible
the Long Count calendar

was actually counting down
to a preordained date

when the Maya knew
they would disappear?

And if so, could further
evidence of this be found

by examining the clues
left behind in Tikal?

Archaeoastronomers have noted

that the seven most important
pyramids in the Grand Plaza

form the same geometric patterns

as the seven stars comprising
the Pleiades constellation,

a star cluster revered
by many ancient cultures

across the globe.

WILCOCK:
Many of the Mayan monuments

have undeniable
celestial alignments

with the Pleiades star cluster.

-(wind blowing)
-(fire crackling)

Is it possible that
these people originally came

from the Pleiades?

And that's why they encoded
the Pleiades in their monuments

so many times.

And then eventually
they returned home.

NICK REDFERN: Today, in abduction
lore, many people report

that their abductors
come from the Pleiades.

That's what they tell the people
who have been taken away.

So we seem to have
a situation potentially

where entities from the Pleiades
have visited the Earth,

have interacted with humans for
literally thousands of years.

LINDA MOULTON HOWE: Those Mayans
didn't leave because of drought.

They left because it was
some kind of harvest.

It was an experiment.

The Mayans reached some place,

and somebody
took them from here.

It was the end
of a calendar cycle

and the beginning
of another calendar cycle.

It means a lot
to some intelligence out there.

NARRATOR: Could it be that the
collapse of the Classic Maya society

was due to a mass abduction,

as some ancient astronaut
theorists suggest?

Was this an event that
the elite priests and rulers

were counting down to?

Perhaps answers can be found
2,300 miles north

with the disappearance
of another tribe

intricately connected
to the Pleiades.

NARRATOR:
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, 2014.

In the desolate high desert
of the American Southwest,

mysterious ruins
stand as a testament

to a great civilization
that once flourished here.

The ancient Pueblo peoples,
or Anasazi.

With a population estimated
at well over 100,000,

the Anasazi settled
nearly 50,000 square miles

of the Four Corners region
of Arizona, Colorado,

Utah, and New Mexico.

The highly sophisticated
culture built

hundreds of miles
of ancient roads,

many converging from
all directions to Chaco Canyon,

a ceremonial site believed to be
one of their most important.

ROGER MOORE:
People that built this site

somehow came onto the
engineering principles

to be able to build
multistory buildings,

such as Pueblo Bonito
behind me here.

They developed a culture here
that integrated

the alignments of the buildings

with celestial objects
and events,

such as the rising
of the Pleiades.

The Anasazi were a very
successful civilization

up until about the 12th century,

and something
very strange happened.

And there's
a great deal of argument

as to what
that event may have been.

NARRATOR:
According to archaeologists,

sometime around 1130 AD,

all construction
ceased at Chaco.

The buildings were sealed,

and the roofs of the
ceremonial structures,

called kivas, were burned.

It's fair to say
that there were groups

that did move,
migrate to other areas.

Those then became
the Pueblos and the Hopis.

What is confusing
is what happened

to the central part
of the civilization.

The ones that were
the astronomers

that built the observatories--

where did they go?

It appears as though
they simply disappeared.

NARRATOR: Some ancient
astronaut theorists,

like author David Childress,
propose that there is,

in fact,
more to the disappearance

of the Anasazi elders
than a simple migration.

And they claim
clues can be found

throughout the ancient site.

On this cliff behind me here
at Chaco Canyon,

we have about a dozen unusual
spirals carved into the cliff.

Archaeologists believe
that they represent the sun.

But some of these spirals
are very unusual.

One even has little spirals
coming off of it.

So you have to ask yourself,
are these spirals, in fact,

representations
of some kind of portal,

some door to another dimension?

Both the Hopi
and the Zuni Indians

say they came from the stars...

...that their knowledge
came from the star people,

the star ancestors.

And the Hopi say
portals are marked

with the spiral petroglyph,

portals to
a different dimension,

portals to another world.

There are some that believe
that that may represent

the portals by which the Anasazi
and other Southwestern cultures

crossed from this world
into their point of origin.

I think there's
a possibility at least

that there is
a connection between

the alignments
of certain celestial events

and the opening and closings
of these portals.

Is it possible that
the Anasazi themselves

vanished en masse
from this site,

and did they go
into another dimension?

NARRATOR: Could it be that the
spiral-shaped petroglyphs

left behind by the Anasazi
actually represent portals?

If so, did the Anasazi
have knowledge of when and how

to access these other worlds?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

and believe further evidence
of an otherworldly connection

can be found in the oral stories
about this lost civilization

that have survived
through other tribes.

The Anasazi
is actually not a name

that they gave themselves.

It was a name that was given
to them by the Navajo.

HOWE:
The Anasazi--

the name meant
"stranger from afar"

or "strange enemy,"

something that was
separate, apart.

It is possible that the Anasazi

are in a another dimension,
in another timeline,

another planet.

All of these
various disappearances

of people over time.

Whether it is the Mayans,
whether it is the Anasazi.

You can look through history,

and you can begin
to see these rhythms.

Advanced intelligences
that are behind all of this

are using the planet
like a laboratory.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that the Anasazi elders

were an alien hybrid race, as
their Navajo name would imply?

And like the Maya
in Central America,

might they have had
a direct connection

to the Pleiades star cluster?

Could this explain
why they both aligned

their ceremonial complexes
to those specific stars...

...and potentially utilized
these sites to return home,

as their ancestors alleged?

As far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

it's a distinct possibility,

but they also suggest
the American Southwest

may have hosted other
star visitors from Orion.

You know,
there's another group of stars

our ancestors associated
with the gods just as much

as the Pleiades, that's
the constellation of Orion.

Yeah, and we have that
with the ancient Egyptians,

with the ancient Babylonians,
with the ancient Greeks,

and even right here
in North America,

where we have
Native American tribes

that associate Orion
with the star people.

Right. There is a Hopi site

where legend says
that a star being

from Orion came down
from the sky and landed.

I mean, what more do you want?
That is a concise description

of an extraterrestrial
visitation.

NARRATOR: Black Mesa,
Northeastern Arizona.

The Native American Hopi tribe
has called these peaks

of the Colorado Plateau
home for more than 1,000 years.

High above the Arizona desert,
their reservation,

encompassing more than
1.5 million acres,

consists of 12 villages.

Ancient astronaut theorists

have studied these
mysterious sites for years,

discovering what they consider
to be countless pieces

of evidence of extraterrestrial
contact in the ancient past.

According to their research,
both the Hopi landscape

and the tribe's mythology
are centered on Orion.

DAVID: The Hopi migrated
all over the Southwest.

After a series
of building villages...

...and abandoning
these villages,

they came to these three primary
mesas in Northern Arizona.

They call them First,
Second, and Third Mesas.

COPPENS: The Hopi mesas
shape Orion's Belt's image.

And it is said
that the Hopi specifically

came here because of the shape.

So we know that the Hopi
are extremely interested

in Orion's Belt.

This is the center
of their universe.

They say it is a place
where they can

make contact with the gods.

NARRATOR:
According to some researchers,

not only do the Three Mesas

represent the stars
in Orion's Belt,

but when connected
to other Hopi landmarks

throughout the Southwest,

the collective sites
map the entire body

of the Orion constellation.

DAVID: Every major star
of the constellation,

it corresponds to a ruin site

or a village that the Hopi
are currently living in.

For instance,
the left shoulder of Orion

is a place called Wupatki.

It's north
of Flagstaff, Arizona.

And they built this ruin
about 1120 AD.

They lived there
for a-a century or so.

And then
they abandoned this place.

There's another place
called Homolovi Ruin.

It's by Winslow, Arizona.

And this corresponds
to the right shoulder of Orion

and the star Betelgeuse.

The Hopi also settled
up north of the mesas.

This corresponds
to the star Rigel.

And there's a whole complex

of villages that corresponds

to the right foot of Orion.

Uh, the star is Saiph.

So you have the star mirror.

As above, so below.

That's what the Hopi
were trying to achieve

when they built this pattern,

which took about three centuries
to construct.

NARRATOR: But how did the Hopi
ancestors know to align their homes

and sacred places so perfectly
with the Orion constellation?

-(chanting) -Is it possible
that they received help

from star travelers,

as some researchers believe?

According to Hopi myth,

the creator god Masauu

directed the tribe
over hundreds of years

as they migrated
to the Three Mesas,

the place Masauu instructed them
to wait for his return.

DAVID:
The god Masauu

was there at the beginning,

waiting for the Hopi.

This is
a very spooky-looking god.

This god has large round eyes

and a round mouth
and a big, bulbous head.

He taught the Hopi
agricultural ways.

He's frequently seen
with a staff in his right hand,

like the constellation Orion.

Masauu told the people
where to build their villages.

There was also tales
about a certain star

that the Hopi would follow.

Now, a star that moves
across the sky and-and stops

when the Hopi are supposed to
stop and build their village--

that-that sounds like some sort
of extraterrestrial craft

that were guiding the Hopi
across the desert.

This is Fajada Butte,

where, according to
ancient Hopi legends,

their god Masauu
descended from the sky.

At night,
the Orion constellation

would basically hang in the sky

right above this butte.

And the story goes

that Masauu landed
on top of this platform.

So my question is,

did some type
of an extraterrestrial visitor

land on top of this butte right
here in some type of a craft?

And the answer is yes.

Someone or something
from the cosmos descended.

NARRATOR: Could the Hopi
god of creation Masauu

actually have been
an extraterrestrial traveler

from Orion, as ancient astronaut
theorists contend?

And if so, why did this god
instruct the Hopi

to migrate around the Southwest

in the pattern
of this constellation?

HENRY:
Is it merely coincidence

that the Hopi aligned
their cities with Orion,

just as the ancient Egyptians
did?

I don't think so.

I think this is clear evidence

that they were instructed
to do so.

DAVID: The Hopi people
were trying to pay homage

to their star ancestors,

the ancestors that came
from the constellation Orion

and gave them this information
about the constellation

and the place
that they came from.

And that's why they-they built
this pattern

on the Arizona desert.

It's more or less a way
that the Hopi could memorialize

the origin of their celestial
ancestors that came from Orion.

The Hopis are saying that,
at each point of creation,

each cycle of time...

...Masauu makes contact with
them and quite often tells them

that an end of a cycle
is going to happen.

And then he safeguards them
from destruction.

It is felt
that this creator deity

is intricately linked with Orion

and somehow only allows
communication

when somehow the geographical
layout resembles Orion's Belt.

So what they're hoping for now
is really the return of Masauu.

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

that ancient Hopi legends
of the creator god Masauu

-provide further proof of contact...
-(chanting)

...with our extraterrestrial
ancestors from Orion?

And if so, might the Hopi
have been signaling

for the return
of these otherworldly beings

through their epic alignment
to the constellation?

Or could there be
a more profound reason

their landscape points
to the stars of Orion,

perhaps one that will
ultimately guide mankind back

to our celestial birthplace?

NARRATOR:
Giza.

Teotihuacán.

Nabta Playa.

Black Mesa.

Could these ancient monuments,

all aligned
to the stars of Orion,

really be linked to each other,

providing clues
to our celestial beginnings?

Or is there perhaps another,
even more profound connection

between mankind
and the constellation?

COPPENS:
So why is it

that the most important
archaeological sites

on our planet resemble
the constellation Orion?

I think it's not a coincidence.

And so the question is,
where did this come from?

Was there somehow
some technology available to us,

to our ancestors?

Or did somebody map,
at an ancient point in time,

it for them?

Were they given this science,

and did they just treasure it
and maintain it

until a moment in time
when it was clearly lost?

CHILDRESS: When you look at
these Orion correlations--

pyramids at Giza,

the beliefs of the Mayans--

what it seems to show

is that Orion
is where we came from.

It's where the extraterrestrials
came from.

And if we were to go to Orion,

what we would
probably find there

is a planet very, very similar
to that of Earth.

NARRATOR:
Is it really possible,

as some ancient astronaut
theorists contend,

there is a planet
similar to our own

in the constellation of Orion?

And if so, what--

or perhaps who--
would we find there?

BROPHY: If we did get to
the Orion constellation,

or the stars
that make up Orion,

especially around the Orion
Nebula star-forming region,

we would find
a region of the galaxy

that's kind of similar
to our own but more active.

More stars with planets, likely.

There's still a lot of room
for opinion

because there-there
are still unknowns.

Uh, so my own opinion is, yes,

life is probably either
extremely likely elsewhere,

or else, uh, we don't have a
clue as to what life really is.

So if we're looking for life
elsewhere in the galaxy,

a good place to start looking
would be Orion.

NARRATOR:
Even with today's technology,

traveling to Orion would take
hundreds of thousands of years.

But might there be another,
more profound mechanism,

perhaps from out of this world,

that would make
such an expansive trip

in one lifetime possible?

In 1935,

30 years
after his groundbreaking

special theory of relativity,

Albert Einstein published
a collaborative paper

called
"The Einstein-Rosen Bridge."

According to this theory,

bridges, or black holes,
exist in the universe,

allowing shortcuts
through space and time.

Today, physicists
refer to them as wormholes.

It's 1,500 light-years distant,
about, to Orion.

If we were somehow able
to use wormhole technology...

...then, conceivably,
we could shorten the travel time

or even make it instantaneous,

although the theory, even,
of how wormholes could work

is still being developed.

SEAGER: Almost anything that's
possible theoretically in physics

exists somewhere
in our universe.

So I believe
that wormholes exist somewhere

but not anywhere close to Earth.

NARRATOR: Might advanced extraterrestrial
beings have traveled here

not in a spacecraft

but through an interdimensional
space-time portal,

as some researchers suggest?

If so, could sacred sites

that align
to specific star systems

possess a more profound purpose,

one serving
to not only mark a destination

but perhaps to also access
a portal to another world?

You know, all around the world,

uh, civilizations
created observatories

where they could observe
the stars.

And you have to wonder,
you know,

why they were all doing this.

HENRY: Right.
And another big question is,

why would the ancestors,
all around the world,

align their temples
with particular star systems?

And one answer that comes back
over and over again

is, they wanted
to create conduits,

-this point of connection.
-TSOUKALOS: Yeah.

And they observed
all the star constellations.

But the fact that they
only chose to replicate

the Pleiades,

Orion, and Sirius
on Earth predominantly,

that, to me, suggests the idea

that that is where
our first teachers came from.

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