NARRATOR: Massive megalithic structures
built thousands of years ago.
Advanced engineering knowledge
that defies conventional explanation.
And a nearly identical architectural style
found all over the world.
For more than a decade,
Ancient Aliens has traveled the globe
to explore the most incredible pyramids ever discovered.
Now, we're going to visit the top ten pyramid sites
that just may hold the proof that Earth has been visited
by extraterrestrials.
♪ ♪
Pyramids are some of the most mysterious
ancient structures on the planet.
And while they are most often associated with Egypt,
they can actually be found all around the world.
But are they merely incredible feats of engineering
or could they be direct evidence
of our extraterrestrial ancestors?
When I think of all the amazing pyramid sites
we've investigated on Ancient Aliens,
one of the most compelling
is a structure in modern-day Mexico that was actually
designed to commemorate an otherworldly visitation.
At number ten on our list of the top ten pyramid sites:
El Castillo.
NARRATOR: The Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico.
Hidden in the dense jungle
lies the ancient Mayan city of Chichén Itzá.
And standing at its center
is a massive step pyramid
believed to have been built
sometime between the 9th and 12th centuries AD,
known today as El Castillo.
Made of limestone blocks
and standing almost 100 feet tall,
the pyramid is thought to represent a calendar,
with each of its 18 terraces
commemorating a month in the Mayan year.
But its most interesting feature can be found
on the massive central staircase.
Castillo is a stepped pyramid, um, with some
outward radiating staircases
on each of the sides of the building,
and these staircases have big high balustrades on them,
and at the base of the balustrade
are these big carved snakeheads, carved in stone.
NARRATOR: El Castillo was built to venerate the Mayan god
known as Kukulkan, or the "Feathered Serpent."
There were traditions in ancient Mexico
of a great teacher arriving on the Gulf Coast.
He was said to be Kukulkan,
which translates as "the plumed or feathered serpent,"
and when he arrived, he brought with him
the arts of civilization.
He taught astronomy,
he created the first calendar,
he also taught agriculture,
and eventually, he left, promising to return.
And he was often depicted as a human being as well.
NARRATOR: Kukulkan is depicted in serpent form
on either side of the central staircase of El Castillo.
Twice a year, during sunset and sunrise,
an optical illusion appears on these stairs.
Every year, on the 23rd of March,
you see, when the sun is going up,
some lights and shadows,
like triangles climbing down the stairway,
exactly the stairway where his head is on.
And on the 21st of September, you see the opposite.
Kukulkan disappears.
What we have here is a visual rendition
of the descent of Kukulkan,
the descent of extraterrestrials
visiting this pyramid structure known as El Castillo.
WILLIAM HENRY: You wonder, perhaps a craft landed here,
and this light shadow effect of a serpent making its way
descending down the staircase,
and then emerging through a serpent head
is a recollection of that original event.
If you leave Chichén Itzá and travel 900 miles due west
through the jungles of Mexico, you'll find another
incredible site known as Teotihuacan.
Three massive pyramids stand at the center
of this temple complex
that have a direct connection to the stars.
At number nine: the pyramids of Teotihuacan.
NARRATOR: Just 35 miles northeast of Mexico City
lies an ancient complex dating back
to at least the first century AD.
The site covers an area of seven square miles
and was once the largest city in Mesoamerica
with a population of over 150,000.
DR. EDWIN BARNHART: The city of Teotihuacan
was the largest and most powerful city
that Mesoamerica ever saw.
At the city core, which is the Avenue of the Dead,
the first big long straight road,
they build the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon.
Both of those are gigantic pyramids.
And also on the Avenue of the Dead
is the temple of Quetzalcoatl.
NARRATOR: While the origins of the site
have left archaeologists baffled,
the Aztecs, who occupied the area around 1400 AD,
are credited with giving it the name Teotihuacan.
BARNHART: The name Teotihuacan means "birthplace of the gods."
And the Aztecs believed that the gods themselves
were born there at Teotihuacan.
And the Aztecs talk about the many gods coming down
to Earth and creating humans.
TSOUKALOS: If you have stories of people descending from the sky,
and our ancestors also called them the gods,
you have to wonder, well, who or what did they mean
when they said the so-called gods?
Were our ancestors visited
by flesh-and-blood extraterrestrials
whom our ancestors thought
were divine in origin when they never were?
NARRATOR: Do the pyramids of Teotihuacan hold secrets
of extraterrestrial visitation?
Ancient astronaut theorists say yes,
and they believe that the pyramids standing at the center
of the city point directly to the origins
of these visitors, the constellation of Orion.
PHILIP COPPENS: The Temple of the Sun,
the Temple of the Moon, and the Temple of Quetzalcoatl
are in the same layout as Orion's Belt.
And this is not coincidental.
The Mayans are very specific about Orion's Belt.
They say it is a point of creation.
It is said that, in 3114 BC,
the gods came from Orion's Belt to Earth,
and this occurred in Teotihuacan.
BARNHART: Teotihuacan, despite its size,
has no hieroglyphs whatsoever.
There are other cultures in Mesoamerica
that were using writing systems.
There's nothing like that at Teotihuacan,
so we don't really have a-a clear history
of what happened at Teotihuacan.
In many ways, Teotihuacan is an enigma.
The next site on our list was home to a prolific culture
that constructed over 250 pyramids
more than 600 years ago.
But what's most amazing to me is that the ancient people
who built these incredible structures
claimed that they received help from otherworldly beings.
Number eight: the Sicán pyramids of Peru.
NARRATOR: The Lambayeque Valley. Northern Peru.
1988.
Explorer Thor Heyerdahl investigates what appears to be
an area of large, earthen hills,
but soon discovers that these hills are, in fact,
massive adobe brick pyramids,
severely eroded over the centuries.
This was the site of a culture called the Sicán,
and these people, who rose around 750 AD,
seemed to be absolutely obsessed with the creation of pyramids.
In fact, they created as many as 250
within this valley alone.
And in one particular town, they created 26.
NARRATOR: According to mainstream historians,
the Sicán people mysteriously disappeared in 1375.
And although there were no written records left behind
to explain why they were obsessed with building pyramids,
ancient astronaut theorists say clues may be found by examining
the multiple images of birdmen that archeologists
have discovered inside one of the structures.
The birdman image is something that's iconic
of depicting someone who can come from the sky.
So, these glyphs that are seen on the walls
of these structures are particularly interesting.
NARRATOR: Gods depicted as half-bird and half-man
were worshipped by many pyramid-building civilizations
in the ancient world, including the Egyptians,
the Mayans, the Aztecs,
and even the Sumerians,
who built pyramid-like structures called ziggurats
as much as 6,000 years ago.
You have to wonder if these birdmen
aren't extraterrestrials coming to Peru
and instructing the people on building these pyramids.
Many of the pyramids we've investigated
on Ancient Aliens were constructed so long ago,
no written records exist to explain who built them or why.
But the pyramid builders at one location
in Guatemala actually carved
a story of an otherworldly visitation in stone.
Number seven on our countdown
of the top ten pyramid sites: El Mirador.
NARRATOR: Northern Guatemala. 1979.
Western archaeologists begin excavation of a site
that was mysteriously abandoned in 150 BC.
Known as El Mirador,
it is not only the oldest Mayan city,
but the largest, covering more than 14 square miles.
BARNHART: The central part of El Mirador has two gigantic pyramids
that are connected by a big causeway in between them.
One's called El Tigre. The other one's called La Danta.
La Danta is 70 meters tall.
That's one of the tallest in the entire world.
And it's so massive that, when you get to the top
of its first basal platform,
there's enough space where they put three more pyramids
in a triad form on top of it.
NARRATOR: But perhaps even more intriguing than the size
and scope of the pyramids at El Mirador
is an ancient stucco facade that was found between them,
which, according to ancient astronaut theorists,
provides an important clue about the origins of these structures.
The archeologists at El Mirador were investigating
the causeways and the aqueducts between the two big pyramids.
They came upon a stucco façade
that showed figures floating in the air.
The archeologists interpret them
as the Hero Twins from the Popol Vuh.
Now, The Popol Vuh is foundational
to Maya civilization and life,
as foundational as the Bible is to Christianity.
The story of the Popol Vuh really centers around
two boys, a pair of twins.
They're called the Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque.
And they battle with the Lords of Death,
and they make the world safe for creation, us, to occur.
NARRATOR: According to the Popol Vuh,
this battle didn't take place on Earth,
but in a mysterious realm called Xibalba.
In Maya the word Xibalba means the Underworld.
But some have suggested that the word Xibalba
doesn't necessarily mean Underworld, but the Milky Way.
If you look at that carving, the guy is clearly wearing a helmet,
and he has this backpack,
and he's actually floating in space,
or he's descending from the sky.
You have, uh, what seem to be like some kind of helmet.
Could these stone carvings be depictions
of ancient astronauts?
And you have to wonder if this pyramid
isn't some kind of landing site
for extraterrestrial craft.
You might be surprised to learn that one of the oldest
pyramidal structures on Earth is in a place
that has never been associated with pyramids,
my own ancestral homeland of Greece.
Number six on our countdown: the pyramid of Hellinikon.
NARRATOR: Argos, Greece.
Just outside this ancient city
stands a mysterious stone structure
known as the pyramid of Hellinikon.
It is the only pyramid in Europe
recognized by mainstream archaeologists.
ROBERT SCHOCH: The pyramid of Hellinikon is quite small.
It's maybe only 23 feet by 30 feet by maybe 12 feet tall,
but it's incredibly interesting.
Some people suggest that it was maybe a watch tower,
or a guard tower, or a small garrison.
We don't really know what it was for, what its purpose was,
and even more controversial is the dating of it.
TSOUKALOS: The pyramid of Hellinikon is one of the most
enigmatic ancient structures on planet Earth. Why?
Because, according to some archaeological research,
it dates to before the Great Pyramid at Giza.
NARRATOR: In 1995,
scientists working at the Academy of Athens
dated samples from the site using a new
and experimental method called optical thermoluminescence.
The results suggest that the pyramid
was built around 2730 BC,
roughly 2,000 years before the rise of the Greek Empire.
This was a structure that is very mysterious.
It was constructed by a completely unknown culture.
We know almost nothing about it,
and what we do know, though,
is that there were several of these structures around.
So, who built them? And what happened to them?
NEWMAN: There were 15 other pyramids like this
found in the area.
Most of these are now completely destroyed.
So, we have to question who really built this.
When you think of pyramids, you think of Egypt.
You think of Central America. You think of India.
But pyramids in Greece?
We have to ask the question, why has that shape
been with us for such a long time?
And I think that the knowledge for building
these megalithic structures was imparted
by the so-called gods who were
misinterpreted flesh-and-blood extraterrestrials
who visited Earth a long time ago.
We're nearly halfway through our countdown
of the top ten pyramid sites featured on Ancient Aliens.
In 2018, I traveled to Egypt
and visited the next location on our list,
which was designed by a remarkable individual
who was said to have a profound connection to the stars.
At number five: the Step Pyramid of Djoser.
NARRATOR: Saqqara, Egypt.
Located just 15 miles south of the Giza Plateau
is an ancient burial ground of Egyptian royalty.
Among the many tombs stands
what mainstream archaeologists suggest
is the oldest pyramid in Egypt:
the Step Pyramid of King Djoser.
The step pyramid at Saqqara
is known as "The Stairway to Heaven."
The complex is vast. It's about 40 acres,
entirely walled in.
There's a 30-foot wall with 13 false doors.
You only get in if you know where the right door is.
NARRATOR: Mainstream archaeologists suggest the pyramid was built
as a tomb for King Djoser,
but like all other Egyptian pyramids,
there is no credible evidence
that a body was ever entombed there.
In April 2018, ancient astronaut theorist
Giorgio Tsoukalos traveled to the Djoser Pyramid
with Egyptologist Ramy Romany
to get an up-close look at the mysterious site.
Now, this pyramid is 5,000 years old.
TSOUKALOS: That's amazing.
Did they ever find a mummy in there?
No, they never found an actual mummy in there,
but they found statues.
And there is a statue next to-- it's still there--
of King Djoser.
It's a human life-size statue.
TSOUKALOS: Okay, and how many chambers are inside this pyramid?
ROMANY: There are a couple of chambers, but the pyramid is such a maze
to go in and out from that they have not discovered
everything inside yet
because it's not the safest place to be now.
NARRATOR: While the Djoser Pyramid has been weathered by time,
mainstream archaeologists believe,
when it was built in the 27th century BC,
it was the most impressive structure in Egypt.
The six-tier, four-sided structure originally stood
205 feet tall,
with a base measuring 358 feet by 397 feet.
And unlike other buildings of the time
that were constructed entirely from mud bricks,
the Djoser Pyramid was built using 11.6 million
cubic feet of stone and clay,
and it was covered in polished limestone,
most of which is gone today.
In the text that we can read about Djoser,
does he mention at all, uh,
how he was inspired to build this?
It was one brilliant man.
That man was called Imhotep.
-Okay. -Who, in history, came out of nowhere.
He was the designer and engineer of that pyramid.
What does Imhotep actually mean?
It means-- I know you're gonna like this--
but it means, "I come in peace."
-Oh, really? That's very interesting. -Yes.
So, the extraterrestrial greeting, so to speak.
Yes.
He showed up
into the life of the king out of nowhere,
and then ascended into position so quickly,
which is very uncommon in ancient Egypt.
What does that mean? What do you mean "out of nowhere"?
-Did he drop from the sky, or did he come from another land? -(laughs)
In Egyptian history, you can normally trace
every position back to their parents.
But Imhotep, nothing.
HENRY: Imhotep rose to the incredible status
as the vizier, or wizard, to the pharaoh.
This is where we get that word wizard from, vizier.
There are great mysteries about who Imhotep was,
where he came from.
COLLINS: He had an incredible knowledge of medicine.
He had an understanding of blood circulation.
He did the first dentistry.
Uh, may even have performed operations.
He was also an astronomer,
had an incredible knowledge of the stars.
But most incredible of all is the fact that it's said
that the knowledge of how to create the earliest pyramids
actually came from a text that fell from the sky
out of nowhere and came into the hands of Imhotep.
HENRY: What's fascinating is the depictions of him.
He looks like he's got this oversize head.
He's got strange looking hands. He almost looks nonhuman.
Do we know how long he lived?
That is also a mystery.
We don't know how he died, but he was buried in a tomb.
And that tomb was around here in Saqqara.
The tomb of Imhotep has never been found.
-So far, right? Yeah. -So far.
But look around you, the desert is massive.
When the tomb of Imhotep is discovered,
it will be the discovery of the century.
NARRATOR: Ancient astronaut theorists are hopeful that,
if the tomb of Imhotep is ever discovered,
it might be found to contain the remains
of an otherworldly visitor.
But perhaps even more compelling evidence
of an extraterrestrial connection to ancient pyramids
can be found with a series of hidden structures in China
that, according to some researchers,
may hold remnants of alien technology.
China is a treasure trove for the ancient astronaut theory.
Its mythology is rich in stories of otherworldly beings
and is home to some truly incredible relics.
But what many people don't know is that China is also home
to dozens of pyramids,
all of which were completely unknown to the outside world
until the 1940s.
At number four on our countdown: the hidden pyramids of China.
NARRATOR: Shaanxi province, China.
1945.
U.S. Army Air Corps pilot James Gaussman is transporting
military supplies from India.
While flying over a rural valley,
he spots a mysterious structure.
One of the most unusual stories
of pyramids came out of World War II.
The story is of an American pilot who was
flying the Burma Hump over
to Chongqing in central China.
And what he claimed he saw was a huge pyramid in the valley
with a gigantic crystal capstone on the top of it.
He was so amazed by this huge pyramid in this remote valley
that he flew around it once with his plane.
This pyramid has never ever been discovered since then.
NARRATOR: Two years later, another U.S. aviator,
Colonel Maurice Sheahan,
spotted what appeared to be a second pyramid in the area.
HENRY: Colonel Maurice Sheahan looks down,
and he sees a giant pyramid
that he says is larger than the Great Pyramid of Giza.
He reports this to The New York Times
and it causes a sensation.
NARRATOR: Until then, no pyramids had ever been found in China.
But in the years that followed,
more than 30 pyramidal structures have been discovered
throughout the region, many of which
have become covered in vegetation.
But perhaps the area's most mysterious
pyramidal structure can be found in the city of Xi'an.
Standing 26 feet tall and dating back 1,500 years,
it is made from compressed earth
and known as the "Altar of Heaven."
From the beginning, Chinese mythology is linked
to the universe and to the extraterrestrials.
All the Chinese kings communicated
with the so-called gods, which, in reality,
were extraterrestrials on the so-called "Altar of Heaven."
When we step aside from the standard theory that
the pyramids were used as tombs,
this pyramid is very interesting because of its shape.
On the outside, there's a large ramp
that leads up to a platform.
It's very possible that this pyramid was actually
some type of ancient landing source or a landing pad.
The same stone structure,
with different ring about the main altar,
we find in Peru, over the city of Sacsayhuamán.
And the rulers of the Inca were, of course again,
the descendants from heaven, like in China.
So, one has to ask the question, who was the architect?
Could it be that the architect was none other than
an extraterrestrial giving this knowledge to our ancestors?
NARRATOR: Is it possible that the mysterious
pyramidal structures recently found in China,
were used by ancient rulers to connect
with otherworldly beings?
Ancient astronaut theorists say yes
and suggest further evidence can be found at another pyramid site
roughly 500 miles west in the province of Qinghai
on a remote mountain called Mount Baigong.
When you go to Mount Baigong, what you find is
a huge mountain with what appears to be
an artificial pyramid with three triangular entrances
going inside this mountain pyramid.
And inside are all of these metallic pipes.
The floor of these caves
are littered with metallic parts.
It's like this was some kind of base.
NARRATOR: Could it be that the strange metallic pipes
found within this pyramidal structure
have served a technological function?
Ancient astronaut theorists believe Mount Baigong
could be connected to ancient Chinese stories
of a magical place called Kunlun Mountain.
CHILDRESS: In Chinese mythology, the Kunlun Mountain
was said to be the center of the Earth,
and it was supposedly a huge pillar
of jade and jasper
and precious gems that
reached up into the sky.
DOMINIC STEAVU: Mount Kunlun is a mythical mountain
that is an axis mundi, which is a central pillar
around which the entire universe revolves.
This is a connector between
Earth and the rest of the universe.
It's where celestial beings can communicate with earthly beings.
You have to wonder, if Mount Baigong is not
this mythical Kunlun Mountain that was
some kind of extraterrestrial base
that spanned Earth and the stars.
NARRATOR: Could these pyramid sites in China
serve a similar function
to other pyramids found around the world
and might they have been inspired
by extraterrestrial encounters?
Ancient astronaut theorists say yes and suggest
further evidence that the ancient pyramid builders
were influenced by otherworldly beings
can be found at a mysterious site in Indonesia
that's hiding a massive prehistoric structure.
High in the mountains of Indonesia,
a pyramid has been discovered that is known
for certain to be over 10,000 years old.
Number three on our countdown
of the top ten pyramid sites: Gunung Padang.
NARRATOR: Western Java, Indonesia. 2013.
The Indonesian government sponsors an excavation
to explore what might be hidden beneath the layers
of dirt and rubble at a site known as
Gunung Padang, or "Mountain of Light."
They uncover incredible evidence
revealing a 300-foot-tall step pyramid
dating back at least 10,000 years.
CHILDRESS: Gunung Padang is made of millions
of tons of basalt that has been piled up
into a huge mountain,
which is also riddled with strange chambers and tunnels.
COLLINS: The people who constructed Gunung Padang built
rectangular enclosures, rock mounds, stairways.
And, although the outer monument that we see today
probably only dates to about 600 BC,
we now know that, beneath this,
is further structures of a much earlier date.
And indeed that has given dating evidence that suggests
that there was human activity there as early as 25,000 BC.
NARRATOR: According to geologists, 20,000 years ago,
this area of Java was not an isolated island,
but the southernmost part of a subcontinent
known as Sundaland.
This has led some researchers to speculate that Gunung Padang,
with its high elevation, could have been at the pinnacle
of a civilization that disappeared
sometime around 10,000 BC,
when melting ice caps flooded the region
and turned it into the series of islands it is today.
But if true, just who was this mysterious culture
capable of building a 300-foot-tall pyramid?
In Indonesian star lore,
there's a constellation of particular interest.
They call it Vendum Viduk. We call Ursa Major.
It is thought that it is the shape of a boat,
and that the original craft, the original starship
carrying the people came from this place to their land.
Their houses, the long houses, the community structures
are built in the shape of a boat,
always facing northward
in honor of the place of their origins.
These star travelers are said to have started
the original royal family.
The name of the people, Toraja,
means "those who come from the stars."
NARRATOR: Might the builders of the massive pyramid
at Gunung Padang have been the star travelers of local legend?
For ancient astronaut theorists,
the answer is a resounding yes.
CHILDRESS: Indonesian archeologists have no idea who would have built this.
How they could have built it. What its purpose was.
And, in fact, many of them would say, "Yes,
"this was built by the ancient gods
for some purpose that we don't know."
While the structure at Gunung Padang has been
overcome by nature, just 300 miles east
on the island of Java
is an extraordinary pyramid that remains almost perfectly intact.
The number two site on our countdown:
the Temple of Borobudur.
NARRATOR: Magelang, Indonesia.
Located on the island of Java is the world's largest
Buddhist monument, the Borobudur Temple.
Built during the 8th and 9th centuries AD,
this religious structure consists
of six rectangular terraces
topped by three concentric circular terraces
creating a unique pyramid design.
Borobudur is definitely not an obvious pyramid, but it is.
It is a stacked pyramid on top of which
have been built structures.
MARTELL: The Borobudur Temple is known as a shrine,
but also a place of pilgrimage where people
start at the base and work their way up to the top,
which they theorize is like reaching nirvana.
DEEPAK SHIMKHADA: Many of the Buddhist temple architecture,
you know, the steppe architecture,
they're based on all these number formulas.
For example, Borobudur was created based on mandala.
Mandala is a pictorial representation of the universe,
and the mandala is based on 72 numbers.
NARRATOR: Borobudur's nine platforms combine to create a perfect
Buddhist mandala when viewed directly overhead.
Researchers question why and how the builders
would create such an intricate religious symbol
that can only be viewed from the air.
But according to ancient astronaut theorists,
the answer can be found on top of the pyramid,
where there are 72 bell-shaped structures known as stupas,
each housing a seated statue of Buddha.
CHILDRESS: Buddha is depicted as sitting inside of these small stupas.
But it looks like Buddha
is flying a flying saucer at Borobudur.
That's the obvious thing you think of when you see this.
And so, is this really how the Buddhists even think
of Buddha themselves, as someone who arrives
in a disc-shaped craft, like an extraterrestrial?
Each stupa, in my opinion,
represents a type of flying craft.
Because stupa actually means celestial chariot,
a way with which to reach the celestial realm.
The journey didn't happen in their heads.
It wasn't something ethereal. It wasn't something spiritual.
It happened.
Extraterrestrial contact took place
in Indonesia thousands of years ago.
We've finally reached number one on our countdown
of the top ten pyramid sites.
And if you're a fan of Ancient Aliens,
I'm sure you guessed this one right from the start.
Number one on our list: the Giza Plateau.
NARRATOR: On the western coast of the Nile River in Egypt
is a limestone plateau called Giza.
Here stand the three most mysterious
and sophisticated pyramids ever constructed on Earth.
The massive structures are engineered to near perfection
and are believed by many to have been intentionally
placed to align with the three belt stars
of the Orion constellation.
But of greatest significance to ancient astronaut theorists
is the largest of the three: the Great Pyramid.
This enormous structure stands 480 feet tall
and was built from more than 2 million
limestone blocks, each weighing thousands of pounds.
The construction of the Great Pyramid
was an engineering feat that remains unmatched to this day.
CHRIS DUNN: The Great Pyramid of Giza covers 13 acres.
The precision of this building, uh,
exceeds anything that we require of builders today.
For instance, the area of the 13 acres was leveled
within seven-eighths of an inch.
That's about the thickness of a thumbnail.
But that's not all. The casing stones
are filled with some kind of mysterious cement
that nobody's been able to figure out what the formula is.
This is not the work of primitive people.
TSOUKALOS: Oftentimes, we throw around the words
"awesome" or "monumental,"
and we don't really think about these words,
but when you stand in front of the Great Pyramid,
the word "awesome" is in fact true.
ROMANY: It's the most marvelous ancient structure in the world.
What's inside the Great Pyramid of Giza
is absolutely mind-boggling.
You look at the beautiful, perfect tunnel,
with perfectly smooth walls,
and a vaulted ceiling that rises all the way up.
And there are shafts, tunnels,
and the architecture, and the way it was built
is a mystery till today.
NARRATOR: According to most Egyptologists,
this miracle of engineering
was constructed during a 20-year period
by order of the pharaoh Khufu,
sometime around 2500 BC.
But many experts claim this dating is based
on highly questionable data,
and ancient astronaut theorists suggest
the origins of the three pyramids at Giza
are far more profound.
Archaeologists and Egyptologists claim that they were
tombs for the pharaohs, and yet no Egyptian pharaoh
was ever found in a pyramid in Egypt.
We have found the mummies of many Egyptian pharaohs,
but they're found in vaults deep underground
at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor,
hundreds of miles away from the pyramids.
The pyramids have no real explanation
of what their purpose was.
DUNN: When you look at the Great Pyramid as a schematic,
for me, it looks like a machine.
Well, if that's the case, what did this machine do?
I propose that the Egyptians built the Great Pyramid
to be a power plant and that the pyramids
were actually geomechanical devices.
In other words, they were attached to the Earth.
They were tuned to vibrate with the frequencies
of the Earth, and they converted the energies
of the Earth into electromagnetic energy.
NARRATOR: Was the pyramid site at Giza
designed as an ancient powerplant?
Perhaps advances in technology will soon shed new light
on the origins of these mysterious structures.
TSOUKALOS: Archaeology is rooted in interpretation,
just like the ancient astronaut theory.
I'm still of the personal opinion
that the Great Pyramid complex dates to a time
when the gods walked among humans.
Something extraordinary happened right here in ancient Egypt.
Perhaps under the tutelage of extraterrestrials,
teachers from another star system.
The pyramids of the Giza Plateau
will never cease to amaze and inspire.
But at each pyramidal site we've investigated,
we've found clues that point to otherworldly visitations.
Could these extraordinary structures
hold the keys to unlocking the truth
about our extraterrestrial origins?
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