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[ Man Narrating ]
Gateways to other dimensions.
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To the Mayans, this represented
the passageway to another world.
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Hidden dwellings for strange beings.
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They were the first
inhabitants of the planet Earth.
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Secret vaults of cosmic knowledge.
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[ Man ] it's almost as though
they're opening a doorway...
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to communicate
with these divine beings.
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[ Narrator]
Since the dawn of man...
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caves have been a source
of great mystery.
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[ Bats Screeching ]
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But could the darkest recesses
of our planet...
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really be hiding some mysterious power?
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And within their depths...
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might we find evidence
of extraterrestrial visitors?
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[ Man] In some ways...
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exploring the underground
cavern world of planet Earth...
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is the final frontier.
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[ Narrator]
Millions of people around the world...
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believe we have been visited
in the past by extraterrestrial beings.
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What if it were true?
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Did ancient aliens really help
to shape our history?
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And if so,
might there be a connection...
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between aliens
and the earth's forbidden caves?
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Central India.
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July, 2014.
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While exploring caves
in the region of Charama...
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which are known
to contain prehistoric artwork...
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dating as far back as 10,000 years...
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an Indian archaeologist, J.R. Bhagat,
makes a stunning discovery.
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The Indian government
and Times of India had a major story...
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about rock paintings
found recently in Central India...
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that seem to show these tall beings...
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and they do not seem
to have a nose or a mouth...
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and nearby is this three-legged disk.
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The Times of India
actually proposed the idea-
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what if what we have depicted here...
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are some type of extraterrestrials
or at least some type of flying craft?
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Because it's the basis for much
of the Hindu pantheon of gods.
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[ Narrator]
Ancient Hindu texts...
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like the Vedas and the Puranas...
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record stories about extraterrestrials
existing on other planets...
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and the Mahabharata...
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one of ancient India's
two major Sanskrit epics...
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contains stories about gods
coming to Earth in flying machines.
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Even the legends specific to this region...
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tell of a mysterious race of beings
known as the “rohela”...
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who descended from the sky
and abducted local villagers.
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Could the newly unearthed cave an'
be a visual record...
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that extraterrestrials really visited here?
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There was an obsession
of ancient human beings...
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to depict things that they saw...
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and I think they did it
with carvings on caves...
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because that's what they saw.
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[ Narrator] But what is it about caves
that made them the ideal canvases...
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for ancient peoples
to chronicle their experiences?
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Caves are hugely significant
in ancient mythology and legends...
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especially about the gods.
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They seem to be
kind of a luminal point...
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a boundary place where
the gods and humans can meet.
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[CHILDRESS ] There is a whole hidden
underground world of planet Earth...
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that we're only just now
beginning to discover.
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We don't know what's there.
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We could be discovering all kinds
of amazing things...
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and it's possible...
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that there are entire
cities under the earth-
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whole cavern metropolises...
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that are talked about in legends.
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[ Narrator]
But while ancient cave art...
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often reveals the type of animals
our earliest ancestors encountered...
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and their means for hunting them...
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there is a surprising number of depictions
of strange-looking figures and objects...
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that defy any conventional explanation.
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In Australia, the Wandjina people,
they painted images on their caves...
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which eerily looks like the so-called
Greys of alien abduction lore today.
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You have the strange petroglyphs...
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in the Hoggar Mountains
of Southern Algeria.
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Uh, you've got strange rock art too,
in the American Southwest...
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and when you look at it, and even
have the natives explain it to you...
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they say things like,
“Oh, yes, he's Martian god,” or...
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“These are the star people
coming from the sky.”
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[ Narrator] How do we explain
so many different cultures...
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across thousands of years
and thousands of miles...
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producing such consistent
visual representations?
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The ones that were discovered
in some of the African caves-
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it's too similar...
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to what has been discovered
on every continent...
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for it to be complete coincidence.
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So, it's this whole idea
of the spark of initial inspiration.
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What is it that they witnessed?
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And could it be that they
witnessed extraterrestrials?
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One of the more intriguing aspects...
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of the cave paintings
that seem to show aliens...
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is why are they inside caves?
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This has sort of given rise
to the theory that maybe these aliens...
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perhaps have permanent bases
on the planet underground.
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Maybe ancient man saw them coming
out of some of these caves and caverns...
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and then realized there was a relationship
between the aliens and the caves.
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[ Narrator] In ancient times,
caves were places of shelter.
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But is it possible our ancestors
were also using caves...
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to record and protect information...
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about extraterrestrial beings
who played a role in our existence?
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Perhaps the answer can be found...
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halfway around the world,
in the American Southwest.
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The Grand Canyon.
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This epic, 277 mile-long,
one mile-deep fissure...
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exposes millions of years
of geologic strata.
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Imprinted onto this dramatic landscape...
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are petroglyphs that depict
everyday life...
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as experienced by the first
inhabitants of the region.
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But in one of the most
remote corners of the canyon...
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is a small cave covered
with artwork that mystifies experts.
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Some refer to it as the Shaman's Panel...
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because it appears to depict scenes
of the supernatural.
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All around the Grand Canyon
are unusual sites and sacred sites.
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And then you have the Shaman's Panel
there in the Grand Canyon...
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which seems to show these
long, tall extraterrestrial-type figures.
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Like the strange-looking beings
found in the cave in Charama, India...
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the figures depicted
on the Shaman's Panel...
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are oddly elongated...
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and are also thought to have been
created as many as 10,000 years ago.
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And just as in Charama...
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the native Hopi people here
also have detailed accounts...
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of extraterrestrials
who came down to Earth.
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In the Southwest, the Pueblo Indians,
such as the Zuni and the Hopi...
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believe that there is an entrance
into an underground world...
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and it is located in the Grand Canyon.
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And it's this mythological underworld...
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uh, of caves and extraterrestrials,
the ant people.
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The Hopi have this concept
of the ant people.
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Uh, the ant people are very thin.
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They have elongated heads.
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And the ancestral Hopi people...
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did make pictures of these ant people
which still survive today.
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[ Narrator]
Is it possible the rock art found here...
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and elsewhere around the world...
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is evidence that
the earth's first inhabitants...
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had contact with otherworldly beings?
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And if so, might there be some
significance to the fact...
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that many of these strange petroglyphs
are found in and around caves?
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Ancient astronaut theorists say yes...
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and suggest further evidence
can be found...
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by examining the ritualistic practices...
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that continue to be performed
inside caves even to this day.
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The Himalayas, Northern India.
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- [ Chattering ]
- [ Horse whinnying ]
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Every summer, hundreds of thousands
of Hindu pilgrims...
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brave an arduous journey.
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They cross many miles of deadly terrain...
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to reach the Amarnath Cave-
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a place of worship for thousands of years.
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12,756 feet above sea level
in the Himalayas...
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is the most revered holy pilgrimage site...
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for all of the people
who follow the Hindu faith.
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[ Man ] People die because
of high-altitude sickness.
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Others simply fall off the cliff.
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And still, people go there...
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because it is considered to be
the most holiest, uh, shrine.
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[ Narrator]
According to local lore...
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this massive cave
is where the god Shiva...
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revealed the secrets of immortality
and the creation of the universe...
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to his wife, Parvati.
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[Shouting In Foreign Language]
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To honor Shiva, worshipers pay
their respects to a sacred relic inside...
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an ice lingam...
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which they believe is a physical
manifestation of his generative power.
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To reveal the secret
to transcending the flesh...
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the secret to true immortality...
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makes that site of extreme importance
to the people in the Hindu faith.
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[Shouting ]
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[ Narrator]
To the Hindu faithful...
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who risk life and limb
to reach the Amarnath Cave...
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this story is a real account
of an otherworldly being. -.
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Who was at this exact location
here on Earth.
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But why would Lord Shiva choose
to divulge his divine secrets in a cave?
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Could caves really hold
special properties...
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that have made them places
of worship throughout history?
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Interestingly, the Amarnath Cave...
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is only one of hundreds of caves
around the world...
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that have been, at one time,
considered sacred.
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Archaeologists believe...
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00:12:58.570 --> 00:13:03.284
a 20-foot long serpentine rock carving
in Botswana's Rhino Cave...
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was the focus of religious ritual
as far back as 70,000 years ago.
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And cave monasteries
can be found in France...
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Russia...
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00:13:16.297 --> 00:13:18.132
Thailand...
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Ethiopia...
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and Hungary. ..
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Just to name a few.
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[ Man ]
I don't think that this is a coincidence...
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that places of refuge, spiritual refuge,
are inside caves.
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This is where one can contemplate...
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one can hear one's inner voice...
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without the distractions of the day.
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One thing about caves is
they're underground. They're unseen.
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Well, religion is about unseen things.
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Going into a cave is going
into holy ground.
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[Chattering ]
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[ Narrator]
Is the mysterious nature of caves...
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00:14:03.427 --> 00:14:07.681
enough to explain why they have
been revered as sacred places...
200
00:14:07.765 --> 00:14:12.311
by different cultures and religions
all over the World?
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00:14:12.394 --> 00:14:17.149
Ancient' astronaut theorists suggest
there may be a more profound reason...
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00:14:17.232 --> 00:14:22.196
which can be found by examining
the stories behind our ancestors' rituals.
203
00:14:30.704 --> 00:14:33.582
Yucatan, Mexico, 2008.
204
00:14:36.100 --> 00:14:40.214
Mexican archaeologists exploring
just outside the capital of Merida...
205
00:14:40.881 --> 00:14:42.925
make an historic discovery-
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00:14:43.800 --> 00:14:48.130
an aquatic underworld full of mysterious
offerings to the Mayan gods...
207
00:14:48.970 --> 00:14:50.391
including human sacrifices.
208
00:14:53.143 --> 00:14:56.188
What they found
was a system of 14 caves...
209
00:14:56.271 --> 00:14:59.358
and in them were stone temples...
210
00:14:59.441 --> 00:15:01.318
and they were all linked together.
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00:15:01.402 --> 00:15:04.238
And it was thought
that what they had discovered...
212
00:15:04.321 --> 00:15:08.330
was the Mayan underworld
known as Xibalba.
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00:15:10.160 --> 00:15:11.829
[Young ]
Some of this work is underwater.
214
00:15:11.912 --> 00:15:14.152
Divers would have had
to hold their breath and go down...
215
00:15:14.206 --> 00:15:16.583
and do carving underwater
to make this possible.
216
00:15:16.667 --> 00:15:18.919
They were very devout,
to be sure.
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00:15:24.842 --> 00:15:28.950
[ Narrator] Central to the heavily
Mayan ritualistic society...
218
00:15:28.178 --> 00:15:32.683
was the belief that in order for them
to rejoin the gods in the next life...
219
00:15:32.766 --> 00:15:37.563
the dead must make their way
through a dark and perilous journey.
220
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In the mythology of the Maya...
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00:15:39.356 --> 00:15:42.568
we have these incredible
references to Xibalba...
222
00:15:42.651 --> 00:15:45.863
which means “the underworld.”
223
00:15:47.364 --> 00:15:50.284
And we can read about it in the PopolVuh...
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00:15:50.367 --> 00:15:53.370
which is the book of the Jaguar priests.
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[ Narrator]
Some historians believe...
226
00:16:00.127 --> 00:16:02.671
that the caves discovered in 2008...
227
00:16:02.754 --> 00:16:05.924
are indeed those caves
that represented for the Maya...
228
00:16:06.800 --> 00:16:10.137
the passageway to Xibalba,
the underworld.
229
00:16:10.220 --> 00:16:12.556
But ancient astronaut theorists propose...
230
00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:16.180
Xibalba has a more cosmic connection.
231
00:16:17.102 --> 00:16:21.640
One of the most famous code breakers-
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00:16:21.148 --> 00:16:23.567
her name was Dr. Linda Schele.
233
00:16:26.111 --> 00:16:29.990
She dealt with the Maya language
all her life.
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00:16:30.730 --> 00:16:33.577
She is actually one of the people
who have suggested...
235
00:16:34.620 --> 00:16:38.665
that there is another
meaning for Xibalba...
236
00:16:38.749 --> 00:16:40.751
and that's “the Milky Way.”
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00:16:42.753 --> 00:16:44.814
[ Man ] To the Mayans,
who were very good astronomers...
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00:16:44.838 --> 00:16:48.926
this represented the passageway
to another world-Xibalba-
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00:16:50.886 --> 00:16:53.305
the middle of the Milky Way.
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00:16:56.183 --> 00:16:58.435
So when they refer to the underworld...
241
00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:01.688
they're actually referring
to the sky above.
242
00:17:03.899 --> 00:17:07.903
[WILCOCK ] This suggests that the cave
could be a portal...
243
00:17:09.738 --> 00:17:14.701
in which extraterrestrials
are actually able to come and go freely...
244
00:17:14.785 --> 00:17:17.788
from their plane of existence to our own.
245
00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:25.462
[ Narrator] Is it possible
that the Mayan stories of Xibalba...
246
00:17:25.546 --> 00:17:28.632
were not describing
a passageway to the afterlife...
247
00:17:28.715 --> 00:17:31.969
but a portal to another part
of the universe?
248
00:17:33.762 --> 00:17:36.560
Ancient astronaut theorists suggest...
249
00:17:36.139 --> 00:17:38.892
that caves have become places of ritual...
250
00:17:38.976 --> 00:17:42.980
because they have a direct
connection to extraterrestrials...
251
00:17:43.630 --> 00:17:46.660
and claim that further
proof can be found...
252
00:17:46.149 --> 00:17:50.487
by examining the mysterious
Sky Caves of Nepal.
253
00:17:56.702 --> 00:17:59.788
Shikoku Island, Japan.
254
00:17:59.871 --> 00:18:01.873
The eighth century AD.
255
00:18:04.840 --> 00:18:06.336
A young monk named Saeki Mao...
256
00:18:06.420 --> 00:18:09.381
was deep in the mountains
doing his spiritual training...
257
00:18:09.464 --> 00:18:13.719
when he decided to enter a small cave
called Mikurodo and meditate.
258
00:18:15.387 --> 00:18:17.431
While inside, he had an encounter...
259
00:18:17.514 --> 00:18:20.934
that he would later credit
with bringing him enlightenment...
260
00:18:22.190 --> 00:18:25.939
and he emerged from the cave
as Kukai, a high priest-
261
00:18:26.230 --> 00:18:30.193
who would become one of Japan's
most important historical figures.
262
00:18:33.300 --> 00:18:37.284
Many Buddhists have reported
enlightening experiences in caves.
263
00:18:37.367 --> 00:18:40.662
And one of the most famous stories
involves the monk Kukai.
264
00:18:41.830 --> 00:18:45.375
He is the individual who brought
esoteric Buddhism, Shingon Buddhism...
265
00:18:45.459 --> 00:18:47.377
to Japan from China.
266
00:18:47.461 --> 00:18:49.588
And according to his autobiography...
267
00:18:49.671 --> 00:18:52.841
he was meditating in a cave
at Cape Muroto.
268
00:18:52.924 --> 00:18:55.802
And he had fixed his eyes
on the morning star.
269
00:18:55.886 --> 00:18:58.889
The morning star flew towards him...
270
00:18:58.972 --> 00:19:01.160
entered his mouth...
271
00:19:01.990 --> 00:19:05.854
and in front of him he saw
an image of the Bodhisattva Akasagarbha.
272
00:19:05.937 --> 00:19:09.399
And Akasagarbha, in Japanese,
is known as Kokuzo Bosatsu.
273
00:19:11.234 --> 00:19:15.322
So, we have this spiritual being
surrounded by light-
274
00:19:15.405 --> 00:19:19.340
perhaps he even used the light
to travel there.
275
00:19:24.247 --> 00:19:28.335
[ Narrator] After this encounter,
Kukai suddenly had great wisdom...
276
00:19:28.418 --> 00:19:33.480
including the ability to comprehend
85,000 Buddhist texts.
277
00:19:34.910 --> 00:19:36.968
But what happened inside Mikurodo Cave...
278
00:19:37.520 --> 00:19:40.347
that allowed Kukai to enter
this enlightened state?
279
00:19:40.847 --> 00:19:45.519
Kokuzo appeared to Kukai in the cave
when he was in his trance...
280
00:19:45.602 --> 00:19:50.357
and basically, informed him that
he was a conduit to the universe.
281
00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:52.150
And it channeled through his body...
282
00:19:52.234 --> 00:19:54.945
and he could tell you anything
about the stars, the planet.
283
00:19:55.280 --> 00:19:58.115
It was almost as if he were tapped
into a database.
284
00:20:00.534 --> 00:20:03.662
Some even perceive that the cave
is similar to a womb.
285
00:20:03.745 --> 00:20:06.289
So a human being enters
as a normal mortal.
286
00:20:06.373 --> 00:20:10.544
They engage in ascetic or meditative
discipline within the cave.
287
00:20:11.461 --> 00:20:14.715
And when they exit the cave,
they're no longer a typical mortal...
288
00:20:14.798 --> 00:20:17.175
but they're more akin to a saint...
289
00:20:18.260 --> 00:20:19.928
or even a Buddha.
290
00:20:25.851 --> 00:20:29.354
[ Narrator] But could the enlightenment
found inside caves...
291
00:20:29.438 --> 00:20:33.316
be coming from an extraterrestrial source
inside the earth?
292
00:20:34.568 --> 00:20:37.571
Some ancient astronaut theorists say yes...
293
00:20:37.654 --> 00:20:39.823
and suggest evidence of this...
294
00:20:39.906 --> 00:20:43.744
might be found in the fabled nirvana
known as Shambala...
295
00:20:43.827 --> 00:20:47.330
and the Sky Caves of Mustang in Nepal.
296
00:20:49.916 --> 00:20:52.753
Some say Shambala is a mythical city...
297
00:20:52.836 --> 00:20:55.589
that's located somewhere
in the mountains in the Himalayas.
298
00:20:57.424 --> 00:21:00.677
Its inhabitants are supposed to be
fully enlightened beings...
299
00:21:00.761 --> 00:21:03.889
who have access to a great amount
of technology...
300
00:21:03.972 --> 00:21:06.683
which comes from the enlightenment itself.
301
00:21:08.852 --> 00:21:10.413
[ Mott]
Buddhism has always seen caves...
302
00:21:10.437 --> 00:21:13.565
as more or less a conduit
to altered states of consciousness...
303
00:21:15.358 --> 00:21:18.361
to other civilizations that may exist
inside the earth.
304
00:21:21.907 --> 00:21:24.785
The Sky Caves in Mustang are interesting...
305
00:21:24.868 --> 00:21:28.872
because there are a hundred or so
man-made caves...
306
00:21:28.955 --> 00:21:31.541
carved into the faces of cliffs.
307
00:21:31.625 --> 00:21:35.962
And are only accessible
by these huge vertical shafts.
308
00:21:36.963 --> 00:21:41.718
And inside these caves, we have
huge statues of Buddhas, bodhisattvas.
309
00:21:48.600 --> 00:21:51.603
[ Narrator]
And Buddhists are not alone in this belief.
310
00:21:51.686 --> 00:21:57.359
Hindus also revere caves as places
where monks can go to find wisdom.
311
00:21:58.568 --> 00:22:01.905
The Sadhu are Indian holy men
who, basically...
312
00:22:01.988 --> 00:22:06.701
lead a life of depravation,
self-imposed exile in caves...
313
00:22:06.785 --> 00:22:10.664
so that they can enter
these altered states of consciousness.
314
00:22:10.747 --> 00:22:14.584
They definitely believe
that caves are a conduit...
315
00:22:14.668 --> 00:22:17.963
to communicating with nonhuman entities.
316
00:22:18.460 --> 00:22:22.300
It's almost as though they're opening
a doorway into a spiritual consciousness...
317
00:22:22.384 --> 00:22:25.929
in which they are able to communicate
with these divine beings...
318
00:22:26.120 --> 00:22:28.849
and hopefully become divine themselves.
319
00:22:34.187 --> 00:22:36.439
[ Narrator] Other important
figures throughout history...
320
00:22:36.523 --> 00:22:39.150
also attribute their
life-altering epiphanies...
321
00:22:39.234 --> 00:22:42.320
to mysterious encounters
that happened in caves.
322
00:22:43.697 --> 00:22:47.909
In the life of the great
artist and inventor, Leonardo da Vinci-
323
00:22:48.785 --> 00:22:53.248
he'd had some unusual but important
experience at the mouth of a cave.
324
00:22:54.624 --> 00:22:56.793
Right after that,
he disappeared for two years.
325
00:22:57.752 --> 00:22:59.546
And fight after that...
326
00:22:59.629 --> 00:23:03.174
he began this spurt of creativity
that was awesome.
327
00:23:04.900 --> 00:23:05.719
In art and in science...
328
00:23:05.802 --> 00:23:10.181
he invented the first self-propelled
vehicle and imagined flying machines.
329
00:23:11.391 --> 00:23:14.603
[ Man ] Joseph Smith wrote
that an angel appeared to him...
330
00:23:14.686 --> 00:23:18.356
with the name of Moroni in the year 1827-
331
00:23:19.608 --> 00:23:23.403
told to Joseph Smith-
he should go to a certain little hill.
332
00:23:23.486 --> 00:23:26.720
He should pull the stone plate away...
333
00:23:26.156 --> 00:23:28.366
and inside, he would find a cave.
334
00:23:28.450 --> 00:23:31.703
And in the cave,
he would find unknown writings.
335
00:23:32.746 --> 00:23:36.166
As all good Mormons know,
he found the golden tablets...
336
00:23:36.249 --> 00:23:38.251
which contained a vast amount of data.
337
00:23:44.507 --> 00:23:46.718
[ Narrator]
Why are there so many accounts of humans...
338
00:23:46.801 --> 00:23:50.180
having enlightening experiences
inside caves?
339
00:23:51.723 --> 00:23:54.100
Is there something
about caves themselves...
340
00:23:54.184 --> 00:23:57.312
that facilitate such
extraordinary experiences?
341
00:23:58.772 --> 00:24:04.110
Could it be that these people are coming into
contact with an extraterrestrial presence?
342
00:24:05.445 --> 00:24:07.572
Ancient astronaut theorists suggest...
343
00:24:07.656 --> 00:24:13.119
that cosmic knowledge may be stored in the
very walls of these caves themselves...
344
00:24:13.203 --> 00:24:17.400
and that the proof can be found
in Central America...
345
00:24:17.123 --> 00:24:20.430
1,000 feet underground.
346
00:24:30.637 --> 00:24:32.472
Chihuahua, Mexico.
347
00:24:32.555 --> 00:24:34.432
April, 2000.
348
00:24:36.142 --> 00:24:41.640
Miners excavating 1,000 feet below
the mineral-rich town of Naica...
349
00:24:42.315 --> 00:24:46.403
drill through a cave wall
and make a stunning discovery-
350
00:24:47.904 --> 00:24:53.368
a glittering cavern full of giant crystals
that are half a million years old.
351
00:24:58.810 --> 00:24:59.791
The Cueva de los Cristales,
352
00:24:59.874 --> 00:25:03.420
or the Crystal Cave of Northern Mexico-
is a very unique site.
353
00:25:04.587 --> 00:25:07.173
And we're talking crystals
as big around as a car...
354
00:25:07.257 --> 00:25:10.802
that stretched from the floor
to the ceiling of the cavern.
355
00:25:10.885 --> 00:25:13.540
It's a remarkable thing to see.
356
00:25:14.556 --> 00:25:17.517
The incredible Cave of the Crystals
in Mexico...
357
00:25:17.600 --> 00:25:20.270
was just accidentally found...
358
00:25:21.563 --> 00:25:24.858
and the discoverers
were completely astounded...
359
00:25:24.941 --> 00:25:27.944
with these giant gypsum crystals.
360
00:25:31.114 --> 00:25:33.116
It's fantastic...
361
00:25:33.199 --> 00:25:37.787
and it reminds a person
of the Fortress of Solitude of Superman...
362
00:25:37.871 --> 00:25:42.208
where all this information is encoded
into these giant crystals.
363
00:25:44.419 --> 00:25:46.129
[ Hawkes ]
Now, the significance of this...
364
00:25:46.212 --> 00:25:49.966
is extremely important to the indigenous
people of Northern Mexico...
365
00:25:50.500 --> 00:25:52.177
in fact, all of Mesoamerica...
366
00:25:52.260 --> 00:25:56.181
in that the crystals themselves
were considered sacred.
367
00:25:57.432 --> 00:25:58.975
They vibrated.
368
00:25:59.590 --> 00:26:02.395
And they believed there was also
some properties involved in crystals...
369
00:26:02.479 --> 00:26:05.440
that would provide them a way
to communicate with the gods.
370
00:26:07.984 --> 00:26:11.710
Many ancient myths tell us that
there are magical apparatus...
371
00:26:11.154 --> 00:26:13.156
that are made out of rock
or stone or crystal.
372
00:26:14.991 --> 00:26:17.831
[ Man ] if we look at the properties
of many of the caverns and caves...
373
00:26:17.911 --> 00:26:22.499
we see that there's usually some type
of lining of crystal or quartz...
374
00:26:22.582 --> 00:26:26.753
and we know that crystal
has a vast ability to store information.
375
00:26:26.836 --> 00:26:30.600
Maybe some of these caves
are actually storing information...
376
00:26:30.900 --> 00:26:34.803
and that ancient people who meditate
in caverns are tapping into this knowledge.
377
00:26:38.431 --> 00:26:41.170
[ Narrator] Might caves that are
rich in quartz or crystal...
378
00:26:41.101 --> 00:26:45.688
really possess some special power
that' our ancestors were aware of?
379
00:26:46.564 --> 00:26:49.567
Ancient astronaut theorists point out...
380
00:26:49.651 --> 00:26:53.905
that the scientists today are discovering
that crystals do, in fact...
381
00:26:53.988 --> 00:26:56.449
have very unique properties.
382
00:26:58.284 --> 00:27:00.995
[ Man ]
Quartz and other crystalline structures...
383
00:27:01.790 --> 00:27:05.333
oscillate at incredibly well-defined
frequencies when you hit them mechanically...
384
00:27:05.416 --> 00:27:08.336
and they can be activated electrically...
385
00:27:08.419 --> 00:27:11.470
through an effect known as
the “piezoelectric effect.”
386
00:27:11.131 --> 00:27:13.133
So you can put quartz in a watch...
387
00:27:13.216 --> 00:27:17.220
and use it as a very accurate
timekeeping device.
388
00:27:17.303 --> 00:27:21.391
So quartz could be used in conducting
or communicating certain signals.
389
00:27:22.725 --> 00:27:25.353
[ Narrator]
In the Silicon Valley of California...
390
00:27:25.436 --> 00:27:30.483
quartz is used to manufacture the small
integrated circuits found in computers...
391
00:27:30.567 --> 00:27:33.903
because of its strong
semiconducting properties.
392
00:27:34.946 --> 00:27:39.409
Computer chips are also made
with a form of the mineral quartzite...
393
00:27:39.492 --> 00:27:41.870
which is a highly-condensed form
of quartz.
394
00:27:43.790 --> 00:27:48.293
Today, computer engineers are working
on how to physically manipulate crystals...
395
00:27:48.376 --> 00:27:52.880
so that digital data can be stored
inside them forever.
396
00:27:53.173 --> 00:27:56.676
The media has dubbed these
hard drives of the future-
397
00:27:56.759 --> 00:27:58.761
“Superman memory crystals.”
398
00:28:01.598 --> 00:28:05.590
So, Superman is one of our superheroes
who came from outer space.
399
00:28:05.143 --> 00:28:06.728
He came from the planet Krypton.
400
00:28:06.811 --> 00:28:08.813
It was in the process of being destroyed...
401
00:28:08.897 --> 00:28:12.275
so his parents saved him
and sent him in a spaceship to our planet.
402
00:28:12.358 --> 00:28:15.778
One of the interesting things
in the Superman story...
403
00:28:15.862 --> 00:28:20.825
is that his father was able to program
a crystal that traveled with him...
404
00:28:20.909 --> 00:28:24.204
that he was able to use to construct
the Fortress of Solitude from.
405
00:28:24.287 --> 00:28:28.410
And it was basically a crystal structure,
essentially a cave...
406
00:28:28.124 --> 00:28:30.501
where he could both get away from things...
407
00:28:30.585 --> 00:28:34.964
and he could use the crystals in there
to get information.
408
00:28:35.480 --> 00:28:38.301
So one of the things that's interesting
in the Fortress of Solitude...
409
00:28:38.384 --> 00:28:42.555
is the way that the quartz technology,
or the crystal technology...
410
00:28:42.639 --> 00:28:44.891
seems to be underlying everything.
411
00:28:44.974 --> 00:28:48.686
And so a future that we're looking at
is using light in computing.
412
00:28:48.770 --> 00:28:52.357
You have to figure out ways
to trap light and to store it-
413
00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:56.819
basically, to create bits on and off
and have the light last long enough...
414
00:28:56.903 --> 00:28:59.155
that the signal stays there
and the memory is stored.
415
00:29:04.744 --> 00:29:07.800
[ Narrator]
Was the power of crystals...
416
00:29:07.163 --> 00:29:09.999
something the ancients
not only knew about...
417
00:29:10.830 --> 00:29:14.921
but utilized by building structures
that would harness and transmit it?
418
00:29:15.400 --> 00:29:19.842
[ MARTELL ] A lot of the pyramids had either
granite or some type of crystal-lined surface.
419
00:29:19.926 --> 00:29:22.720
For instance, Giza,
those great pyramids were topped...
420
00:29:22.804 --> 00:29:26.182
with an obelisk made of
shiny granite crystal.
421
00:29:27.809 --> 00:29:29.602
And when we look at an obelisk...
422
00:29:29.686 --> 00:29:33.220
it very much resembles some type
of power rod, maybe a Tesla coil.
423
00:29:36.943 --> 00:29:39.862
Ancient times, the obelisk was always
a symbol of power.
424
00:29:39.946 --> 00:29:42.865
Maybe this wasn't just emotional power...
425
00:29:42.949 --> 00:29:47.328
but actual physical power that was being
harnessed by these objects.
426
00:29:49.956 --> 00:29:53.459
Crystals are transformers.
They hold energy.
427
00:29:53.543 --> 00:29:57.880
And, indeed,
caves are thought of as “hot spots”...
428
00:29:57.171 --> 00:29:59.882
where you have Earth energy
emerging from the planet.
429
00:30:05.888 --> 00:30:07.348
[ Narrator]
If scientists today...
430
00:30:07.432 --> 00:30:10.643
are looking into the technological
uses for crystal...
431
00:30:10.727 --> 00:30:14.564
is it possible that there
are extraterrestrial civilizations...
432
00:30:14.647 --> 00:30:17.233
that have already mastered this technology?
433
00:30:19.277 --> 00:30:22.113
Ancient astronaut theorists say yes...
434
00:30:22.196 --> 00:30:25.325
and that the mineral properties
found inside caves...
435
00:30:25.408 --> 00:30:29.412
have enabled some of the world's
most astounding miracles.
436
00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:40.673
Bethlehem.
437
00:30:44.510 --> 00:30:46.262
The Church of the Nativity...
438
00:30:46.346 --> 00:30:51.351
built around 330 AD by the first
Christian Roman emperor, Constantine...
439
00:30:51.434 --> 00:30:55.605
is one of the oldest continuously
operating churches in the world...
440
00:30:58.232 --> 00:31:03.738
having survived invasions, regime changes,
fires and earthquakes.
441
00:31:06.157 --> 00:31:11.370
Many claim that the church
is protected by a higher power...
442
00:31:11.120 --> 00:31:15.124
because it sits above a cave
that some Bible scholars believe...
443
00:31:15.208 --> 00:31:18.544
to be the true birthplace
of Jesus Christ.
444
00:31:21.297 --> 00:31:25.134
There are many books about the story
of Christ's life, Jesus' life...
445
00:31:25.218 --> 00:31:27.345
which never made their
way into the Bible...
446
00:31:27.428 --> 00:31:29.722
and one of them was called
the “Protoevangelium of James.”
447
00:31:31.474 --> 00:31:34.394
And in that story, Joseph and Mary
are approaching Bethlehem...
448
00:31:34.477 --> 00:31:36.521
and Mary says,
“I'm going to give birth.”
449
00:31:36.604 --> 00:31:40.358
And he thinks for a minute.
He said, “Ah, I know a cave near here.”
450
00:31:40.441 --> 00:31:44.278
And they're met at the entrance
to the cave by a brilliant light.
451
00:31:44.362 --> 00:31:46.364
And when the light dissipates...
452
00:31:46.447 --> 00:31:50.827
there is Mary holding Christ in her arms.
453
00:31:50.910 --> 00:31:52.954
And if you look at Byzantine painting...
454
00:31:53.370 --> 00:31:56.874
the nativity is always
represented in a cave.
455
00:31:58.376 --> 00:32:00.461
[ Narrator]
According to the Gospel of Luke...
456
00:32:00.545 --> 00:32:04.590
Mary gave birth and places
the baby Jesus in a manger...
457
00:32:04.674 --> 00:32:08.100
but no actual location
for the nativity is given.
458
00:32:09.950 --> 00:32:10.805
It is known, however...
459
00:32:10.888 --> 00:32:15.685
that caves at the time were commonly
used as shelter for livestock.
460
00:32:18.187 --> 00:32:19.981
Going back to the third century...
461
00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:22.942
they started this idea
that he was actually born in a cave.
462
00:32:24.694 --> 00:32:29.407
But then they also describe
the tomb of resurrection as a cave...
463
00:32:29.490 --> 00:32:34.120
as a simple hollowed-out room that
had this circular stone at the entranceway.
464
00:32:35.790 --> 00:32:38.458
[ Gervers ] The Bible does make a point that
when Christ was taken from the cross...
465
00:32:38.541 --> 00:32:40.209
and he's buried in a rock-cut tomb.
466
00:32:41.711 --> 00:32:45.214
There does seem to be
a mystical environment here-
467
00:32:45.298 --> 00:32:47.758
this idea of a cave being a place...
468
00:32:47.842 --> 00:32:52.930
where someone who is of divinity comes
and someone who is of divinity leaves.
469
00:32:53.140 --> 00:32:56.225
So it's almost as if passages
are happening in caves.
470
00:32:57.226 --> 00:33:01.481
Constantine's building program
of churches in the Holy Land...
471
00:33:01.564 --> 00:33:04.650
began by building churches over caves...
472
00:33:04.734 --> 00:33:07.403
associated with key mysteries of the faith.
473
00:33:07.487 --> 00:33:11.824
He built a church
over the site of Jesus' birth.
474
00:33:11.908 --> 00:33:15.912
He built a church over the site
of Jesus' crucifixion...
475
00:33:15.995 --> 00:33:18.998
where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
stands today.
476
00:33:19.810 --> 00:33:21.709
And he built a church
on the Mount of Olives...
477
00:33:21.792 --> 00:33:26.297
over a cave associated with the site
of his ascension into heaven.
478
00:33:31.552 --> 00:33:33.804
[ Narrator]
Is there some significance to the fact...
479
00:33:33.888 --> 00:33:36.849
that both Jesus'
birthplace and resurrection...
480
00:33:36.933 --> 00:33:39.477
may have occurred inside caves?
481
00:33:40.478 --> 00:33:43.689
Some ancient astronaut theorists say yes...
482
00:33:43.773 --> 00:33:46.692
and claim there may even be
physical evidence...
483
00:33:46.776 --> 00:33:48.903
that what happened within these caves...
484
00:33:48.986 --> 00:33:51.948
was something other than miraculous.
485
00:33:52.310 --> 00:33:56.285
The Shroud of Turin is certainly the most
important relic of the resurrection-
486
00:33:56.369 --> 00:34:00.540
this extraordinary imprint
of the crucified body on this cloth...
487
00:34:00.623 --> 00:34:04.544
that no one has ever been able
to accurately explain or reproduce.
488
00:34:04.627 --> 00:34:06.295
[ Mott]
When Jesus was in the tomb...
489
00:34:06.379 --> 00:34:09.215
and some believe there
was an intense burst of energy...
490
00:34:09.298 --> 00:34:11.801
which created what we now call
the Shroud of Turin...
491
00:34:12.927 --> 00:34:15.930
as some form of radiation
which was very intense and powerful.
492
00:34:16.597 --> 00:34:19.580
[COPPENS]
We know with 21st Century technology...
493
00:34:19.141 --> 00:34:22.562
that the Shroud of Turin
is a first-century garment.
494
00:34:22.645 --> 00:34:24.730
And we know,
beyond a shadow of a doubt...
495
00:34:24.814 --> 00:34:27.858
that it could not have been painted
or in any way created.
496
00:34:27.942 --> 00:34:31.445
So the Shroud of Turin gives us
this exceptional piece of evidence...
497
00:34:31.529 --> 00:34:34.991
that something powerful
happened in that tomb.
498
00:34:35.741 --> 00:34:39.495
[ Mott] And when people came
to see him the next day to view his body...
499
00:34:39.579 --> 00:34:41.581
he was gone.
500
00:34:41.664 --> 00:34:44.625
Two shining beings, nonhuman beings...
501
00:34:44.709 --> 00:34:47.169
met these two witnesses
outside the tomb...
502
00:34:47.253 --> 00:34:50.965
and informed them that Christ had arisen
and that he had departed.
503
00:34:52.341 --> 00:34:53.901
[ Henry]
it's possible that that cave...
504
00:34:53.926 --> 00:34:56.929
was acting as a sort of
a gateway or a portal...
505
00:34:57.130 --> 00:35:01.934
because in many of these stories,
the caves link Earth and heaven.
506
00:35:10.318 --> 00:35:11.944
[ Narrator]
Could the Shroud of Turin...
507
00:35:12.280 --> 00:35:15.489
really be evidence that
something of a technological...
508
00:35:15.573 --> 00:35:17.867
as well as a spiritual nature...
509
00:35:17.950 --> 00:35:22.371
took place in the cave where
many believe Jesus was resurrected?
510
00:35:26.626 --> 00:35:30.796
Reports of humans
encountering the divine in or near caves...
511
00:35:30.880 --> 00:35:35.259
come from all corners of the globe
going back thousands of years.
512
00:35:37.303 --> 00:35:41.349
[ Carter ] We look at
the prophet Muhammad at Mount Hira.
513
00:35:41.432 --> 00:35:45.144
He's in a mountain in a cave.
He's praying and meditating.
514
00:35:45.227 --> 00:35:47.772
He hears the voice of Gabriel.
515
00:35:47.855 --> 00:35:51.734
"Iqra, Iqra." which means
to "recite, recite."
516
00:35:51.817 --> 00:35:54.737
And so, he recites the Koran.
517
00:35:56.197 --> 00:35:58.282
According to the Hebrew tradition...
518
00:35:58.366 --> 00:36:03.412
the prophet Elijah,
who existed around 9 BCE...
519
00:36:03.496 --> 00:36:05.665
lived in a cave.
520
00:36:09.669 --> 00:36:13.464
According to Greek mythology,
Zeus was born in a cave.
521
00:36:13.547 --> 00:36:17.176
[ Thunderclap]
522
00:36:17.259 --> 00:36:21.970
And caves are often understood,
in religious traditions...
523
00:36:21.180 --> 00:36:23.516
to be gateways to the underworld.
524
00:36:24.392 --> 00:36:29.105
So, caves are worshipped
throughout the Mediterranean...
525
00:36:29.188 --> 00:36:32.400
usually because a god is
associated with that cave.
526
00:36:32.483 --> 00:36:35.111
A god is worshipped
in a cave or in a grotto.
527
00:36:38.906 --> 00:36:40.866
[ Thunderclap]
528
00:36:40.950 --> 00:36:45.371
[ Narrator] Could the stories of Zeus,
Muhammad and even Jesus...
529
00:36:46.205 --> 00:36:49.500
be evidence that the world's
subterranean caverns...
530
00:36:49.583 --> 00:36:53.379
might be portals that connect us
to other realms...
531
00:36:53.462 --> 00:36:56.298
as ancient astronaut theorists suggest?
532
00:36:57.258 --> 00:36:59.635
Perhaps the answer will be found...
533
00:36:59.719 --> 00:37:01.887
with new cutting-edge technology...
534
00:37:01.971 --> 00:37:05.474
designed to uncover
secrets in cave walls...
535
00:37:05.558 --> 00:37:07.893
not visible to the naked eye.
536
00:37:15.609 --> 00:37:19.363
Santa Monica, California, 2014.
537
00:37:20.531 --> 00:37:22.700
Here at xRez Studio...
538
00:37:22.783 --> 00:37:26.495
visualization artists
Greg Downing and Eric Hanson...
539
00:37:26.579 --> 00:37:31.834
are pioneering the use of photogrammetry
and special-effects software...
540
00:37:31.917 --> 00:37:37.890
to assist archaeologists in the global
effort to decipher ancient cave art.
541
00:37:40.676 --> 00:37:42.720
We use a combination of techniques...
542
00:37:42.803 --> 00:37:46.682
from the fields of computational
photography and graphics...
543
00:37:46.766 --> 00:37:49.351
in order to help the archaeologists
reveal information...
544
00:37:49.435 --> 00:37:52.813
difficult to see just with basic vision
when you're there.
545
00:37:52.897 --> 00:37:56.192
[ Narrator] The team recently
traveled to the Grand Canyon...
546
00:37:56.275 --> 00:38:00.613
to compile a massive,
in-depth photographic compilation...
547
00:38:00.696 --> 00:38:05.117
of the collection of strange petroglyphs
known as the Shaman's Panel.
548
00:38:05.201 --> 00:38:07.870
We were drawn to the panel
for two primary aspects.
549
00:38:07.953 --> 00:38:11.874
One was the rich layering
of the anthropomorphic figures...
550
00:38:11.957 --> 00:38:16.879
and two is the kind of evocative,
surreal nature of their composition.
551
00:38:19.131 --> 00:38:22.301
[ Downing ] This cave is maybe,
like, five- or six-feet deep.
552
00:38:22.384 --> 00:38:24.804
So, by using a photogrammetric technique...
553
00:38:24.887 --> 00:38:28.307
we're able to get the detail
across the entire painting.
554
00:38:31.185 --> 00:38:33.312
[ Hanson ]
The nice thing about this technique is...
555
00:38:33.395 --> 00:38:36.649
we can separate the different
dyes and minerals that are used.
556
00:38:36.732 --> 00:38:40.486
And in this case, now we can kind of
see the layering expressed-
557
00:38:40.569 --> 00:38:44.949
we can see figures that are simply
lost by the naked eye.
558
00:38:48.494 --> 00:38:50.621
Yeah, that brings it out.
559
00:38:50.704 --> 00:38:52.873
Yeah, it's a complete difference.
560
00:38:59.880 --> 00:39:01.340
[ Narrator]
Could modern techniques one day...
561
00:39:01.423 --> 00:39:05.761
uncover even more details about
what ancient people really saw...
562
00:39:05.845 --> 00:39:08.722
and hoped to communicate
with rock art?
563
00:39:09.807 --> 00:39:13.477
Some ancient astronaut theorists
believe one compelling clue...
564
00:39:13.561 --> 00:39:16.772
that modern researchers
might be on the right track...
565
00:39:16.856 --> 00:39:18.858
can be found, oddly enough...
566
00:39:18.941 --> 00:39:21.944
in contemporary America.
567
00:39:25.489 --> 00:39:28.617
March, 1945.
568
00:39:28.701 --> 00:39:32.663
Amazing Stories magazine
publishes an article entitled...
569
00:39:32.746 --> 00:39:35.291
“I Remember Lemuria!”
570
00:39:35.374 --> 00:39:37.420
But according to the author...
571
00:39:37.126 --> 00:39:40.462
this is the first piece to appear
in the science fiction magazine...
572
00:39:40.546 --> 00:39:42.965
that is not fiction at all...
573
00:39:43.924 --> 00:39:48.762
but an actual account
of his own alien abduction.
574
00:39:50.556 --> 00:39:53.684
[ REDFERN ] Richard Shaver was a man
who surfaced decades ago...
575
00:39:53.767 --> 00:39:57.187
with a story of underground entities...
576
00:39:57.271 --> 00:39:59.273
that were very hostile to the human race.
577
00:40:00.858 --> 00:40:04.987
Terrible creatures that would kidnap
and kill members of the human the race.
578
00:40:06.322 --> 00:40:08.991
[ Man ] They were the first
inhabitants of planet Earth.
579
00:40:09.740 --> 00:40:12.360
When the sun became radioactive...
580
00:40:12.119 --> 00:40:14.747
these people could no longer
live on the surface.
581
00:40:15.998 --> 00:40:20.850
Some left in their spaceships.
Others went underground.
582
00:40:26.342 --> 00:40:28.280
[ Narrator]
Could Richard Shaver's account...
583
00:40:28.520 --> 00:40:32.723
of underground extraterrestrials
abducting humans be true?
584
00:40:33.599 --> 00:40:38.200
Shaver proposed that the alien race
that once populated the earth...
585
00:40:38.103 --> 00:40:40.731
had developed
highly specialized equipment...
586
00:40:40.814 --> 00:40:45.694
that allowed them to embed
multifaceted imagery into stones.
587
00:40:46.862 --> 00:40:49.698
[ Man ] Richard Shaver
believed that he had made...
588
00:40:49.782 --> 00:40:52.785
the greatest discovery
in the history of mankind...
589
00:40:52.868 --> 00:40:55.955
about the true nature
of intelligent life on Earth.
590
00:41:01.377 --> 00:41:05.881
So this is an original Shaver
photograph of a rock book.
591
00:41:06.799 --> 00:41:11.136
And this multidimensional way
of making images in the rock books...
592
00:41:11.220 --> 00:41:14.560
was something that Shaver saw
as a real sign...
593
00:41:14.139 --> 00:41:17.810
of the superior intelligence
of the ancient races.
594
00:41:18.852 --> 00:41:23.107
And Shaver believed that these weren't
mere rocks with random patterns...
595
00:41:23.190 --> 00:41:27.319
that these were actually deliberately
manufactured artifacts...
596
00:41:27.403 --> 00:41:33.330
by the ancient races who had been here
30,000, a hundred thousand-
597
00:41:33.117 --> 00:41:35.202
who knows how many years ago.
598
00:41:36.620 --> 00:41:39.665
[ Narrator] Might Richard Shaver
have actually discovered...
599
00:41:39.748 --> 00:41:45.129
real physical evidence that extraterrestrials
have been here on planet Earth...
600
00:41:45.212 --> 00:41:47.506
and might still be here today?
601
00:41:49.910 --> 00:41:52.110
Whether or not
Richard Shaver's stories are true...
602
00:41:52.940 --> 00:41:56.181
it does dovetail with legends
across this planet...
603
00:41:56.265 --> 00:42:00.519
of a race of beings
that either created humankind...
604
00:42:00.602 --> 00:42:03.772
or were, at least, our ancestors...
605
00:42:03.856 --> 00:42:07.260
that had a superior technology.
606
00:42:08.277 --> 00:42:10.821
[ REDFERN ]
If we're looking for extraterrestrials...
607
00:42:10.904 --> 00:42:14.533
ironically, the heavens above
might not be the best place to look.
608
00:42:14.616 --> 00:42:18.370
We should, perhaps, even be looking
deep below our feet.
609
00:42:18.120 --> 00:42:19.747
[ CHILDRESS ] In some ways...
610
00:42:19.830 --> 00:42:23.208
exploring the underground
cavern world of planet Earth...
611
00:42:23.292 --> 00:42:25.711
is the final frontier.
612
00:42:28.839 --> 00:42:30.340
[ Narrator] Is it possible...
613
00:42:30.424 --> 00:42:33.930
that some of the world's
most mysterious caves...
614
00:42:33.177 --> 00:42:37.560
really are home to extraterrestrial beings?
615
00:42:38.150 --> 00:42:40.851
Could it be that
the knowledge of the universe...
616
00:42:40.934 --> 00:42:44.646
has been left for us to discover
right here on Earth...
617
00:42:44.730 --> 00:42:47.357
once we have the technology
to unlock it?
618
00:42:47.441 --> 00:42:50.986
And might the crystals
found within cave walls...
619
00:42:51.700 --> 00:42:53.614
not only tell us where we came from...
620
00:42:54.656 --> 00:42:56.658
but even provide the technology...
621
00:42:56.742 --> 00:43:00.790
to access the most
distant corners of the universe?
622
00:43:00.788 --> 00:43:03.165
Perhaps one day we will find proof...
623
00:43:03.248 --> 00:43:05.542
that there is life beyond our planet...
624
00:43:06.335 --> 00:43:08.837
by searching deep within it.