1 00:00:14,163 --> 00:00:15,803 [Graham] One of the problems I have 2 00:00:15,883 --> 00:00:19,523 with the mainstream view of the development of civilization 3 00:00:19,603 --> 00:00:25,163 is the notion that our own civilization in the 21st century 4 00:00:25,243 --> 00:00:27,963 is the apex and the pinnacle of human achievement. 5 00:00:33,563 --> 00:00:36,923 This makes us very conceited, it makes us very big-headed. 6 00:00:38,243 --> 00:00:43,243 We look back on the past, as though our ancestors were always simpler than us, 7 00:00:43,323 --> 00:00:45,963 had less knowledge than us, had less ability than us. 8 00:00:49,163 --> 00:00:53,763 It hasn't just been a straight-line evolutionary progress 9 00:00:53,843 --> 00:00:58,203 from primitive cavemen to anatomically modern humans. 10 00:00:58,283 --> 00:01:00,363 It just hasn't been like that. 11 00:01:05,883 --> 00:01:08,243 In the story of civilizations, 12 00:01:08,323 --> 00:01:13,363 maybe there are ups and downs, civilization rises and falls again, 13 00:01:13,443 --> 00:01:17,683 and it is possible to lose entire civilizations. 14 00:01:17,763 --> 00:01:22,203 It's happened before, here in the Mediterranean in Malta. 15 00:01:43,243 --> 00:01:47,603 Malta, this stunning Mediterranean archipelago, 16 00:01:47,683 --> 00:01:49,163 has long fascinated me. 17 00:01:51,643 --> 00:01:56,563 Because I suspect almost everything archaeologists have told us about its past 18 00:01:57,283 --> 00:01:58,283 is wrong. 19 00:02:00,363 --> 00:02:03,723 And because the truth, if it's allowed to come out, 20 00:02:03,803 --> 00:02:08,603 could offer crucial evidence in my search for a lost civilization of prehistory. 21 00:02:11,203 --> 00:02:15,163 Malta's two main islands are barely a speck in the Mediterranean. 22 00:02:16,083 --> 00:02:19,723 Strategically located between Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, 23 00:02:19,803 --> 00:02:24,123 for centuries, it's had an outsized impact on the story of civilization. 24 00:02:28,163 --> 00:02:30,723 According to Malta's official timeline, 25 00:02:31,643 --> 00:02:36,003 the first people settled here around 7,900 years ago. 26 00:02:38,003 --> 00:02:40,003 They were simple Stone Age farmers 27 00:02:40,083 --> 00:02:42,963 who crossed the sea from Italy in wooden rafts. 28 00:02:43,043 --> 00:02:45,123 [Katya Stroud] They came probably from Sicily, 29 00:02:45,243 --> 00:02:49,643 and they brought with them the first domesticated animals, 30 00:02:49,723 --> 00:02:51,523 the first domesticated plants. 31 00:02:55,883 --> 00:03:00,083 And as people settled here, they developed their own culture. 32 00:03:01,843 --> 00:03:05,963 [Graham] According to the official timeline, around 5,600 years ago, 33 00:03:06,883 --> 00:03:10,723 they then woke up one morning and built this. 34 00:03:18,363 --> 00:03:20,123 It's called Ġgantija 35 00:03:21,283 --> 00:03:24,563 and it certainly is a giant of a megalithic structure. 36 00:03:27,963 --> 00:03:29,723 For decades, it was thought to be 37 00:03:29,803 --> 00:03:33,643 the oldest freestanding monumental structure on Earth. 38 00:03:38,523 --> 00:03:43,483 As I walk around Ġgantija, I feel cut down to size, 39 00:03:43,563 --> 00:03:46,803 a dwarf in the presence of the work of giants. 40 00:03:49,683 --> 00:03:51,283 The construction of these walls 41 00:03:51,363 --> 00:03:54,243 required the lifting of hundreds of massive megaliths. 42 00:03:56,603 --> 00:03:58,723 Some weighing up to 50 tons. 43 00:04:02,163 --> 00:04:03,603 And what we see today 44 00:04:03,683 --> 00:04:06,643 is only roughly half of the temple's original height. 45 00:04:07,443 --> 00:04:09,003 [thunder rumbling] 46 00:04:14,843 --> 00:04:18,083 In its prime, Ġgantija was truly gigantic. 47 00:04:19,963 --> 00:04:21,763 As tall as a three-story house. 48 00:04:24,163 --> 00:04:28,763 The outer walls were constructed from huge stones stacked atop one another. 49 00:04:32,803 --> 00:04:36,763 Two connected temples with oval-shaped chambers, 50 00:04:38,283 --> 00:04:39,963 their walls painted red. 51 00:04:41,643 --> 00:04:42,923 And a series of altars, 52 00:04:43,003 --> 00:04:45,843 where charred remains of animal bones were found, 53 00:04:46,563 --> 00:04:49,243 suggesting ritual sacrifices or feasting. 54 00:04:53,323 --> 00:04:57,403 There are no written sources telling us when Ġgantija was built, 55 00:04:57,483 --> 00:04:59,603 and no reliable carbon dates. 56 00:05:04,803 --> 00:05:07,523 So how old is this giant temple, really? 57 00:05:09,483 --> 00:05:11,923 And does it provide evidence for the lost civilization 58 00:05:12,003 --> 00:05:13,603 that I'm convinced flourished 59 00:05:13,683 --> 00:05:17,643 long before any kind of civilization is supposed to have begun? 60 00:05:22,883 --> 00:05:28,763 The sole reason that archaeologists claim Ġgantija was built around 5,600 years ago 61 00:05:28,843 --> 00:05:31,443 is that some artifacts found in the area 62 00:05:31,523 --> 00:05:35,323 match those of other much simpler sites dated to that period, 63 00:05:36,923 --> 00:05:40,483 but that doesn't mean that the structure itself is the same age. 64 00:05:41,043 --> 00:05:44,323 The artifacts may have simply been left there at a later date. 65 00:05:45,283 --> 00:05:49,083 The truth is that none of the prehistory of Malta stacks up. 66 00:05:50,883 --> 00:05:52,283 Think about it. 67 00:05:52,363 --> 00:05:55,123 Could those farmers, who archaeologists tell us 68 00:05:55,203 --> 00:05:57,523 never built anything bigger than a shack, 69 00:05:58,123 --> 00:06:00,283 really have achieved all this? 70 00:06:02,843 --> 00:06:04,883 When you look at a structure like Ġgantija, 71 00:06:04,963 --> 00:06:09,843 you would expect to see evidence of the build-up of skills 72 00:06:09,923 --> 00:06:11,843 necessary to create that structure. 73 00:06:12,643 --> 00:06:17,283 A culture doesn't just know how to move 20 or 30 ton megaliths. 74 00:06:17,363 --> 00:06:18,923 It has to learn how to do it. 75 00:06:19,003 --> 00:06:21,683 I see no evidence of the development of those techniques. 76 00:06:23,003 --> 00:06:24,243 And here's the thing, 77 00:06:24,763 --> 00:06:28,123 Ġgantija isn't Malta's only megalithic temple. 78 00:06:29,843 --> 00:06:32,003 Across Malta's two main islands, 79 00:06:32,083 --> 00:06:36,003 archaeologists have uncovered 19 such ancient structures, 80 00:06:37,123 --> 00:06:40,283 all on a land mass half the size of Chicago, 81 00:06:41,083 --> 00:06:45,163 with the oldest, so we are told, being Ġgantija itself. 82 00:06:47,723 --> 00:06:52,123 For such tiny islands, that's a lot of temples 83 00:06:52,203 --> 00:06:54,203 requiring a lot of man power. 84 00:06:54,283 --> 00:06:55,243 Too much. 85 00:06:56,603 --> 00:07:01,403 Which forces me to question who really built Ġgantija and when? 86 00:07:01,483 --> 00:07:05,443 Does it make sense that those people with a very simple material culture 87 00:07:06,523 --> 00:07:10,283 could have been responsible for creating the largest, most magnificent, 88 00:07:10,363 --> 00:07:12,683 most complex structure on Malta? 89 00:07:18,203 --> 00:07:23,003 I think the truth is more complicated and far more explosive. 90 00:07:27,603 --> 00:07:30,523 We've already seen in Indonesia 91 00:07:30,603 --> 00:07:36,483 and Mexico that ancient myths and legends have something important to teach us. 92 00:07:37,243 --> 00:07:40,563 These stories, passed down through generations, 93 00:07:40,643 --> 00:07:43,203 shouldn't be overlooked by archaeologists. 94 00:07:44,843 --> 00:07:47,683 And if we turn to the ancient lore of Malta, 95 00:07:47,763 --> 00:07:49,363 it has a story to tell 96 00:07:49,443 --> 00:07:52,363 about who was responsible for building Ġgantija. 97 00:08:02,243 --> 00:08:07,523 There's an intriguing ancient legend here concerning a giantess called Sansuna. 98 00:08:11,563 --> 00:08:13,083 It's said that the giantess 99 00:08:13,163 --> 00:08:15,763 had intercourse with one of the men of this land 100 00:08:17,163 --> 00:08:19,243 and gave birth to a hybrid child. 101 00:08:21,243 --> 00:08:23,523 Afterwards, to commemorate the event, 102 00:08:24,283 --> 00:08:27,523 she built this massive temple in a single day and night, 103 00:08:28,643 --> 00:08:30,843 carrying the child on her shoulder. 104 00:08:33,523 --> 00:08:36,963 I'm fascinated by this legend, of course, it could just be a legend. 105 00:08:37,963 --> 00:08:41,563 I certainly don't believe literal giants ever roamed the Earth. 106 00:08:42,843 --> 00:08:45,323 But what if she's a human being 107 00:08:45,403 --> 00:08:48,483 who has enormous and incredible capacities and skills 108 00:08:48,563 --> 00:08:50,763 that could lead her to build a temple such as this? 109 00:08:51,843 --> 00:08:55,043 This legend is eerily similar to the story 110 00:08:55,123 --> 00:08:59,603 of the so-called giants who built the Great Pyramid of Cholula in Mexico, 111 00:09:00,363 --> 00:09:03,483 a story connected to a great flood in prehistory. 112 00:09:08,363 --> 00:09:10,763 Could these legends of giant builders 113 00:09:10,843 --> 00:09:15,803 encode memories of some other more advanced and more ancient culture? 114 00:09:16,603 --> 00:09:19,963 What if the timeline of Malta's prehistory is wrong? 115 00:09:22,763 --> 00:09:25,803 When those farmers arrived by raft from Sicily, 116 00:09:25,883 --> 00:09:28,483 what if Ġgantija and the other megalithic temples 117 00:09:28,563 --> 00:09:30,243 were already here? 118 00:09:30,323 --> 00:09:34,283 What if these extraordinary structures had been built by someone else? 119 00:09:36,763 --> 00:09:41,123 A far more advanced society that arrived on Malta long before. 120 00:09:43,003 --> 00:09:44,283 It's not only possible… 121 00:09:47,563 --> 00:09:48,603 but likely. 122 00:09:51,483 --> 00:09:53,443 And I don't think they sailed here. 123 00:09:54,283 --> 00:09:56,163 I think they walked here. 124 00:09:59,883 --> 00:10:02,923 You see, Malta wasn't always an island. 125 00:10:03,883 --> 00:10:05,883 At the height of the last Ice Age, 126 00:10:05,963 --> 00:10:09,723 the level of the world's oceans was about 120 meters, 127 00:10:09,803 --> 00:10:12,603 400 feet, lower than it is today. 128 00:10:14,643 --> 00:10:17,563 And The Maltese islands used to be hilltops, 129 00:10:17,643 --> 00:10:21,403 part of a single continuous landmass that connected Malta 130 00:10:21,483 --> 00:10:23,363 all the way to present-day Sicily 131 00:10:23,443 --> 00:10:27,403 and from there to the southern end of Italy and the European mainland. 132 00:10:29,243 --> 00:10:31,723 Back then, Europe wasn't a great place to live. 133 00:10:32,523 --> 00:10:35,763 Cold, dry, and inhospitable. 134 00:10:37,163 --> 00:10:41,043 We know Ice Age animals migrated across that ancient land bridge 135 00:10:41,123 --> 00:10:46,083 to the warmer, more abundant lands of Malta and flourished here. 136 00:10:48,523 --> 00:10:50,483 Wouldn't humans have followed them? 137 00:10:55,803 --> 00:10:59,963 Archaeologists have found traces of early humans on Sicily from back then. 138 00:11:02,723 --> 00:11:06,043 So why would their migration southwards have stopped there? 139 00:11:07,203 --> 00:11:10,683 To me, the mystery of the sudden appearance out of nowhere 140 00:11:10,763 --> 00:11:13,843 of the Maltese temples 5,000 or 6,000 years ago, 141 00:11:13,923 --> 00:11:15,843 goes away when we accept 142 00:11:15,923 --> 00:11:18,443 that actually, there was a time long before that, 143 00:11:18,523 --> 00:11:21,163 during the Ice Age, 12,000, 14,000 years ago, 144 00:11:21,243 --> 00:11:22,923 when Malta was part of the mainland. 145 00:11:25,123 --> 00:11:28,123 The problem is archaeologists claim 146 00:11:28,203 --> 00:11:32,043 there's simply no evidence of any species of humans on Malta 147 00:11:32,123 --> 00:11:33,683 from that long ago. 148 00:11:33,763 --> 00:11:35,603 But that isn't entirely true. 149 00:11:36,883 --> 00:11:39,323 And the proof is in this cave. 150 00:11:43,443 --> 00:11:44,483 This is Ghar Dalam, 151 00:11:45,323 --> 00:11:48,283 near the southeast coast of the main island of Malta. 152 00:11:50,763 --> 00:11:53,323 A geological time machine 153 00:11:53,403 --> 00:11:56,443 that offers a glimpse back into Malta's prehistory. 154 00:12:00,483 --> 00:12:04,603 Here, a series of floods left behind animal bones and fossils 155 00:12:04,683 --> 00:12:06,683 dating back thousands of years. 156 00:12:12,763 --> 00:12:14,443 Dr. Anton Mifsud, 157 00:12:14,523 --> 00:12:17,363 president of the Prehistoric Society of Malta, 158 00:12:17,443 --> 00:12:19,683 has studied this site for decades. 159 00:12:19,763 --> 00:12:20,963 It's really large. 160 00:12:21,043 --> 00:12:25,163 [Graham] His independent findings here have caused great controversy. 161 00:12:27,123 --> 00:12:29,563 Ghar Dalam cave is a kind of record in stone 162 00:12:29,643 --> 00:12:31,083 of the prehistory of Malta, 163 00:12:31,163 --> 00:12:35,603 and I understand that this stalagmite is particularly important in your work. 164 00:12:35,683 --> 00:12:39,483 [Dr. Mifsud] Well, starting, well, from where the light brown… 165 00:12:39,563 --> 00:12:41,203 -That's called the cultural layer. -Right. 166 00:12:41,283 --> 00:12:42,603 That actually people lived here. 167 00:12:42,683 --> 00:12:46,843 -[Graham] Yeah. The last 8,000 years. -The last 8,000 years. Correct. 168 00:12:46,923 --> 00:12:52,123 And there, at the bottom of it, is something called a Pleistocene sheet. 169 00:12:52,203 --> 00:12:54,003 -Once we get below that sheet… -Yes. 170 00:12:54,083 --> 00:12:56,123 -…we're into an area that is Ice Age… -There was-- 171 00:12:56,203 --> 00:12:58,523 …it contains the remains of Ice Age animals… 172 00:12:58,603 --> 00:13:00,523 -Yes. -…but they don't call it a cultural layer 173 00:13:00,603 --> 00:13:03,123 because they're convinced there were no human beings here. 174 00:13:03,203 --> 00:13:04,283 Exactly, yes. 175 00:13:05,043 --> 00:13:10,283 [Graham] Anything found at this depth is at least 11,600 years old. 176 00:13:10,363 --> 00:13:13,283 If the official account of Malta's history is correct, 177 00:13:13,363 --> 00:13:17,163 no human remains should have been discovered once they dug into it. 178 00:13:19,523 --> 00:13:23,763 But over a century ago, archaeologists did find something. 179 00:13:25,203 --> 00:13:27,003 Something no one expected. 180 00:13:28,923 --> 00:13:34,923 In 1917, two Maltese excavators discovered two special teeth. 181 00:13:35,003 --> 00:13:35,843 Right. 182 00:13:37,203 --> 00:13:40,443 They had a fossilized color, they had no roots. 183 00:13:40,523 --> 00:13:43,043 The roots were absorbed into the body of the tooth. 184 00:13:43,123 --> 00:13:46,043 Yeah. And so these are classic Neanderthal teeth? 185 00:13:46,123 --> 00:13:48,043 -Yes. -And where were these two teeth found? 186 00:13:48,123 --> 00:13:51,123 They were found there, at the bottom of the stalagmites, here. 187 00:13:51,203 --> 00:13:53,203 -Right at the bottom. -[Dr. Mifsud] Exactly. 188 00:13:53,283 --> 00:13:56,803 [Graham] Experts involved in the dig were convinced they'd found evidence 189 00:13:56,883 --> 00:13:59,403 that would rewrite the story of humans on Malta. 190 00:14:03,523 --> 00:14:08,403 Here was proof that Neanderthals did walk across that Ice Age land bridge. 191 00:14:09,843 --> 00:14:15,163 But sometimes archaeologists dig up things that other people want to bury. 192 00:14:16,243 --> 00:14:21,843 In 1952, there were relative dating tests carried out. 193 00:14:21,923 --> 00:14:24,003 Yeah. What results were produced from those tests? 194 00:14:24,083 --> 00:14:26,243 Well, the results were not published. 195 00:14:27,363 --> 00:14:30,483 For some reason, the results were not divulged. 196 00:14:31,443 --> 00:14:34,643 [Graham] What we do know is that in the years that followed, 197 00:14:34,723 --> 00:14:38,123 the authenticity of the teeth was officially downplayed. 198 00:14:39,403 --> 00:14:42,443 And to this day, the history books continue to insist 199 00:14:42,523 --> 00:14:47,963 that no human species ever reached Malta until around 7,900 years ago. 200 00:14:48,523 --> 00:14:52,763 Why is archaeology so opposed to the notion of earlier humans? 201 00:14:57,403 --> 00:15:00,803 Changing a paradigm is no easy business. 202 00:15:00,883 --> 00:15:02,603 When a particular mindset 203 00:15:02,683 --> 00:15:06,523 has become the preoccupation of a group of scholars in a particular field, 204 00:15:06,603 --> 00:15:08,603 they are so reluctant to let go of it, 205 00:15:08,683 --> 00:15:11,763 they become existentially attached to it, 206 00:15:11,843 --> 00:15:13,243 and an attack on the paradigm 207 00:15:13,323 --> 00:15:15,923 becomes an attack on them, and they vigorously defend it. 208 00:15:18,083 --> 00:15:20,283 Curious to mount his own investigation, 209 00:15:20,363 --> 00:15:26,283 in 2016, Dr. Mifsud paid for his own state-of-the-art analysis of the teeth. 210 00:15:27,323 --> 00:15:29,763 They've been examined by three top-notch 211 00:15:29,843 --> 00:15:31,563 -physical anthropologists for me… -Yeah. 212 00:15:31,643 --> 00:15:33,643 …and they confirmed they were Neanderthal teeth. 213 00:15:33,723 --> 00:15:34,723 Right. 214 00:15:35,203 --> 00:15:38,683 This is evidence of human activity during the Ice Age. 215 00:15:41,243 --> 00:15:44,003 [Graham] What does this do to the whole story of Malta? 216 00:15:44,283 --> 00:15:46,923 It pushes back these dates, way back. 217 00:15:47,003 --> 00:15:48,963 -Far, far back. -Yeah. 218 00:15:49,043 --> 00:15:51,243 Another chapter has to be reintroduced. 219 00:15:53,363 --> 00:15:54,363 Yeah. 220 00:15:55,323 --> 00:15:58,723 If our cousins, the Neanderthals, reached Malta, 221 00:15:58,803 --> 00:16:02,883 it proves that the land bridge was used by ancient humans 222 00:16:02,963 --> 00:16:05,363 and it's possible that another Ice Age culture 223 00:16:05,443 --> 00:16:07,243 could have left their mark here too. 224 00:16:10,483 --> 00:16:16,203 In my view, the evidence for a far older civilization here on Malta is compelling 225 00:16:16,283 --> 00:16:18,683 and it doesn't just hinge on a couple of teeth. 226 00:16:23,403 --> 00:16:27,243 I want to show you something that I saw quarter of a century ago 227 00:16:27,323 --> 00:16:29,123 when I first visited Malta, 228 00:16:29,203 --> 00:16:33,443 etched into the bedrock of the island itself. 229 00:16:36,083 --> 00:16:39,003 It's a phenomenon found all over these islands. 230 00:16:40,603 --> 00:16:45,403 Parallel grooved channels carved deep into the ancient limestone. 231 00:16:46,843 --> 00:16:49,843 There are nearly 35 kilometers of these ruts, 232 00:16:51,083 --> 00:16:53,723 often crossing one another like train tracks. 233 00:16:54,763 --> 00:16:57,603 Mainstream archaeologists presume them to be 234 00:16:57,683 --> 00:17:00,963 not much more than about 2,600 years old, 235 00:17:01,803 --> 00:17:04,003 but they've never been seriously studied. 236 00:17:05,043 --> 00:17:08,123 They don't show signs of obvious tool marks 237 00:17:08,203 --> 00:17:11,563 and they also aren't the result of any known natural process. 238 00:17:12,443 --> 00:17:14,483 They're definitely man-made. 239 00:17:14,563 --> 00:17:17,483 Though it's not entirely certain what function they serve. 240 00:17:18,443 --> 00:17:22,443 They're usually presumed to be some kind of ancient transportation route. 241 00:17:22,523 --> 00:17:25,363 Hence, their popular name "cart ruts." 242 00:17:27,083 --> 00:17:29,003 But here's what intrigues me. 243 00:17:29,083 --> 00:17:31,763 These ruts don't just appear on land. 244 00:17:33,163 --> 00:17:35,803 Some of them carry right on into the sea. 245 00:17:37,523 --> 00:17:40,323 Here's a pair of them hidden beneath the modern road, 246 00:17:40,403 --> 00:17:44,363 but disappearing on my right beneath the waters of the harbor. 247 00:17:44,443 --> 00:17:46,723 Clearly made before rising sea levels covered them. 248 00:17:50,363 --> 00:17:54,883 Over the years, I have found and followed more of these man-made grooves underwater, 249 00:17:54,963 --> 00:18:00,483 filming them up to a kilometer offshore and at depths of up to 25 meters. 250 00:18:03,083 --> 00:18:05,243 Whoever created them must have done so 251 00:18:05,323 --> 00:18:08,363 when that part of the sea floor was above water, 252 00:18:08,443 --> 00:18:12,683 more than 12,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age. 253 00:18:13,963 --> 00:18:17,283 It makes me wonder how much more of Maltese prehistory 254 00:18:17,363 --> 00:18:19,163 lies hidden beneath the waves? 255 00:18:19,243 --> 00:18:21,243 How many other man-made structures, 256 00:18:21,323 --> 00:18:24,683 maybe even megalithic temples, still await discovery? 257 00:18:28,403 --> 00:18:31,363 The reason I believe that a deeper ancient intelligence 258 00:18:31,443 --> 00:18:33,803 lies behind these temples on Malta 259 00:18:33,883 --> 00:18:37,403 is that they're far more complex than they first appear. 260 00:18:39,723 --> 00:18:42,043 Beneath a canopy that protects it from the elements, 261 00:18:42,123 --> 00:18:47,043 lies one of Malta's most spectacular temples, Mnajdra. 262 00:18:51,123 --> 00:18:55,243 Its futuristic, modern covering cuts it off from the sky, 263 00:18:55,323 --> 00:18:56,723 which is a shame, 264 00:18:57,603 --> 00:18:59,323 because whoever built Mnajdra 265 00:18:59,403 --> 00:19:03,603 had an extraordinarily advanced understanding of the cosmos, 266 00:19:04,323 --> 00:19:07,163 a fact that Malta's archaeologists don't dispute. 267 00:19:08,843 --> 00:19:11,443 We know that they observed the rising of the sun, 268 00:19:11,523 --> 00:19:14,203 and the position of certain stars. 269 00:19:14,683 --> 00:19:17,643 And they have incorporated some of those observations 270 00:19:17,723 --> 00:19:19,443 within the architecture. 271 00:19:24,363 --> 00:19:28,843 [Graham] Mnajdra's builders devised an ingenious way of tracking the heavens. 272 00:19:31,083 --> 00:19:32,643 On the spring and fall equinoxes, 273 00:19:32,723 --> 00:19:35,963 respectively 21st March and 21st September, 274 00:19:36,603 --> 00:19:41,883 the rays of the rising sun exactly bisect the temple entrance, 275 00:19:41,963 --> 00:19:45,643 flooding the deepest recesses of the inner shrine with light. 276 00:19:59,083 --> 00:20:01,843 On these occasions, the interior of the temple 277 00:20:01,923 --> 00:20:04,803 would have glowed and sprung magically to life. 278 00:20:06,803 --> 00:20:08,243 And that's not all. 279 00:20:08,323 --> 00:20:10,963 At sunrise on the summer and winter solstices, 280 00:20:11,043 --> 00:20:13,483 the longest and shortest days of the year, 281 00:20:13,563 --> 00:20:16,563 a different distinctive projection of light 282 00:20:16,643 --> 00:20:19,363 precisely illuminates the edges of the megaliths 283 00:20:19,443 --> 00:20:21,443 to the left and right of the doorway. 284 00:20:23,883 --> 00:20:27,723 This phenomenon is far from unique in ancient constructions. 285 00:20:27,803 --> 00:20:30,803 In fact, the Great Pyramid of Cholula 286 00:20:30,883 --> 00:20:34,283 and the pyramids beneath it, all directly face the setting sun 287 00:20:34,363 --> 00:20:35,843 on the summer solstice. 288 00:20:36,643 --> 00:20:40,483 And other megalithic sites around the world boast similar alignments. 289 00:20:41,483 --> 00:20:42,683 Like Stonehenge, 290 00:20:44,083 --> 00:20:45,803 or Egypt's Temple of Karnak. 291 00:20:48,283 --> 00:20:52,083 Here at Mnajdra, the ancients created these enormous structures 292 00:20:52,163 --> 00:20:55,203 to celebrate the marriage of Heaven and Earth. 293 00:20:55,283 --> 00:20:58,443 In fact, Mnajdra and the other temples 294 00:20:58,523 --> 00:21:02,723 may be part of a much larger ancient astronomical project. 295 00:21:02,803 --> 00:21:05,883 One that, if proven to be true, 296 00:21:06,483 --> 00:21:10,243 would rewrite the accepted timeline of Malta's prehistory. 297 00:21:12,163 --> 00:21:14,603 Dutch researcher and author, Lenie Reedijk, 298 00:21:14,683 --> 00:21:17,883 has explored every one of Malta's megalithic temples 299 00:21:17,963 --> 00:21:20,803 and made a close study of their alignments. 300 00:21:20,883 --> 00:21:22,683 To her great surprise, 301 00:21:22,763 --> 00:21:27,403 none of Malta's other temples line up with any equinoxes or solstices. 302 00:21:28,683 --> 00:21:33,243 But they also don't face any particular geographical feature in their area. 303 00:21:34,083 --> 00:21:37,803 In fact, none of them even face the same direction. 304 00:21:39,083 --> 00:21:41,203 No two orientations are the same. 305 00:21:41,283 --> 00:21:44,923 -That's quite extraordinary in itself. -That is very, very curious. 306 00:21:45,843 --> 00:21:48,603 You would expect temple culture, 307 00:21:48,683 --> 00:21:51,883 like the church or a mosque, to have a preference. 308 00:21:53,763 --> 00:21:58,123 [Graham] Why would Mnajdra be the only temple oriented to the solstices? 309 00:21:59,083 --> 00:22:03,323 Were Malta's other temples also built to aim towards something in the heavens? 310 00:22:04,963 --> 00:22:06,363 If so, what? 311 00:22:09,723 --> 00:22:12,003 You have to look for a principle. 312 00:22:12,763 --> 00:22:14,923 So you need to know 313 00:22:15,003 --> 00:22:17,323 -a little bit of archeoastronomy. -Mmm-hmm. 314 00:22:18,083 --> 00:22:20,603 That means the astronomy of the ancients. 315 00:22:20,683 --> 00:22:26,283 There is a fascinating and little-known movement in the sky 316 00:22:26,363 --> 00:22:29,683 which has a name, and that is precession. 317 00:22:34,123 --> 00:22:36,483 [Graham] Contrary to what most of us think, 318 00:22:36,563 --> 00:22:38,923 the Earth isn't a perfect sphere. 319 00:22:39,003 --> 00:22:41,523 It's actually bulging slightly at the equator. 320 00:22:42,083 --> 00:22:43,323 The result? 321 00:22:43,403 --> 00:22:46,443 Because of the gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon, 322 00:22:46,523 --> 00:22:50,723 the Earth wobbles just slightly as it spins on its axis. 323 00:22:50,803 --> 00:22:54,763 This precession alters our view of the night sky over the years, 324 00:22:54,843 --> 00:22:59,843 making distant constellations appear to shift position in a systematic way. 325 00:22:59,923 --> 00:23:04,123 The whole sky makes this movement, which is very slight. 326 00:23:04,203 --> 00:23:08,003 It is only one degree difference 327 00:23:08,083 --> 00:23:14,803 in the rising or setting position of any given star in 72 years. 328 00:23:15,883 --> 00:23:17,843 [Graham] So if you were building these temples 329 00:23:17,923 --> 00:23:21,803 to point at a single specific star, over the centuries, 330 00:23:21,883 --> 00:23:26,203 the alignments of those temples would shift, just as we see on Malta. 331 00:23:29,483 --> 00:23:30,803 But there's a problem. 332 00:23:30,883 --> 00:23:34,683 The official timeline claims that all Malta's temples 333 00:23:34,763 --> 00:23:39,523 were built between around 5,600 and 4,500 years ago. 334 00:23:39,603 --> 00:23:42,763 And in looking at the positions of the brightest stars 335 00:23:42,843 --> 00:23:45,523 visible in the sky during that time frame, 336 00:23:45,603 --> 00:23:47,843 none were a likely possibility. 337 00:23:48,603 --> 00:23:51,123 [Lenie] There was a sort of a strong dislike 338 00:23:51,203 --> 00:23:56,483 to consider anything outside conventional theory. 339 00:23:56,563 --> 00:23:58,283 To go back before the temples 340 00:23:58,363 --> 00:24:00,683 -are supposed to have been built. -Exactly. 341 00:24:03,483 --> 00:24:05,243 [Graham] But using state-of-the-art software 342 00:24:05,323 --> 00:24:08,523 that tracks the movement of stars over thousands of years, 343 00:24:09,483 --> 00:24:12,923 Lenie was able to rewind the night sky like a clock, 344 00:24:14,083 --> 00:24:18,163 looking for a single visible star that aligned with all the temples. 345 00:24:19,763 --> 00:24:23,403 And not just during the time frame when they were supposedly built, 346 00:24:24,123 --> 00:24:26,363 but from any point in the past. 347 00:24:27,683 --> 00:24:30,283 [Lenie] I have been working to check and check, 348 00:24:30,363 --> 00:24:32,963 and then all of a sudden, it appeared. 349 00:24:34,043 --> 00:24:36,963 The temples were orientated to one star. 350 00:24:38,683 --> 00:24:43,403 [Graham] That one star was Sirius, often called the Dog Star. 351 00:24:45,643 --> 00:24:49,563 [Lenie] It passes all the entrances at some point in time. 352 00:24:49,643 --> 00:24:53,243 All the temples fit it. Every single one. 353 00:24:57,843 --> 00:25:00,803 And Sirius, of course, is a particularly magnificent star. 354 00:25:00,883 --> 00:25:03,123 If I'm correct, it's the brightest star in the sky. 355 00:25:03,203 --> 00:25:07,043 The brightest, by far. It is two times as bright as the next brightest. 356 00:25:09,123 --> 00:25:10,843 [Graham] Lenie's theory would also explain 357 00:25:10,923 --> 00:25:14,283 why these early astronomers built so many temples. 358 00:25:15,523 --> 00:25:18,363 As Sirius shifted position over time, 359 00:25:18,443 --> 00:25:21,083 it fell out of each temple's line of sight, 360 00:25:21,163 --> 00:25:26,083 forcing the architects to build a new one with a slightly different orientation. 361 00:25:28,043 --> 00:25:33,123 Because of precession, Sirius hadn't been visible from Malta for thousands of years, 362 00:25:33,203 --> 00:25:36,923 until the Earth's wobble brought it spectacularly back into view, 363 00:25:37,003 --> 00:25:39,043 around 11,000 years ago. 364 00:25:39,723 --> 00:25:42,883 And the temple lined up with that spectacular appearance 365 00:25:42,963 --> 00:25:46,883 after a long absence is a simple one called Hagar Qim North. 366 00:25:47,763 --> 00:25:50,723 It is also one of the smallest temples. 367 00:25:50,803 --> 00:25:52,243 They started very small, 368 00:25:52,323 --> 00:25:54,803 -and as the millennia passed… -Yeah. 369 00:25:54,883 --> 00:25:58,123 …they ended up with the largest of all the temples. 370 00:25:58,203 --> 00:25:59,443 You could say, the cathedral, 371 00:26:00,643 --> 00:26:02,163 which is Ġgantija. 372 00:26:04,283 --> 00:26:05,923 [Graham] But if Lenie is right, 373 00:26:06,403 --> 00:26:10,363 it means that Malta's megalithic project began thousands of years 374 00:26:10,443 --> 00:26:14,523 before those Stone Age farmers from Sicily arrived on the island… 375 00:26:18,003 --> 00:26:22,323 and must have been the work of a culture with advanced knowledge of astronomy, 376 00:26:23,843 --> 00:26:26,203 and advanced architectural skills. 377 00:26:31,723 --> 00:26:34,563 As for why they chose to honor Sirius this way… 378 00:26:37,123 --> 00:26:38,443 it might be simply because 379 00:26:38,523 --> 00:26:41,603 it was the brightest star in the night sky at the time. 380 00:26:42,843 --> 00:26:44,843 But there might be more to it. 381 00:26:46,363 --> 00:26:49,283 The star, Sirius, also plays a prominent role 382 00:26:49,363 --> 00:26:52,163 in the legends of another great culture of antiquity, 383 00:26:52,803 --> 00:26:54,243 ancient Egypt, 384 00:26:54,323 --> 00:26:58,963 where it was associated with the annual flooding of the Nile and the new year 385 00:26:59,923 --> 00:27:02,923 and was a symbol of their great goddess, Isis. 386 00:27:05,163 --> 00:27:07,123 And this is not the only curious connection 387 00:27:07,203 --> 00:27:09,163 between ancient Egypt and ancient Malta. 388 00:27:10,963 --> 00:27:15,923 Maltese fishing boats are traditionally decorated with a prominent symbol… 389 00:27:18,123 --> 00:27:20,043 borrowed from Egyptian mythology… 390 00:27:22,763 --> 00:27:24,163 The Eye of Horus. 391 00:27:26,203 --> 00:27:30,523 The fishermen believe it provides them with good health, prosperity 392 00:27:30,603 --> 00:27:32,443 and above all, protection. 393 00:27:34,283 --> 00:27:36,523 The exact same symbol 394 00:27:36,603 --> 00:27:39,363 played the exact same role in ancient Egypt. 395 00:27:41,083 --> 00:27:46,603 Intriguingly, this tradition connects Malta to Egypt's most famous myth, 396 00:27:47,403 --> 00:27:50,283 the story of the parents of that god, Horus… 397 00:27:50,363 --> 00:27:52,203 Osiris and Isis. 398 00:27:56,083 --> 00:28:00,363 In ancient times, the wise God Osiris descended to Egypt 399 00:28:00,443 --> 00:28:03,243 to rule alongside his sister Isis, 400 00:28:03,323 --> 00:28:06,323 but the people were uncivilized and lawless. 401 00:28:07,603 --> 00:28:09,723 So Osiris brought them culture, 402 00:28:09,803 --> 00:28:13,243 established the rule of law, and taught them agriculture. 403 00:28:14,963 --> 00:28:18,963 Then he left Isis to rule Egypt while he traveled the Earth, 404 00:28:19,043 --> 00:28:22,043 teaching people of other nations the same skills. 405 00:28:25,203 --> 00:28:28,123 This myth of a traveling, civilizing hero 406 00:28:28,203 --> 00:28:30,603 is something I recognize from my own travels. 407 00:28:31,803 --> 00:28:36,523 The story of Osiris is similar to that of Quetzalcoatl in Mexico, 408 00:28:36,603 --> 00:28:39,123 and other civilizing heroes from ancient lore. 409 00:28:40,403 --> 00:28:44,483 Wise teachers who arrive after an immense cataclysm, 410 00:28:44,563 --> 00:28:46,723 sharing the gifts of civilization, 411 00:28:46,803 --> 00:28:49,883 showing humanity how to build great works in stone, 412 00:28:50,683 --> 00:28:54,123 bringing them agriculture and a knowledge of the stars. 413 00:28:56,083 --> 00:29:01,963 Is it possible that such myths so similar in so many different cultures 414 00:29:02,043 --> 00:29:05,403 might even be traced back to a single source? 415 00:29:07,363 --> 00:29:11,003 If these bearded robed figures from the near East, 416 00:29:11,083 --> 00:29:13,483 to the Americas, to the Mediterranean, 417 00:29:13,563 --> 00:29:15,803 originate from the same ancient culture, 418 00:29:16,603 --> 00:29:19,683 it means that while our hunter-gatherer ancestors 419 00:29:19,763 --> 00:29:21,563 were busy surviving the Ice Age, 420 00:29:22,283 --> 00:29:24,803 someone else was circumnavigating the globe, 421 00:29:26,603 --> 00:29:29,283 passing on their advanced skills to others. 422 00:29:30,563 --> 00:29:33,723 And I believe there's proof of that on another island, 423 00:29:34,363 --> 00:29:38,683 that, like Malta, was nearly drowned at the end of the last Ice Age, 424 00:29:39,523 --> 00:29:43,243 a world away in the blue waters of the Caribbean. 425 00:29:46,003 --> 00:29:51,523 If an advanced civilization was swallowed up by the sea 11,600 years ago, 426 00:29:51,603 --> 00:29:56,563 then perhaps evidence for its existence can still be found underwater. 427 00:29:57,643 --> 00:29:59,723 Let's talk about Atlantis.