NARRATOR: Strange
burial rituals. What we're talking
about is some kind of other dimensional travel
for the soul to undertake. NARRATOR: Elaborate chambers
filled with mysterious objects. The fact that these boats
existed inside tombs leads me to think that they
tried to reach some type of extraterrestrial realms. NARRATOR: And bizarre burial
mounds found across the globe. When you start
looking at a structures inside with
celestial alignments, you start to wonder,
was there contact between some of these areas? NARRATOR: Were the tombs
of our ancient ancestors actually gateways
to the afterlife? Or were they really meant
to connect modern man with our alien ancestors? You have to ask yourself
if they are perhaps maps to guide the dead
back to the star systems, where they originally came from. NARRATOR: Millions of
people around the world believe we have been
visited in the past by extraterrestrial beings. What if it were true? Did ancient aliens really
help to shape our history? And if so, might the
secrets of the ancient tombs reveal an other worldly
plan for mankind? [music playing] NARRATOR: The Valley
of the Kings, Egypt. The Taj Mahal Agra, India. And King Pakal's tomb,
Palenque, Mexico. Spectacular burial sites that
date back thousands of years are found across the world. According to
mainstream researchers, these locations are the
final resting places for ancient leaders. But might they also serve
a more profound, perhaps extraterrestrial purpose? Why do we have the most
massive of constructions in the far and distant past? Well, according to
the ancient texts and the ancient
traditions, this knowledge was given to our
ancestors by the gods. NARRATOR: If the sole function
of tombs was to house the dead, then why are virtually all
of these connected to notions of spiritual energy,
images of astronomy, and a strong belief in
the existence of other arguably more spiritual worlds? All cultures share this notion
of somehow opening a doorway, opening a stargate, opening a
gateway to another dimension, so the soul can return. We know that it is meant,
because the soul is going to go on a voyage to the afterlife. In the ancient
world, there was a view that this life that we
have, this physical life, is our opportunity to prepare
ourselves for a vast destiny that lies beyond this life. NARRATOR: Could ancient tombs
really have served another more extraterrestrial
purpose, perhaps as portals to reunite the
deceased with celestial beings? Many ancient astronaut
theorists believe the answers can be
found by taking a closer look at the mysterious
texts of ancient Egypt. Seqqara, situated on the West
Bank of the Nile River 20 miles south of Cairo, this
archaeological site is one of the oldest and largest
burial grounds in all of Egypt. Egyptologists called
these monuments tombs. But to the Egyptians,
they were not tombs. They were gateways
to the afterworld. It is through these structures
that the king will begin a journey into the underworld
in order to face obstacles, dangers, and threats. And if he would
overcome these threats, he would be given passage
into the afterlife kingdom of [inaudible]. NARRATOR: Overlooking the
immense necropolis lies the pyramid of King Teti,
the first ruler of Egypt's sixth dynasty. Teti built his pyramid and
an adjoining mortuary temple during his reign more
than 4,000 years ago. I'm walking on what's left
of the ancient causeway of King Teti I. That's his pyramid. And here is his very much
ruins mortuary temple. Now, this pyramid
is very important. It contains the oldest
religious writing in the world, the pyramid texts. NARRATOR: According
to archaeologists, the pyramid texts
are a collection of ancient Egyptian religious
writings that date back to 2400 BC. They contain passages
about Osiris, the Egyptian god
of the afterlife and descriptions of how to
prepare the pharaoh's remains during his ascent to
the heavens after death. The pyramid texts are
all about the stars. It's all about the
king becoming a star. It's all about the king
ascending to the sky and joining Osiris,
Orion, in the sky. NARRATOR: But according to
ancient astronaut theorists, the pyramid texts didn't
only guide the pharaoh to an afterlife. They actually
provided instruction on how the pharaoh could
travel to other worlds. What is important to realize
is that the ancient Egyptians say that about 25,000 years ago,
the gods lived amongst them. Then they disappeared again. What the pyramid
texts are saying is that we, the ancient
Egyptians specifically of course, are able to
reach the gods again. For this, we have to die. But once we're dead, we're able
to join the gods once again. What we're talking
about is some kind of other dimensional travel
for the soul to undertake. NARRATOR: Buried in the
desert sands for centuries, the ruins of Seqqara are home
to another ancient mystery just one half mile away from
the pyramid of King Teti. In 1850, French archaeologist
Auguste Mariette made an astonishing discovery. He unearthed a massive
underground bunker. This is a most strange
and mysterious place. It feels like being in the
bowels of the underworld. It's hard to describe. It's like being in another
world, the world of the dead. NARRATOR: The serapeum contains
enormous sarcophagi made from granite that was believed
to have been transported from the city of Aswan
nearly 600 miles away. This is just one of the many
sarcophagus that are here, dozens and dozens of them. And they weigh about
70 tons a piece. They're made from a
solid block of granite. But the real mystery is how
they cut them so sharply, Swiss watch precision,
mirror smooth. When you look at the
inside of the boxes, you see the underside of
the lid is perfectly square with the vertical surface
of the inside of the box. Directly opposite you
have the same condition, which means that those two
surfaces opposing each other must have been
perfectly parallel. It's really amazing. NARRATOR: Ancient
astronaut theorists question just how the ancient
Egyptians could have moved these gigantic stones for
miles and then wedge them into the underground
labyrinth, and to what purpose? So we have one big problem. Imagine in ancient
Egypt they dig out of the rock kilometers
and kilometers of subterranean tunnels. Right and left they make niches. Then they go to two days Aswan. In Aswan, they cut
out of the rock the hardest granite
which exists. And they bring it
in a complicated way we don't know into these
subterranean tunnels. Archaeologists still today
cannot figure out how these giant basalt
sarcophagi were made-- they're perfectly made-- and
how they would even move them into these catacombs
that are underground. It's like they would have had
to levitate and put these 70 ton boxes by some magical
means, like anti-gravity. NARRATOR: Most scholars
believe the serapeum and its massive sarcophagi
were constructed to house the mummified
remains of the Apis bulls. The Egyptians believed that
these Apis bulls were descended from the sky. And they would have elaborate
ceremonies with these bulls. NARRATOR: But when Mariette
opened the sarcophagi, they were empty,
apart from some bones. Only one Apis bull mummy
was discovered at the site. Some ancient astronaut theorists
believe the sacred bulls may have been the creation
of extraterrestrials and that these creatures
were feared, not worshipped, by the ancient Egyptians. The humans are afraid
of these monsters. Because they were
created by the gods. They are holy animals. So they wait until the
monsters die of a natural way. And now the animal
is dead, they smash, crash, the bones of the monster. They put it into the sarcophagi. In ancient Egypt, every single
living creature after its death was mummified. So the fact that we can find
boxes in which we have hacked up bones you have to
ask yourself, why? So they made sure
of after the death they would hack up the
bodies and then put a 35 ton lid on top of that, so that
those creatures would never return in the future. NARRATOR: Could the sarcophagi
have been constructed as a kind of prison to prevent
the return of the bulls after death? Or could they have served
a different, even more profound purpose? Egyptologists are baffled. And they don't know what the
purpose of these things were. Also, why are some
of them empty? And you have to wonder
too if these boxes had some other purpose originally. Are these really some kind of
interdimensional star gates. And then extraterrestrials
are able to come and go from this planet using that. NARRATOR: Were the
serapeum sarcophagi actually a teleportation system,
as some ancient astronaut theorists believe? Could they be a series
of chambers used to convey ancient humans
and perhaps alien visitors to other planets? Perhaps another
underground tomb complex halfway around the globe
can provide further clues. Northern Peru, 1987. Archaeologist Walter Alva
uncovers the lost tomb of the lord of Sipan. Intact and untouched by
thieves, this burial place is considered one of the
richest in the world. The lord of Sipan
was a Moche king up in the Lambayeque region
of Peru along the coast. We found gold and silver and
all these incredibly beautiful artifacts, and
textiles, and art. Peruvian archaeologists,
they sometimes call it the King Tut's
tomb of South America. The objects that they found
in these tombs were unusual. NARRATOR: The burial chamber
was filled with artifacts that included ceramic pots, gold,
copper, and silver utensils, and feather ornaments
some researchers believe were intended to accompany
and protect the lord of Sipan in the afterlife. Some archaeologists suggest that
several of his servants, wives, and consorts were sacrificed and
their bodies were placed inside to accompany him
into the afterlife. We see that Lord Sipan
is not buried in isolation. We see that he is buried
with some other people. And so when we extrapolate
from this and when we realize that other cultures
have been doing the same kind of schematic,
what we're seeing is that these people believed
that the afterlife was very much a physical place. It was belief that he would have
needed some of these helpers. It is belief that he would
probably want to be reunited, if not united, with his most
immediate family and some of his most trusted advisors. NARRATOR: Among the incredible
treasures buried with the lord of Sipan were strange statues
that some researchers believe are evidence of
extraterrestrial beings. As well as servants
and all the artifacts, they even found these strange,
kind of weird anthropomorphized figurines that some
people say resemble beings from other worlds. They show bug-eyed people
who do not look like a normal human. So you have at Sipan
really a tomb that seems to show
extraterrestrial beings, anthropomorphic beings,
that are half animal half human, and people who don't
look like a normal human being, that look like
extraterrestrials. Lord of Sipan's tomb has some
very interesting relics that were found within his burial. Were these beings
that were going to help him go
into the afterlife, possibly back into space,
or into the heavens? NARRATOR: The lord
of Sipan's disciples believed that he was not a mere
mortal, but actually half god and half man. But specifically what is of
interest is that he has a face mask, which is made of gold. And his body largely is
dressed with copper shielding. So all of a sudden, we see
somebody who's, that body, is meant to resemble clearly
something else, a shining one, the divine being which
he was once believed to be, but also which in death he was
believed to once again become. NARRATOR: Was the lord of Sipan
really half man, half god, as his followers believed? And might the figurines
found in his grave really represent
the ancient ruler's extraterrestrial origins? If so, is it possible that
this tomb, like the ones found in Egypt, really served
as a portal to the stars? Ancient astronaut theorists say
yes and believe more evidence can be found by looking
at the boat-shaped coffins and strange burial rituals of
the ancient Torajan people. South Sulawesi, Indonesia, here
can be found the cave tombs of the Tana Toraja, the site of
a complex funeral ritual that dates back to 3000 BC. The Torajan people believe
death is a gradual process toward the afterlife. Many cultures believe in an
afterlife, something that goes on beyond the physical bodies. The Torajan people
in Indonesia are very interesting and unusual,
because among the most elaborate rituals
they have are not rituals of life, but for death. They have incredible
ceremonies when people die. They have huge feasts. And they have these incredible
celebrations for the dead. The Torajan
people put the dead into these special
coffins, which are also like a model of a spaceship. And then they inter
them up on these cliffs. And their beliefs too are
that ultimately, the dead are returning to the stars
and that they as a people will also return to
the stars as well. NARRATOR: As translated, the
name Toraja means the people from above. And Torajans their ancestors
descended from the stars in sky ships. Their elaborate coffins are
built in the form of a boat and thought to resemble
the sky ships that carried their ancestors to earth. A wooden effigy
called a Tau-tau is carved in the likeness
of the dead person and placed in the balcony
to represent the deceased and watch over their remains. The effigies are a beautiful
illustration with which they wanted to show us that
once somebody is deceased, they can still
look down upon you. Because being dead doesn't
mean that it's over. Dead just means that you go on
to the next level of existence. And it's an idea that
has been with us not just in our culture, but in
every ancient culture and modern culture as well. The Torajan
people, they believe in sky gods who descended
from the sky who left them a body of knowledge and
then who disappeared. And they very much believe that
by doing what our ancestors did when these creatures were here
that they will therefore also be able to join these divine
beings which were once here, and specifically,
that upon death, they will be able to join them
in the home of these deities. That is very much
on par with what we see throughout the world. NARRATOR: Is it possible,
as some researchers believe, that ancient astronauts visited
earth thousands of years ago and inspired our ancestors to
build boat-shaped coffins that emulated their space vehicles? If so, could the
presence of boat coffins mean that our ancestors
were preparing to make a journey to the stars? Some believe the
ultimate proof can be found in a mysterious burial
mound in Ireland, one with star maps that give clues not just to
where the ancient visitors came from, but where the dead may
have in fact chosen to return. Oldcastle, Ireland. Amid the ruins of a stone age
cemetery lies a 5,000-year-old tomb nearly 120
feet in diameter. It is named after the mythical
poet king, Olam Fodla. With Olam Fodla's
tomb what we see is this connection between
the earth and the sky. Some people have
suggested it might be a celestial observatory. But I think it's much more
likely that it was sort of a temple, a place of
worship, that connected the sky and the earth. NARRATOR: According to
ancient astronaut theorists, astronomical hieroglyphs carved
on the interior of the stone walls may have been the
work of otherworldly beings. At Olam Fodla, we can
find an incredibly accurate astronomical chart. And one has to wonder how those
ancestors were able to do this without any knowledge
of astronomy. In fact, the legends of
that part of the world tell us that they had
assistance, that these topics were taught to those people
by none other than the shining ones who descended from the sky. Olam Fodla has inside
of it celestial charts. So you have to ask yourself
if they are perhaps maps for these
extraterrestrial visitors to show them the way
home, back to the stars. NARRATOR: Could
extraterrestrials, as ancient astronaut
theorists suggest, have taught our
ancient ancestors how to build a so-called
celestial observatory? And if so, might the cemetery
have served as a staging area, a place for extraterrestrials
to observe, predict, and record stellar movements in preparation
for their return to the stars? Perhaps the answer can be found
by examining the ancient burial structures of Japan. Sakai, Japan, here in this city
located 250 miles southwest of Tokyo, lies the Daisen Kofun,
one of over 40 ancient crypts within a six mile radius. More than twice the length
of the Great Pyramid of Giza, it is one of the largest
tombs in the world. Constructed in the
5th century AD, it is believed to be the
resting place of Nintoku, the 16th emperor of Japan. But of all the various types and
designs that make up the kofun structures, perhaps
the most mysterious are those in the shape of a
keyhole, one that can only be seen from above. The very fact
that this was made to look like a keyhole, that
this was made only to be seen from the sky, would
to me indicate this could be a clear message
to the gods to say, look here. And it was some kind of
reference for the stars, for the person in the tombs. So is this some kind of tomb
for the extraterrestrial gods, so that they could find
and return to the stars where they had come? NARRATOR: Were the kofun
meant to serve as markers for extraterrestrials that
plan to return to earth, as some ancient astronaut
theorists contend? Perhaps more
evidence can be found by examining one of the most
immense archaeological finds of the 20th century, the vast
tomb of China's first emperor. Shaanxi Province, China. In 1974, farmers digging a
well outside the town of Xian made an astonishing
discovery, a life sized clay soldier intricately
carved and dressed for battle. Further excavation revealed
thousands of these sculptures known as the
terracotta warriors, each with remarkably
realistic facial expressions. Entombed in the earth
for over 2,000 years, the warriors are part of a
massive underground mausoleum built for China's first emperor
of the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huang. The tomb of Qin Shi Huang
is quite extraordinary. Over 8,000 terracotta soldiers
have been found there, along with 520 horses, 130
chariots, most of which are still buried. Qin Shi Huang is literally
the first emperor in China. He established the Qin
Dynasty in the year 221 BC. And he established many
things that actually continue to function throughout the
imperial period in China. NARRATOR: Qin conquered a united
China, built the Great Wall, and standardized the
monetary and legal system. But Qin Shi Huang was
also obsessed with finding the secret of immortality. This is an emperor
who goes in search of the islands of immortality. This is an emperor who's
obsessed with rediscovering lost knowledge. His ambition is to become
in life like the gods. NARRATOR: To this end, Qin
spent over three decades forcing more than 700,000
laborers to construct the four layered subterranean
city that would serve as his resting place. At the heart of
the ancient complex is one of China's
greatest mysteries. The tomb actually
covers a very large area. Only a few areas surrounding the
border part of the tomb complex have been excavated. NARRATOR: Archaeologists
believe that underneath this
central burial mound is the chamber containing
Emperor Qin's remains. To date the site is still
unexcavated due to dangerously high levels of mercury. What's thought to be inside is
an exact model of the universe in miniature with the ceiling
made to look like the sky with all the stars
represented by pearls. And then the rivers in
China would be the ground. And it is the mercury
that is supposed to look like the rivers. NARRATOR: A conductive element
used in gauges, electronics, and automobiles, mercury
is a liquid metal that was discovered
by archaeologists in an Egyptian tomb that
dates back to 1500 BC. Some researchers believe
the presence of mercury indicates the existence
of modern technology in the ancient world. The presence of mercury,
also, in these tombs is unusual. Mercury is something which is
not really very useful to us, except in very
high tech devices. And it could have been used as
part of the extraterrestrials and their technology
on this planet. NARRATOR: Was the
first emperor of China influenced by visitors
from another world to create his monument as
ancient astronaut theorists propose? And could the mercury
found at the tomb be proof of extraterrestrial
technology at work in China thousands of years ago,
technology that was not intended to merely
help bury the dead, but to launch other worldly
beings back into space? Perhaps more clues can be
found by taking a closer look at the mysterious burial mounds
found all over our world. Gyeongju, South Korea,
here, near the shores of the Sea of Japan lie the
ruins of Chiang Mai Chong. Excavated in 1973, researchers
believe this mound shaped tomb was constructed for
a fifth century ruler from the Silla dynasty, which
spanned nearly 1,000 years. The main feature
of this tomb is that it has what's known as a
heavenly horse drawn onto it. And it's often called
the heavenly horse tomb. And this horse has eight
fiery legs that are flaming. It's clearly not a
living, naturalistic horse. It almost looks more like
a combination of a horse and a dragon flying
through the air. This may represent the journey
of the spirit, the soul, or taking the soul
up to the afterlife. NARRATOR: According
to most historians, this equestrian illustration
represents not only the importance of horses
in ancient Korean culture, but also the king's belief
in the spirit world. But ancient astronaut theorists
have another much more profound interpretation. They believe the painting
of the winged horse symbolizes how the deceased
noble would actually journey to another distant realm. Tibetans and Mongolians
also have similar legends of these flying horses. And these horses, too, would
be analogous to the [inaudible] in Sanskrit, which are these
flying machines, the chariots of the gods, that
[inaudible] talked about. And often they're depicted
as this horse, which was the familiar vehicle
that people could travel in. Only these horses could fly. They were flying vehicles. If you look at it
even more closely, it resembles more
some type of a dragon. Because out of its feet
there's fire coming out. And their feet
themselves, their legs, don't really look like legs. But they look as if they
are some type of wings. We have to remember that
our ancestors were not familiar with space vehicles. So whatever they
saw up in the sky could best be described as an
eight-legged horse descending from the sky. NARRATOR: Could the so-called
heavenly horse of Chiang Mai Chiang really be
a representation of an extraterrestrial
flying transport, as ancient astronaut
theorists contend? And if so, would this
help to prove their theory that many ancient tombs
were in fact portals to other
extraterrestrial worlds? Perhaps more clues can be found
in the mysterious drawings of another burial mound located
more than 5,000 miles away. The Boyne River
Valley in Ireland, here, 31 miles north of
Dublin, lies Newgrange, a tumultuous tomb
dating back to 3200 BC and similar to the one
found in South Korea. Of the many ancient
burial chambers discovered in the region, it
is one of the best preserved. Newgrange would have been
one of the largest man built structures on earth at
the time its construction. It dates from around 5,000 years
ago, perhaps even a little bit more. It predates the Great Pyramid. So this was a
tremendous undertaking by a very
well-established culture to build such a
massive monument. NARRATOR: Newgrange's inner
passage was constructed with remarkable precision. And its design provides
an accurate means of measuring the solar year. It is astronomically aligned
on the winter solstice, so that right at
the winter solstice and only at the winter solstice,
a sun dagger shoots down through the central
passageway into the tomb and illuminating the
inner chamber of the tomb. This inner chamber is
carved with very enigmatic megalithic symbols, which we
still don't really understand, and really displays an amazing
competence of this culture on many, many levels. We don't know exactly what it
meant to those ancient peoples. But we can imagine that
they gathered there at the time of the
winter solstice that there were
many celebrations. And that the priests
and priestesses would go into this
inner chamber to witness this miracle every year. We have essentially the
death of the sun on the winter solstice. On this day, we have the
lowest point of the sun. And then we have
rebirth and new life. So what better for a tomb
and to talk about the journey to the afterlife than
a death, and a rebirth, and starting the cycle again? NARRATOR: Is it possible
the celestial alignment at Newgrange was created
to represent a journey to the afterlife as some ancient
astronaut theorists believe? Spiral galaxies is
one of those terms which we use all the time. And so the question might
be, are some of the spirals somehow linked with
this galactic travel? And based upon what we know from
the belief of the people who built Newgrange
and their beliefs specifically about the
voyage of the dead, we know that this was
a voyage in space. When you look at these
famous tumulus tombs that are all over the world, they
are these circular mounds. So you have a shape, in a sense,
of a flying saucer or a UFO. And the whole idea of
the spiral and the vortex is often used to
symbolize time travel. And that is the way
that extraterrestrials would be coming to earth. NARRATOR: Could the hundreds
of burial mounds found around the globe be linked
through some otherworldly connection? And if so, is it really possible
that extraterrestrials used these tumuli as portals to
travel from galaxy to galaxy as ancient astronaut
theorists suggest? Perhaps such far fetched
notions aren't as hard to imagine as they seem,
especially when considering that such things are happening
right now in the southwest region of North America. Sierra County, New Mexico, 2010. Three, two, one, fire. NARRATOR: Aerospace company,
Celestis Incorporated, launches one of the world's
first private memorial space flights, providing
a unique new funeral service for the deceased. What this company does is
essentially launch the ashes of dead people into space,
including the Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry,
1960s icon, Timothy Leary, even astronaut, Gordon Cooper, who
was part of the Mercury program that NASA created. NARRATOR: Celestis rents
compartments onboard conventional rockets
assigned to carry satellites and other payloads into orbit. They only do like seven grams
of ashes that they send out. They're in small,
tiny containers. And so to me, this is
quite an incredible thing. Because we now have the
possibility of sending cremated remains into outer space. But we have to wonder if
this is now replicating some of the ancient things
that we've seen by using a boat, or
some type of symbology, that the pharaoh or the
king in the afterlife was being prepared to go
back into the heavens. NARRATOR: But why would we want
to send our dearly departed into space? Does it in fact fulfill some
unconscious human desire to return to the
stars after death? And could this in
some way be connected to mankind's
centuries old belief in heaven, a utopian
world that exists far above and beyond our own? I think it's interesting
that the people who do this are the ones who have
been the visionaries, the ones who really wanted to
take mankind into deep space and take us on a
voyage of discovery, trying to find out whether
there are human beings there. And I think it's interesting
that in the future, we're probably going to
see more and more of this and that we're going to
become more and more in tune with what our ancestors
were thinking. Maybe at one point
in the future, we will be able to physically
send an entire body into deep space on a voyage to
reconnect with our ancestors. We're all made of stars. And the whole universe
is created out of the dust of stars. And so it seems
natural for some people to want to have their
ashes sent back into space. In the ancient world,
we were seen fundamentally as immortal souls briefly
incarnated in human bodies and possibly reincarnating and
coming back again and again. It was understood that some
aspect of the individual lived on beyond
this physical life. And the tomb was in a sense an
immortal home for that aspect of the individual. NARRATOR: Is it possible,
as some researchers believe, that mankind has long
tried to make a connection with our other worldly origins? And if so, might ancient
tombs throughout the world have been constructed
to facilitate this celestial journey
even after death? It's hard to know what
our earliest ancestors were thinking when they looked
up into the night sky. Perhaps they felt
dwarfed by its immensity. Perhaps they wondered what
the stars were up in the sky. Probably they projected
their mythology or maybe invented mythology
about goddesses and gods and other spiritual
beings living in a heavenly world above them. Maybe that's why so many
of their ancient temples were aligned with
these heavenly bodies. Our ancestors were
building these structures so that they could be seen
by the gods in the sky and by the souls on their
way to the gods in the sky. What our ancestors are
saying, what our ancestors are reinforcing, is that the
soul is going to go on a voyage into the stars. All over the world we
have very similar types of ceremonies that have to
do with entombing people. And you have to wonder a little
bit if your body is being preserved and it's
going to be used again. And if we could do
this, that's something that extraterrestrials
would be able to do too. NARRATOR: Tombs, interconnected
by design, tradition, and a desire for a peaceful
passage from life to death. Is it possible ancient
burial chambers were built from knowledge passed
on to our ancient ancestors by celestial beings? And if so, might we one day
reunite with these beings through an other worldly portal? Perhaps the answer will be
revealed in our lifetime, or perhaps only after we
take our final breath.
