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22x02 - Egypt's Lost Pyramid

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "Ancient Aliens". Aired: March 8, 2009 – present.*
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Explores the pseudoscientific hypothesis of ancient astronauts in a non-critical, documentary format.

22x02 - Egypt's Lost Pyramid

Post by bunniefuu »

High above the Giza Plateau

stands one of Egypt's
most enigmatic ancient sites.

There is a mystery here,
a huge mystery

to unravel within the ruins
of Abu Rawash.

Some say
these stone blocks once belonged

to one of the world's
greatest architectural wonders.

Abu Rawash would have
been encased

in electrum or gold.

So, when the sun hit it,

it would really be
quite a dramatic sight.

And many believe

this lost pyramid was built
more than 12,000 years ago.

This corresponds to a time

in ancient Egypt
called Zep Tepi,

when the so-called gods
were living amongst us mortals.

Do the ruins of Abu Rawash

have a connection
to extraterrestrials?

This mystery
of the Abu Rawash pyramid

could indicate that the entire
Giza Plateau was built

before the history of mankind.

On the outskirts
of this bustling metropolis,

rising from a plateau on
the west bank of the Nile River

stand what many consider

to be the three
most sophisticated

and mysterious monuments
ever built.

They are the Pyramids of Giza.

There are so many ancient
Egyptian pyramids in Egypt,

but some of them have always
really puzzled us.

When you think
of ancient Egypt today,

you think
of the three Pyramids of Giza,

that iconic picture.

Every pyramid is
a perfect mathematical equation.

Geometrically perfect,

physics-wise perfect.

Till today, we are so puzzled

by how they built
the great Pyramids of Giza.

Egyptologists say

the Great Pyramid and the other
pyramids on the plateau at Giza

were created
around 2500 to 2600 BC

for the kings
of the fourth dynasty.

This was Khufu, Khafre
and Menkaure,

and it was their innovation

that built
these incredible monuments

that remain to this day.

The Giza Pyramids
are slightly smaller today

due to erosion,

but when it was built,
the smallest of the pyramids,

the Pyramid of Menkaure,
measured 335 feet long,



and stood 213 feet high.

In the middle of the complex,

the magnificent
Pyramid of Khafre rose 448 feet

above the plateau,
and is the only structure

to retain some of its original
limestone casing.

And the Great Pyramid stood
an astounding 480 feet tall

and covered 13 acres,
or nearly ten football fields.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is,
uh, a magnificent structure

that took about 30 years
to be built

and is a marvel of architecture.

Every block was five tons,

and there is about
one million of them

to create a perfect
pyramid shape

that stood for over 4,000 years,

and we believe that

with all the technology
we have today,

we still wouldn't be able
to recreate it.

Inside the Great Pyramid
are a number

of fascinating chambers
and corridors,

like the Grand Gallery,

this towering stairway

that goes up into the so-called
King's Chamber.

It is incredibly sophisticated
in every respect.

The three pyramids are part

of the sprawling


that also includes
the Great Sphinx,

a number of cemeteries
and a workers' village.

While the Giza Necropolis
is considered

by many
to be the most spectacular

archaeological site
in the world,

there are hundreds
of incredible structures--

including more
than 130 pyramids--

that were built during Egypt's


Egypt has an incredibly long
and rich history.

I mean, even when, say
by the time Cleopatra lived,

Egyptian history was already



Egypt has persisted
in its popularity

through ancient times
into the modern era

because they used stone
to build.

The Mesopotamians
generally just used mud brick,

even for their temples.

But Egyptian pyramids
were made out of stone,

which was for eternity.

The ancient Egyptians knew
exactly about their history.

And they documented it.

For example,

when King Tut showed up
to look at the pyramids,

he was a tourist.

And the pyramids
were standing already

for at least 1,000 years.

According
to mainstream historians,

ancient Egyptian civilization
began over 5,000 years ago

and flourished until 30 BC,

when the forces of
Queen Cleopatra and Mark Antony

were defeated
by the Roman military.

By the time European explorers
arrived in Egypt

in the late 1700s,

many of its monuments
had literally been overcome

by the sands of time.

In 1798,

Napoléon Bonaparte,
along with his army of savants,

documented the wonders
of ancient Egypt.

They published a book called
The Description of Egypt

that became massively popular
and ignited interest in Egypt.

KATHLEEN McGOWAN:
Napoléon had come into Egypt

and had publicized
how spectacular it was.

And when we cut
to the year 1850,

the world is going through
a huge expl*si*n

of obsession with Egypt.

French artists had come
and drawn the monuments.

Engravings of Egypt were
being sold all across Europe.

People were fascinated with
what was happening in Egypt.

There were people
increasingly interested

in the culture
of the ancient Egyptians.

This was a time

when Egyptology really started
to come into being.

And in fact,
in about 1850, 1851,

that's when the word
"Egyptology" was coined.

Champollion had just translated
the hieroglyphics

from the Rosetta stone
just 30 years before.

And people have
high expectations

that new discoveries are going
to be made,

that reputations
are gonna be made.

Once Western archaeologists
became aware

of the treasures
waiting to be found in Egypt,

they descended
upon the Giza Plateau.

It was soon declared

that the three pyramids were
built more than 4,000 years ago,

as tombs for the pharaohs
of Egypt's fourth dynasty.

And archaeologists concluded

that the ancient Egyptians
built the enormous structures

by sheer manpower,

moving huge stones
from a quarry,

and dragging
and lifting them into place.

But ancient astronaut theorists
contend

that this explanation
seems highly unlikely,

and is contradicted
by the Egyptians' own writings.

According to

the great majority
of mainstream archaeologists,

pyramids are not a mystery.

Because they say,
"Oh, how hard is it

for people to stack rocks
on top of each other?"

But there are more questions
than answers,

because
the pyramids are not just rocks

piled on top of each other.

They're highly sophisticated
engineering feats

that,
from an engineering standpoint,

our ancestors at that time

should have not been able
to do that, yet they did.

The ancient Egyptians say

that the knowledge with which
to build the pyramids

was given to them
by our celestial teachers,

the so-called guardians
of the sky.

Could it be

that the Pyramids of Giza
are physical evidence

of an extraterrestrial presence
on Earth?

And if so,
what purpose did they serve?

Perhaps clues can be found

by examining mysterious
megalithic ruins

that stand on a hill
just north of Giza

and mark the location
of a pyramid

that may have been the most
spectacular in all of Egypt.

Just north of Giza,
on a rocky outcrop

that rises almost 500 feet
above the Nile River,

British archaeologist
Flinders Petrie

comes upon
an extraordinary ruin.

Carved into the bedrock of a
hill are several strange pits

that are surrounded by a wall
of limestone blocks.

It is the ancient site
of Abu Rawash.

Abu Rawash
is a very intriguing site

thought to be an actual
pyramid structure

because of its square base

and the angled stones
that were found within it.

But the problem is, is that most
of it's missing completely.

In the early 19th century
when Egyptologists started

to look at this pyramid
at Abu Rawash,

they thought
it must not have been finished,

because it was
in such a shambolic state.

However, since that time,

archaeological work has shown
that, in fact,

the pyramid
was probably completed.

In the years
since Petrie's discovery,

further structures at Abu Rawash
have been discovered,

including a mortuary temple,

a boat pit

and a workshop.

At the center of the complex
stands the main pyramid,

which was built out
of massive limestone blocks

and encased in granite.

It spans 348 feet on each side,

and when completed,
it is believed

to have stood
over 220 feet tall.

Abu Rawash

probably looked very impressive

as a pyramid
when it was finished.

The top might have been covered
with a smaller pyramidion,

which would have been encased
in electrum or gold.

So, when the sun hit it,

it would reflect off,
shining very brightly,

and, because it was high
on a hill,

it would gleam from a distance

and really be quite
a dramatic sight.

The choice of this site,

on top of a mountain,
seems very likely

to have been intended

to make the pyramid
as visible as possible.

Indeed,

anywhere within,
like, a ten-mile radius,

you could see this thing.

Exactly what the lost pyramid

of Abu Rawash looked like
is completely unknown,

but equally mysterious
are the massive pathways

and chambers
that remain at the site,

which have been hewn
out of solid rock.

Not only do we have the base

of the pyramid, but what we have
is a substructure

that's carved into the bedrock.

It goes down 65 feet or so
below the bedrock surface,

ends in this huge chamber,
which is open to the sky.

But if these mysterious chambers
were part

of the base of a great pyramid,
the questions remain:

who built it and when?

While the answers are uncertain,

the consensus
among Egyptologists is

that the lost pyramid
at Abu Rawash

was originally constructed
in 2550 BC

by the pharaoh Djedefre.

Djedefre was

the son of Khufu, the builder
of the Great Pyramid.

And for some reason,

he decided to move away

from his father's pyramid
at Giza

and build it five miles
to the north.

Egyptologists see it all
as part of the same family.

Khufu built the Great Pyramid.

His son, Djedefre, built
the pyramid at Abu Rawash.

And then,
Khafre built the second pyramid.

And then, the third pyramid
was built by Menkaure,

all part of the same dynasty,

all going back to the 26th,


The dating of all four pyramids
is based largely

on the notion
that the Great Pyramid,

which is believed
to be the oldest,

was built by the pharaoh Khufu.

The evidence for this
was presented in 1837

by British explorer
Richard Howard Vyse.

Vyse claimed
to have found the name of Khufu

written in paint inside
a chamber of the Great Pyramid.

But this discovery has been
the source of much controversy.

What was strange was

that the name Khufu inside
the pyramid was misspelled.

And it was later discovered

that Vyse had the same spelling
mistake inside his journal.

So, was it perhaps Vyse

who wrote the name of Khufu
inside the Great Pyramid?

Because

there is not
a single inscription

in the entire pyramid.

And then later, they find one,

and it's a spelling mistake?

There's little evidence

that these pharaohs
really did this.

And some dating
has been challenged.

A lot of people believe
it's older than 2500 or so BC.

Ancient astronaut theorists

also challenge
the mainstream theory

that people living
roughly 4,500 years ago

could have built
the Giza pyramids

without the help
of any advanced technology.

The entire Giza Plateau,

with its megalithic structures,

requires advanced
engineering methods.

Our modern-day machinery
would be very limited

in being able to recreate

what the ancient Egyptians
achieved thousands of years ago.

So, you have to wonder

what type of technology
did they have access to?

ERICH VON DÄNIKEN:
Inside the Great Pyramid,

you have different rooms,
you have different halls,

you have different passageways.

This is all a question
of planning, engineering.

In old writing,
especially in the Hitat,

which is a book from
an Arabian writer, they say

the Great Pyramid
was constructed

before the great flood,

by a pharaoh
with the name of Saurid.

In the 14th century AD,

prominent Egyptian historian
Al-Maqrizi wrote

that in the far distant past,

a king named Saurid
built the Giza pyramids

after he was visited by beings
who descended from heaven.

According to Al-Maqrizi,

King Saurid and his men placed
the giant blocks

on sheets covered
with special writing

that somehow allowed them
to move the stones with ease.

VON DÄNIKEN:
Saurid was educated
by the extraterrestrials.

So, the Great Pyramid,
in my opinion,

was made by humans,

but under the guidance
of extraterrestrials,

and under the planning
of extraterrestrials,

and with some of the help,
the tools,

the technology
of extraterrestrials.

Could it be

that the incredible
ancient structures

that stand on the Giza Plateau

were built thousands of years
before Egyptologists suggest,

and with the help
of extraterrestrial visitors?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

by more closely examining
the lost pyramid of Abu Rawash

and how it ended up in ruins.

The mysterious structure

at Abu Rawash, Egypt
has baffled archaeologists

since its discovery
in the mid-1800s.

It is believed

that the massive
limestone blocks

at the site are all that remains

of an ancient pyramid
that stood over 200 feet tall.

But much about the pyramid--

including what was behind
its destruction--

remains shrouded in mystery.

Mainstream Egyptologists
say that

the Abu Rawash pyramid
was basically dismantled

to build other pyramids

and that the stones
were then taken away

and put in some other structure.

We know that some
of the stones were used

in other structures, but

to dismantle the entire pyramid

for that seems
incredibly difficult.

Dismantling a pyramid
is actually

much, much more difficult

and trickier than it seems.

They are four-to-five-ton blocks
put perfectly together

to create a pyramid shape
that lasted 4,000 years.

They're not easy to dismantle.

The only recorded attempt

to deconstruct a pyramid
took place in the 12th century,

when Egypt was part
of the Islamic Empire.

Egyptian sultan Al-Aziz Uthman
ordered the pyramids

to be destroyed,

because they were an affront
to his religious beliefs.

He began with the smallest
of the three pyramids,

but soon learned

that removing the stone blocks
was far more difficult

than he had anticipated.

They could only remove
about one, maybe two a day.

And as soon as they pry them off
the side of the structure,

these huge blocks would
just fall down into the sand

and be lost
and be almost irretrievable.

So, after they'd been doing this
for around eight months,

Al-Aziz said,
"Look, enough is enough.

We're just gonna have
to just stop this."

The result of this reckless work

that was done at this time
has left this huge gash

on the northern side
of the third pyramid,

which is visible to this day.

While more than eight centuries
have passed

since Sultan Al-Aziz
abandoned his attempt

to destroy the pyramids,

experts suggest

that even today,
using modern machinery,

it would take more
than 23 years--

working around the clock--

to dismantle
the Abu Rawash pyramid.

So, if the pyramid
wasn't taken apart on purpose,

what happened to it?

Some researchers believe

the stone blocks themselves
provide an important clue,

because, curiously, many of them
are severely burned.

What's really strange
about it is

some of the limestone
at the site

and some of the granite,
in fact,

that have been...

kind of almost look like
they've been superheated.

We have what looks like
charring of the rock.

There may have been
vitrification

where the rock was hit
by intense heat

and turned to glass,

and then
basically fragmented away.

One speculation I have is
that Abu Rawash

was hit by major solar flares

that happened around the time

of the end of the last ice age.

A solar flare?

While it's a sensational notion,

many researchers believe
a cataclysmic event,

like a solar flare,

triggered a global
climate change 12,000 years ago.

And what's even
more remarkable is

that geologist
Robert Schoch claims

to have found evidence

that the pyramid of Abu Rawash

and structures
on the Giza Plateau

were all standing
before this event occurred.

I've suggested
that the structures

on the Giza Plateau actually
have their origins much earlier.

I'm not denying

that the dynastic Egyptians
were there,

but they reappropriated
these structures.

This began with my work
on the origins of the Sphinx.

When we look
at the Great Sphinx of Giza,

what we find is
that the core body

and the walls of the Sphinx
enclosure were weathered

and eroded by rainfall,

by water runoff,

not by wind and sand,

as you get in a hyperarid
desert Sahara condition.

What this indicates
to me is that

the origins of the Sphinx
go back to pre-Sahara times.

The Sahara Desert
is about 5,000 years old,

and the level
of erosion indicates

it goes back significantly
earlier than 5,000 years ago.

Putting everything together
indicates to me

that the origins of the Sphinx

and the three major pyramids
on the Giza Plateau go back

to the end of the last ice age,

back about 12,000 years ago,

or about 10,000 BCE.

The findings of Robert Schoch
remain controversial.

Archaeologists maintain

that the Egyptian civilization
didn't begin

until around 3000 BC.

So, who could have built
the pyramids


of the pharaohs?

For ancient astronaut theorists,

the findings of Robert Schoch
lend support for the idea

that these towering monuments
were built

with the help
of extraterrestrial visitors.

They don't even have the wheel.

They're not even supposed to
have really advanced language,

but somehow, somebody did this.

And the ultimate question is, who?

And it's just more
support material

that there's an extraterrestrial
component

to what is happening in Egypt.

Could it be true

that the Pyramids of Giza
were built

as much as 12,000 years ago

with the help
of an advanced alien race?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

and suggest further clues

about what function
they served can be found

by looking once again
to the ruins of Abu Rawash

and examining the possibility

that this structure was not
destroyed by a solar flare,

but by an expl*si*n...

from within.

For hundreds of years,

the destruction
of the pyramid of Abu Rawash

has mystified researchers.

Was the massive stone structure
simply taken apart,

block by block?

Might it have been destroyed
by a solar flare?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe

there could be
a more profound explanation,

and point to the research

of aerospace engineer
Christopher Dunn.

In 1995, Dunn traveled to Giza

to conduct his own personal
survey of the Great Pyramid.

While exploring deep
within the structure,

he made a curious observation.

Inside the Great Pyramid,
you have all these

various shafts
and, uh, passageways

and chambers

that are on various angles,

and some of them are so small

that a human being
couldn't pass through them.

And when you look at it,

as a schematic, for me,
it looks like a machine.

And so,
then the question becomes,

well, if that's the case,

what did this machine do?

After years of research,

Dunn came
to the remarkable conclusion

that the Great Pyramid
was designed

to generate massive amounts
of energy.

In 1998, he published his theory

in his book,
The Giza Power Plant.

He proposes
that the Great Pyramid

would actually harness energy
from the earth,

and there would be chemicals

and other reactions
taking place in it.

And this would
actually produce energy.

In his book,

Dunn proposed the Great Pyramid

was connected
to other pyramids and obelisks

to create a massive power grid.

It produced
a tremendous amount of energy

until a malfunction
caused it to fail.

Christopher Dunn suggests that

at one point,
there was an expl*si*n

inside the Great Pyramid
in the Grand Gallery,

and that disabled
the Giza power plant.

Could it be true, as experts
like Chris Dunn suggest,

that the Pyramids of Giza
were power plants?

While such a possibility
may sound like science fiction,

some researchers believe

evidence of this can be found
by examining the ruins

of the lost pyramid
of Abu Rawash.

This pyramid

appears to have actually
blown up from the inside,

and there's only parts
of the base left of it.

Now, is this evidence

that the pyramids
were being used

for something very powerful,
maybe as a power plant?

We have to wonder

if Abu Rawash wasn't also
some kind of pyramid power plant

that destroyed itself
in an expl*si*n

in the inner core
of the pyramid,

and then blew the blocks out and
scattered them around the site.

Aerospace engineer
Dr. Travis Taylor believes

there is merit
to Christopher Dunn's theory

that the Pyramids of Giza could
have functioned as power plants.

But he proposes

that these massive structures
generated electricity

in a different manner--

by harnessing
the electromagnetic frequencies

naturally occurring
in the Earth's atmosphere.

To me,

more likely, is that
the pyramids are much more like

Nikola Tesla's idea
of wireless power transmission.

Now, the reason I say this is

because when Nikola Tesla was
building Wardenclyffe Tower

to experiment
with wireless power,

it was originally supposed to be
the height of the Great Pyramid.

And I think he believed that
the pyramids were being used

to gather electromagnetic energy
from the earth,

and then wirelessly transmit it

to other places, maybe obelisks
or other pyramids.

According to Dr. Taylor,

a resonant frequency
could be powerful enough

to cause a structure
as massive as the pyramid

at Abu Rawash to explode.

This reminds me of a device
known as the Jericho device

that was used in the Apollo era,

and they used this big
sound wave generator

to shake the rocket.

And one day, they hit
a resonant frequency of this

that ripped the entire first
stage off of the test platform.

They hit the right
resonant frequency.

It's just like
when the opera singer hits

the right resonant frequency,
and the glass shatters.

If this pyramid was being used

for acoustic energy collection
or creation,

if they hit
the wrong resonant frequency,

it could have been
a crystal glass

shattering
from the opera singer's song.

It has been suggested

that the pyramids at Giza
were energy devices.

And this is very high-tech
kind of stuff.

And so, to build that
thousands of years ago

other than some advanced race?

Was it extraterrestrials?

Could it be that the ruins

of the lost pyramid
at Abu Rawash

are all that remains of
a powerful technological device?

One that was designed
by otherworldly beings?

Ancient astronaut theorists
suggest

further clues may be found
by examining Egyptian writings

about an age
before the pharaohs,

when Earth was inhabited
by the gods.

Egyptian archaeologist
Zahi Hawass begins an excavation

of a subterranean chamber
near the Sphinx.

To his astonishment,
he uncovers a network of tunnels

that descends deep
into the earth,

and finds artifacts within them
connected to the god Osiris.

Dr. Hawass names the mysterious
underground structure

the Osiris Shaft.

The Osiris Shaft consists
of not one shaft,

but three shafts.

So you have a shaft, a chamber,

a shaft,
another chamber complex,

and a third shaft
that ends in one big chamber,

which is where
you have a massive sarcophagus.

This has been called

the Osiris Shaft because a lot

of Osiris figurines
were found here.

Osiris was one
of the ancient Egyptians'

most important deities,
associated with fertility,

agriculture,
death and resurrection.

And in addition
to discovering Osiris figurines

within the tunnels,
Dr. Hawass found

that the nine-foot-long
sarcophagus,

surrounded by water
and four pillars,

matches Osiris's tomb
as described in ancient texts.

Why does a god need a tomb?

There's no other places
in ancient Egypt where we have

a tomb for a god.

And as the scripture would say,

this is how Osiris transports
between the underworld,

to this world we're in.

Perhaps the most curious aspect

of the Osiris Shaft is the fact

that the giant sarcophagus
that lies at the bottom

is far too large to fit through
the narrow opening at the top,

or be maneuvered
through the Osiris Shaft's

multiple tunnels and chambers.

There's a massive sarcophagus,

about 15 to 20 ton in weight,

made from one piece of stone,

too big to fit within
the entrance of the shaft.

I've been down there before,
and I was

struggling
to get all the way down,

uh, to the lowest level, uh,

let alone try
to take 20 tons with me

down four football fields
under the ground.

How do you drag a nine-foot
sarcophagus down a shaft

that's, you know, two feet wide?

There are more questions than
answers about the Osiris Shaft.

According to Egyptian writings,

Osiris and his wife !sis
came to Egypt

from the belt stars of Orion.

And as far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

this is not mythology,

but a historical account
of extraterrestrial visitation.

Osiris is claimed to have been
here on Earth with his wife.

Now how did he get here?

It's very possible
that we're looking

at some type
of misunderstood technology

with this Osiris Shaft
and the sarcophagi.

Is it a type of stargate
that actually brought them here?

And this could have been
thousands of years

before civilizations
like the Egyptian culture.

When we look
at the three Pyramids of Giza,

they are almost
precise mirror images

of the three belt stars
of Orion.

I say that it's almost precise,

because it really is
a little bit off today,

due to what's called
the precession of the equinoxes.

Through time,
Earth gently starts to wobble

and puts us out of alignment
with the stars,

but utilizing computer software,

researchers have discovered

that the three belt stars
of Orion

and the three pyramids
of Egypt precisely match



Is it possible
that the Pyramids of Giza,

as well as the lost pyramid
of Abu Rawash,

are more than 12,000 years old?

And could the builders
of these massive structures

have been directed
by extraterrestrial visitors

to position them
so that they aligned

with the stars
that they came from?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

and suggest further evidence
can be found

by examining
a mysterious chapter

of Egyptian history
known as Zep Tepi.

The Egyptians talk
about Zep Tepi,

which is this golden era
when the gods ruled the Earth.

And that was when, of course,
everything was perfection.

During this so-called
golden age,

Egypt was ruled
by the God-king Horus.

In Egyptian mythology,

Horus is the son
of !sis and Osiris.

Horus was one of the gods
who was seen often as a guardian

and also as a protector

to keep the evil gods
from hurting humans.

One of the crucial parts
of that mythology

is that Horus is the god
of every pharaoh.

So, in a way, Osiris and !sis
were the father and mother

of every pharaoh
of ancient Egypt.

Most historians suggest

that the era known as Zep Tepi
is little more than a myth.

But ancient astronaut theorists
believe

evidence it existed can be found

in an ancient document known
as the Turin Kings List.

It's an astounding list
of pharaohs

who have extremely long reigns,
thousands of years,

and it accounts
for all of the kings,

all the way up
into the time of Ramses II.

So, more and more,
we have to look at this idea

that this golden age existed

and is actually
their true history.

What's so interesting
about this idea

of Zep Tepi is that ancient
Egypt is not the only place

that talks
about a deeper antiquity

to humankind
than what we're being told.

The concept of a golden age

where the gods lived
amongst humans can be found

in ancient mythologies
across the globe.

It's even written about
in the Hebrew Bible

where fallen angels,
known as the Watchers,

existed alongside humans
before the great flood.

If these legends are, in fact,
the actual history,

this might tell us
that the great pyramids

are thousands of years older

than we've previously
understood.

Might Egypt's
most extraordinary monuments--

including the pyramids
of the Giza Plateau

and the lost pyramid
of Abu Rawash--

be remnants from an era

when extraterrestrials
coexisted with humankind

more than 12,000 years ago?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe

further clues may be found

by examining a recently
discovered underground complex,

hidden beneath the Giza Plateau.

Researchers from
the University of Pisa in Italy

and the University
of Strathclyde in Scotland

are surveying the Giza Plateau
with a new technology

known as
synthetic aperture radar.

This groundbreaking instrument
sends successive pulses

of radio waves from a satellite

to create a 3D image

of what lies
below the surface of the Earth.

In the course of their survey,

the research team finds
something truly astonishing

hidden beneath the sands
of the Giza Plateau.

Archaeologists discovered
a network

of tunnels and passageways

and structures,
including five structures

beneath the pyramids
inside the Giza Plateau,

including cylindrical objects

that seem to be part
of some mechanical device.

Images taken
by the synthetic aperture radar

show what appears to be
eight massive cylindrical shafts

surrounded by spiral pathways,

reaching as deep as 2,000 feet
beneath the Giza Plateau.

This has caused a sensation.
It's gone viral.

Everyone's talking about it.

So they've recreated
what it would have looked like,

and it is absolutely
mind-blowing.

But really, we have
to kind of get down there

and take a look now.

Egyptologists now
are describing it

as a huge city
beneath the pyramids.

How did it get there?

And how did they build this?

It would seem
to be beyond the technology

that the dynastic Egyptians
would have had.

While there is much excitement

about what might lie hidden
beneath the pyramids

of the Giza Plateau,
it could be years

before archaeologists are able
to excavate.

Even now,
after 200 years or so

of archaeological excavation,

only a tiny proportion
of the sites

have actually been investigated.

It is estimated that

everything you see
from ancient Egypt

that we have above
the sand today--

all the pyramids, all the tombs,
all the pharaohs' mummies,

all the gold, all the treasure--

is about one-third
of ancient Egypt.

It is believed that nearly 70%

of ancient Egypt
is still under the sand.

The sand of Egypt
will carry many secrets

for the rest of our lifetime
and our kids' lifetime

and our grandkids' lifetime.

We are now in the time

of uncovering
the most amazing things.

For the very first time,
we now have access

to military-grade technology

that is being used
for archaeology.

I think
with this new technology,

we will also uncover
that our past

is way, way, way more ancient
than we've ever even dreamed of.

If we can really
solve this mystery

of the Abu Rawash pyramid,

this would go a long way
to proving

that the civilization
of Egypt is much older

than what mainstream
Egyptologists are saying,

and goes back
tens of thousands of years.

More than 150 years
after its discovery,

the lost pyramid of Abu Rawash
remains one

of the ancient world's
greatest mysteries.

Could it have been built
thousands of years

before the rise
of ancient Egypt?

Was it part of an advanced
alien technology?

And might there be even more
astounding revelations

buried beneath the desert sands?

Perhaps the answers lie hidden
among the ruins of Abu Rawash,

and when they are found,
they will reveal the truth

about our extraterrestrial past.