Ancient Aliens s16e03 Episode Script
The Galactic Keyhole
1
NARRATOR:
A mysterious, ancient symbol,
with connections to the heavens.
DAVID CHILDRESS: We see this unusual keyhole shape as decoration for these gods.
NARRATOR: It appears in mystic texts.
The Secret Seal of Solomon has that interesting shape.
NARRATOR: It was incorporated in sacred architecture.
If you look at this from above it's this keyhole shape, and that to me is fascinating.
I am literally wowed by this.
NARRATOR: And it exists all over the planet.
ANDREW COLLINS: Why is that there are so many cultures that use the keyhole shape around the world? Is there some commonality to all of this? NARRATOR: Could this cryptic symbol represent a connection to beings that came to Earth thousands of years ago? ERICH VON DANIKEN: We were visited by beings from outer space.
And they left clues on this planet Earth.
GIORGIO A.
TSOUKALOS: There is an extraterrestrial message inside this keyhole shape.
NARRATOR: There is a doorway in the universe.
Beyond it is the promise of truth.
It demands we question everything we have ever been taught.
The evidence is all around us.
The future is right before our eyes.
We are not alone.
We have never been alone.
NARRATOR: Waterford, Virginia.
Cydonia Institute researcher George Haas is combing through images of Mars when something catches his eye.
A large formation protruding from the surface of the planet that displays extraordinary symmetry.
He is struck by the fact that there are no other large geographical features around it, and it has the distinct shape of a keyhole.
HAAS: When you initially look at it, it looks like something that someone made.
So, when scientists are looking for signs of activity on another planet, they're looking for structural symmetry, determining if this is possibly just something nature made or something that humans or extraterrestrials had a hand in.
What we're seeing on Mars could be evidence of intelligent design by some unknown extraterrestrial culture.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took amazing detailed maps of pretty much the whole surface of Mars.
And there are some anomalous pictures.
It's very much worth humanity's while to travel there and find out for sure, are these artificial or not? NARRATOR: Could it be that this strangely symmetrical formation on Mars is really an artificial structure, built by an extraterrestrial race? For ancient astronaut theorists, what makes this image even more intriguing is the fact that strikingly similar man-made structures exist here on Earth.
Osaka, Japan.
Today, this bustling metropolis is famous as one of Japan's cultural centers of food, fashion and finance.
But in its southern suburb of Sakai lies an ancient and mysterious monument: a megalithic tomb called Daisen Kofun.
It rises up 35 feet above the surrounding area and is 1,600 feet long and 980 feet wide, and it's encircled by three moats, making the entire edifice cover a space of five million square feet.
COLLINS: You can only really appreciate what it represents by going up into the air, looking down on it, because you then see that it's an enormous keyhole shape.
NARRATOR: The Daisen Kofun is merely the largest of more than 160,000 kofuns that dot Japan.
There are hundreds of these tombs, built between around 300 AD to around 600 AD all over Japan.
So what were these? Were these really just tombs built for emperors and kings, or were they something else altogether? WILLIAM HENRY: The keyhole shape can only be seen from the air.
And we're told that the ancient Japanese did not have a means of getting into the sky to appreciate this shape.
So there's a great mystery hereabout why the keyhole shape? NARRATOR: Some researchers suggest that the purpose of the keyhole shape can be traced back to the first kofun ever built.
The first of these tombs is associated with the first historical Japanese emperor, Emperor Sujin, in whose record in the book of ancient mythology, the Kojiki, a keyhole of a door actually also plays an important part.
NARRATOR: According to the story in the Kojiki, a young woman becomes impregnated by a powerful god who comes to her room through a keyhole, then gives birth to semi-divine children.
Another story from the same text tells that the Japanese royal family are all descendants of Amaterasu, who came from the celestial plane.
TSOUKALOS: So, what's the deal here? Why do we have these stories of someone coming from the sky? They also describe them as having come down from their celestial palace, which is called Takamagahara.
It's right there.
Our ancestors did not have words for extraterrestrials or aliens or any other creature coming from another planet, because it didn't exist at the time.
So you've got to wonder if these keyhole-shaped kofun aren't something that were actually designed by extraterrestrials.
There's something about that shape, it has meaning.
Are these sites signaling somebody who is apparently in the sky? NARRATOR: Is it possible that the design of the Japanese kofuns was inspired by contact with otherworldly visitors? As far as ancient astronaut theorists are concerned, this symbol may offer an important clue about alien intervention in Earth's distant past.
And as further evidence of its significance, they point to much more recently discovered keyhole-shaped structures that were also made to be seen from above.
Khaybar, Saudi Arabia.
May 2017.
An archaeological team conducting an aerial survey of the Saudi Arabian desert makes an extraordinary discovery: a series of mysterious stone structures.
Among them are 19 formations in the shape of keyholes, formed by walls roughly three feet high.
NEWMAN: These were keyhole-shaped kind of enclosures built of quite large stones and earth, and there were hundreds of them across the landscape.
And they're thought to be thousands of years old, but no one knows who built them.
No one knows why they were there, but they have this sacred symbol of the keyhole as the design.
So the keyhole shape is a combination of the triangle and the circle, and the circle is often a representation of the Sun and the Moon and other heavenly objects, whereas the triangle shape is really the pyramid shape, and that is a representation of the Earth.
So it really could be a representation linking heaven and Earth.
NARRATOR: Scientific testing of the materials made to build these enclosures dates them to roughly 6500 BC.
Could it be that they are somehow related to the keyhole-shaped kofuns that were built in Japan thousands of years later? Curiously, a keyhole design can be found at ancient sites belonging to numerous different cultures, and all over the world.
This shape is present in the Incan ruins of Moray in Peru, the Temple of the Foliated Cross in Palenque, Mexico, the Hopi kivas in the American Southwest, and the 10,000-year-old burial mounds in Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria.
Why is it that there are so many cultures that use the keyhole shape around the world? Is there some commonality to all of this? Even though they are thousands of miles apart? I would say that we have to look towards human consciousness.
And the commonality of symbols.
Since ancient times there have been keys and locks.
The keyhole is what can unlock a portal to another place, an unseen place, so it has a ritual and symbolic significance.
We are aware that there are things we do not know, that there are energies that affect human life and all other life that we are still learning, just barely beginning to grasp.
So the keyhole image symbolically represents the possibility that such gateways can be opened.
NARRATOR: Could the keyhole symbol carry a profound message for humanity? Was this shape repeated at ancient sites across the globe so that future generations would notice it and attempt to understand it? Perhaps further clues can be found by examining the connection between the keyhole shape and the ancient gods.
YOUNG: Khonsu has a pendant with a keyhole on it.
January 2018.
Archaeologists digging in this city, located in the heart of the Nile River Delta, uncover the remains of an ancient settlement.
Among the fragments of statues, they discover pieces of an amulet known as a menat.
RITA LUCARELLI: The menat is a a very important, uh, amulet, um, for ancient Egypt.
So, the menat was, uh, made by a series of lines of beads with the counterbalance, uh, in form of a keyhole.
And this way could use as a necklace, with the beads in front and a counterbalance in the back.
NARRATOR: In Egyptian mythology, the menat is often worn by the god Khonsu.
LUCARELLI: Khonsu is, uh, mainly god of the Moon.
But he's also a healing god.
He's considered a protector who can, uh, ward off evil spirits or evil forces.
Khonsu was seen as a wandering god.
This reflects how the Moon wanders through the heavens.
He has a pendant with a keyhole on it.
This represents the gatekeeping function of this particular divinity, the ability to open unseen worlds.
He taught many of the different sciences to the people.
He was also related to technology.
So this is the suggestion that he may have been involved in some of the construction of the sites there in ancient Egypt.
NARRATOR: Paintings often depict the gods giving the menat to members of Egyptian nobility.
While mainstream historians contend the amulet was simply a piece of jewelry, ancient astronaut theorists suspect it was something more profound.
If you look at some of the earliest representations of the menat, rays are jumping out into four different heads that are on sticks.
What is going on? To me, that is a representation of something technological that our ancestors witnessed.
But they couldn't quite figure out yet what they were looking at.
NARRATOR: Curiously, Khonsu isn't the only lunar deity or Moon god symbolized by a keyhole shape.
We also have Tanit, the Canaanite or Phoenician goddess who, again, her symbol was that of the keyhole shape, and she was connected with travel.
She was also connected with machinery.
So, again, there could be connections here between these ancient cultures and this symbol.
NARRATOR: Do depictions of Khonsu and Tanit point to the keyhole shape, representing some type of technological device? And could it be more than mere coincidence that both have a connection to the Moon? Ancient astronaut theorists believe further clues can be found on the Italian island of Sardinia.
Today, this picturesque island in the Mediterranean is famous for its crystalline waters, white sandy beaches, and luxurious resorts.
But thousands of years ago, Sardinia was home to one of the most mysterious civilizations in the ancient world the nuraghe.
The nuraghic culture of Sardinia were a Bronze Age people who occupied the island from around 1800 BC down to about 200 BC, when the Romans arrived and took over the island.
NEWMAN: There are question marks about the dating of the nuraghic civilization in Sardinia.
There's so many sites there that go back way before that.
There's dolmens that go back to 3500 or 4000 BC.
There's, uh, the giants' tombs, which are slightly older than the nuraghic civilization.
And there's even a pyramid there, Monte d'Accoddi, which dates back to around 3500 to 4000 BC.
The nuraghic culture emerged, really, from nowhere.
So they were masters of megalithic construction, and they built these amazing nuraghic towers all over the country.
There are recorded over 7,000 of them.
COLLINS: Sardinia is arguably one of the most interesting sites in Europe, not simply because of the-the large stone structures there, but it's the fact that so many of them are aligned to the Sun and the Moon and also the stars, that we have to ask ourselves: did they have a belief that their ancestors came from the stars? NARRATOR: The nuraghic people left no written historical record, causing many scholars to question how they could have achieved such incredible building prowess without having developed a writing system.
In May 2018, Oak Island treasure hunter Marty Lagina invited Giorgio Tsoukalos to join him in Sardinia to investigate the mystery of the nuraghe and offer his unique perspective.
[speaking foreign language.]
There, Giorgio and Marty were met by local guide Ivana Malu and archaeo astronomer Mauro Peppino Zedda, who showed them an archaeological site far stranger than they expected: the well of Santa Cristina.
- Now, wait a minute, wait a minute, aspetta.
- MALU: Yes, yeah, prego.
- These are modern, right? This is reproduction.
- [laughing.]
: Yeah.
- No, no, I mean it.
- No, I know, I know, I know.
- MARTY: This is reproduction.
- It's what people say when they are here they say, "Oh, Ivana, that's a fake.
What is that?" Can you imagine the well is 3,000 years old? MARTY: No.
Honestly, these are - the original stones? - Really.
Believe me.
- MARTY: Wow.
- Hundred percent.
That is built to last for the eternity.
Well, this is spectacular.
- I mean, look at - Do you want to touch with your hand - the sophistication of the wall? - Yes.
MALU: Here we go.
Andiamo.
- TSOUKALOS: This is crazy.
- MARTY: Unbelievable.
TSOUKALOS: Look at this.
It is round.
It's a perfect circle.
You can't put a-a piece of paper there's no mortar used to put this stuff together.
- I mean - MALU: It's amazing.
Incredible questo.
MARTY: Not only is it constructed beautifully, the foundation is below the water table.
Okay? That's very hard to do.
I could tell you from Oak Island, - working in the water is difficult.
- Right? Yes.
MARTY: This is spectacular.
NARRATOR: But the incredibly precise construction of the well of Santa Cristina is not its only extraordinary feature.
When archaeo astronomer Mauro Peppino Zedda began researching the ancient structures of Sardinia in search of astronomical alignments, he found that the well of Sardinia was constructed to track a very specific celestial event.
[speaking foreign language.]
And this cupola is really built to observe the Moon in its highest light.
[Zedda speaking foreign language.]
MALU [translating.]
: It's maximum.
- [speaking foreign language.]
- See, I get it.
Is every 18.
6 years, the full Moon reflects its light in the deep water over there.
NARRATOR: The event tracked by the well is known as a lunar standstill, the time when the Moon reaches its highest point in the night sky and appears to stay there for hours before finally sinking back toward the horizon.
But how was an ancient civilization one supposedly without mathematics or a written language able to build a structure that precisely tracks a lunar event that would have only occurred two or three times in a normal lifetime? The question is, there was no written language.
How was this planned? Because if you look at this from above, it's this keyhole shape, and that, to me, is fascinating.
I have not seen anything quite like this, okay? I'm-I'm literally wowed by this.
Clearly, someone told the local people how to place these stones into different areas, because it was a connection to the celestial realm.
So you're surmising the technology was given to these people? - The engineering knowledge.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Because this screams mathematics.
Yes, it does.
TSOUKALOS: It is unlike anything that I've ever seen, even though the stone steps have reminded me of inside the grand gallery of the Great Pyramid.
You can't put a dollar bill in between the fittings.
No mortar was used; it's absolute perfection.
And the hole with the oculus has a deviation of about 11 degrees.
So, that right there is something that's fascinating because only with that 11-degree deviation do you actually recognize this lunar standstill.
So, my suggestion is that this engineering knowledge was given to the local culture at the time by the extraterrestrials.
I'm not offering this opinion lightly.
The legends and the statuary and the figurines and the objects that have been found here all speak of someone descending from the sky.
NARRATOR: Ancient Moon gods in Egypt and Carthage symbolized by a keyhole.
An ancient well in Sardinia, aligned to record a rare lunar event and also shaped like a keyhole.
Could these incredible parallels provide evidence of extraterrestrial intervention on Earth? Ancient astronaut theorists say yes and suggest further evidence can be found by examining another mysterious structure in a remote village in India.
PRAVEEN MOHAN: The well of Badlapur June 2018.
Thousands flock to the Pasadena Convention Center to attend Alien Con, a three-day event that brings together ancient astronaut theorists and UFO researchers from across the world.
Featured contributor Giorgio Tsoukalos has just returned from his trip to Sardinia.
And while relating what he experienced there to convention attendees, he is shown a photo that is shockingly familiar.
The well of Santa Cristina is one of the most amazing architectural sites I've ever seen.
On that photo I was given at Alien Con was an almost-identical well 4,000 miles away in India.
And I was like, "This is incredible.
" When you look at these two structures from the sky, immediately you see that they both are in the shape of a keyhole.
So you have to wonder, "Is there a connection?" And that is the big question.
NARRATOR: A similar keyhole-shaped well 4,000 miles away? Is it possible that the well in India located in the town of Badlapur, near Mumbai is somehow connected to the well in Sardinia? Mainstream archaeologists believe that the well at Badlapur was created around 1715 during the time of Shivaji.
But there are no inscriptions in the well which state how old it is.
The fact is, locals believe that this well was created much, much earlier in time, possibly dating back to thousands of years.
Archaeological records in India are not precisely kept, so it is entirely possible that this well was built at the same as the step well in Sardinia.
NARRATOR: Curiously, both wells have a similar connection to the Moon.
In Sardinia, it's the Moon shining down on that pool of water once every 18 years.
And in India, we have 18 steps leading down to the water's edge.
Both of them reflective of the 18-year lunar cycle.
NARRATOR: Another commonality between the two ancient keyhole-shaped structures is that both were constructed using sophisticated building techniques.
The Badlapur well was originally constructed without the use of any mortar, which has only been added in recent years to ensure its preservation.
The well of Badlapur was created without the use of any mortar.
This type of construction is based on the ancient technology of Ayurveda where you are able to create a structure that can survive for many thousands of years.
NARRATOR: Archaeologists suggest that this construction style, known as Ayurvedic architecture, is derived from the ancient science of design described in India's oldest Sanskrit texts.
To the millions of Hindu faithful, these texts known as Vedas are accounts given directly by the gods themselves, and only transcribed by humans.
CHILDRESS: We still have these ancient texts from ancient India.
It's really the only civilization left that has this continuous thread to the very, very ancient past.
And these books can still be read by Sanskrit scholars today.
And what these books talk about is extraterrestrial gods coming to ancient India.
TSOUKALOS: Now, the ancient astronaut theory proposes that the reason why these similar structures exist is because perhaps both cultures were visited by the same teachers.
So, who knows if the nuraghic culture of ancient Sardinia was visited by the same extraterrestrials that were visiting ancient India, because in both cases there are local stories of beings descending from the sky.
Some thousands of years, we were visited by beings from outer space.
These beings, they wanted that we develop technology.
They wanted that sooner or later we find out that we are the offsprings of them.
So they left clues on this planet Earth.
NARRATOR: Is it possible that these two ancient wells, separated by thousands of miles and with eerily similar construction styles, were built with the help of extraterrestrial beings? And if so, does the keyhole shape represent some type of technology wielded by these visitors? Ancient astronaut theorists suggest further clues can be found by examining the significance of this shape throughout India in the form of the stupa.
MOHAN: In Ajanta caves, there are many carvings of Buddha inside stupas.
From the front, it appears as though Buddha is standing inside an elaborately carved arch.
But the fact is, what we are seeing from the front is a cross section of a stupa, inside of which Buddha is standing.
And what is a stupa? It is nothing but some kind of a vehicle.
It is also shaped in the form of a keyhole.
TSOUKALOS: Buddha sitting inside a stupa, in my opinion, is this creature inside a pod lifting off.
If we had one or ten or even 20 examples like that, you could be like, "All right, interesting.
" But what if I told you there are millions of the same motif in India about celestial beings depicted living in clouds up in the sky? Whatever the shape was that inspired the keyhole shape was what was so important, and in my opinion, that was a flying craft.
NARRATOR: Is it possible that the keyhole symbol found throughout the world was inspired by the shape of an extraterrestrial spacecraft that our ancestors witnessed descending from the sky? Some ancient astronaut theorists suggest there may be another, even more profound explanation, and point to an early Hebrew text that describes a magic ring used to control demons.
HENRY: The archangel Michael is going to give Solomon a power King Solomon of the United Kingdom of Israel begins construction on a great temple to house the Ark of the Covenant.
According to the Hebrew Bible, this sacred chest was built to carry the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written and also facilitated direct communication with God.
There's an ancient legend, recorded in, of all places, the Talmud, wherein which it is said that there were specific needs for building Solomon's Temple that no human being could provide.
HENRY: In the story, Solomon prays to God, and instantly the archangel Michael manifests, as if out of thin air.
And Michael says that he's going to give Solomon a power that has never before been seen on Earth and never again shall be.
And he produces for him a golden ring with a signet seal.
LITTLE: This is known as the Secret Seal of Solomon.
And it is a magical sign which has that interesting shape like a keyhole.
COLLINS: This ring was used to command a legion of 72 jinn.
These are fire spirits, uh, in Arabian tradition.
And once they were under his control, he used them to build monuments, including Solomon's Temple itself.
NARRATOR: According to the Talmud, these otherworldly beings that Solomon was able to rule with his divine keyhole-shaped seal were led by a jinn named Ashmedai.
In constructing Solomon's Temple, Ashmedai not only oversaw the building of the tabernacle to hold the Ark of the Covenant, but also a number of underground hidden chambers.
TZADOK: Ashmedai brought with him an army of his followers who built those places of the temple, which no human being was allowed to even know existed.
So these legends come down to us to this day that this temple of Solomon, the parts that were subterranean, were not built by human hands and, therefore, secret to this day to the human eye.
CHILDRESS: They built all kinds of tunnels and chambers.
And you have to wonder if it might have something to do with this high technology that they put into some very safe place for keeping.
NARRATOR: Could it be that the technology Solomon was given to build his temple was hidden somewhere beneath it? Solomon's Temple was destroyed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II in 587 BC.
But nearly 1,700 years later, the site where it stood, known today as Temple Mount, was excavated by a group of warrior monks called the Order of Solomon's Temple, also known as the Knights Templar.
And many believe that they did not leave empty-handed.
[horse neighs.]
The Knights Templars got a commission from the Pope to actually do excavations at Solomon's Temple.
And the story there goes that the Templars actually discovered a secret chamber beneath the temple.
NARRATOR: While it remains unknown just what the Knights Templar may have uncovered, researchers know that they would go on to display incredible building prowess, much like that of the jinn that legend credits with building Solomon's Temple.
The Knights Templars had very advanced knowledge of geometry, mathematics, architecture, and of working with stone.
Some of the early constructions include the Gothic cathedrals of Europe, and they show remarkable technology.
The way they worked with stone, the hidden geometry, the mathematics, and the sort of spiritual dimensions that these elements create are quite remarkable.
NARRATOR: Curiously, nearly every Templar church was built in the shape of a keyhole when viewed from above.
But perhaps most notable of all is that at a former Templar stronghold in France called Rennes-Le-Château, there is a statue of Ashmedai, the king of the jinn that helped Solomon to build his temple.
TZADOK: Rumor has it that the Templar Knights endeavored to communicate with Ashmedai, the king of the Shedim, the jinn, who built the temple to serve Solomon.
NARRATOR: Is it possible that the Knights Templar were in possession of a long-lost alien technology? One that was witnessed and documented all over the world in ancient times? Ancient astronaut theorists say yes and suggest further clues as to just what this technology was and if it still exists somewhere on Earth today can be found by examining the most iconic sacred object in all of Christianity: the Holy Grail.
Architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini oversees the finishing touches on his masterpiece, St.
Peter's Square.
This resplendent portico consists of two straight colonnades that open up to a wide ellipse.
St.
Peter's Square is a very large plaza in front of St.
Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
The thing is that St.
Peter's Square is not a square.
It's a keyhole shape, and the question is why? The architect Bernini tells us that when he envisioned the keyhole shape, it was to create a sort of a womb or a vessel so that the visitor to this place would feel like they're embraced by the welcoming or loving arms of the Church, that as many as one million people can gather together in this spot.
In fact, they would gather around a-a large Egyptian obelisk made of red granite that's in the exact center of the apex of this site.
But we know that shapes hold power, shapes have power.
We have to ask the question, could this be something more? NARRATOR: Some historians suggest a clue as to why St.
Peter's Square was designed in the shape of a keyhole can be found at the Garway Templar church in England.
In her 2007 book the Knights Templar Encyclopedia, author Karen Ralls notes that there is a curious etching above the church's piscina: a keyhole-shaped chalice thought to depict the Holy Grail.
There are different perspectives on what the Holy Grail is.
The one that most people are familiar with is that it's actually a cup or a chalice, one that was present at the Last Supper and that also was present at the Crucifixion.
What's interesting is that the Grail is very often distinctively keyhole-shaped.
This is eerily similar to what the Seal of Solomon looks like.
The keyhole shape that is believed to be the actual symbol that Solomon used in order to bind or control demons.
NARRATOR: Could it be that the Holy Grail and the Ring of Solomon are both representations of a technology that was wielded by extraterrestrial visitors? A mysterious 12th-century nobleman named Wolfram von Eschenbach, who is often regarded as the greatest poet of the Middle Ages, wrote of the Holy Grail falling to Earth from the heavens.
One of the origin stories of the Grail is that it was a giant emerald that was in the crown that Lucifer wore before his fall, that instead of descending to the underworld, it fell accidentally to Earth.
So we have a little piece of heaven here on Earth.
NARRATOR: While scholars debate what parts of Eschenbach's works were meant to be taken as fact, he goes into great detail about the Grail, which he alleged was carved from this otherworldly gemstone.
HENRY: The stone can instantly manifest wishes through the power of a frequency or vibration.
This is very important because one of the critical uses for the Grail is that it could transmute one thing into another.
A wasteland into a garden, for example.
Wolfram von Eschenbach said that the Grail fell from the heavens.
What if the Grail is, in fact, extraterrestrial technology? [horse neighs.]
LYNN PICKNETT: We know that the Knights Templar spent some time in Jerusalem, and it's often said that they were looking for holy relics.
They were looking, perhaps, for the Holy Grail.
Had they got it, where would they have taken it? So let's think about St.
Peter's Square, in light of this.
Maybe it tells us that the Grail is in Vatican City.
NARRATOR: is it possible that Bernini designed St.
Peter's Square in the shape of a keyhole to provide a clue that the Holy Grail resides somewhere at the Vatican? And was the Holy Grail not a cup that could bestow everlasting life but a powerful extraterrestrial technology? Some ancient astronaut theorists believe the Grail may represent something even more profound, and point back to the keyhole shape found on Mars.
NARRATOR: November 2016.
After a three-year study of the keyhole formation discovered on Mars, an independent research team led by the director of the Cydonia Institute, George Haas, publishes their findings.
The team determined that the formation exhibits such perfect symmetry that it is highly unlikely to be the result of natural erosion.
It appears what we're seeing on Mars is evidence of some unknown extraterrestrial culture that I think may have been telling the story of where we came from and possibly where we may be going.
NARRATOR: If the keyhole formation on Mars is an artificial structure, as this scientific study suggests, could it indicate that an alien technology, documented by our ancestors, was left on Earth's closest neighboring planet for humanity to one day discover? Or is it possible that the structure does not represent some physical object but carries a more important message? Was it meant to tell us that there are profound secrets waiting to be unlocked about both our past and our future? When we look at all the examples of the keyhole shape as it appears throughout different myths and traditions, it tells us that that is a vital shape for us to understand.
And it suggests to me that when we find the keyhole shape, no matter where it is, that they all refer to this great mystery, symbolized by the keyhole, and that perhaps by understanding one, it's gonna help us to unlock the mysteries of all, and release some tremendous cosmic power.
TSOUKALOS: I think that there's an extraterrestrial message inside this keyhole shape.
If anything, it is a project of spreading knowledge and information throughout the entire universe.
Because without information, what-what do you have? You have nothing.
CHILDRESS: I think that what's really lying in store for humanity now is that we will prove these keyhole shapes are really signifying intelligent life, perhaps giving us technology and helping us go into space.
NARRATOR: Could it be that the keyhole shape symbolizes a connection to the universe that humankind is only beginning to comprehend? Are religious artifacts like the Holy Grail not divine or even extraterrestrial objects but messages meant to tell us that our destiny lies in the stars? Perhaps we are on the verge of finally understanding the significance of this ubiquitous symbol and the next giant leap for mankind will be more profound than we could ever imagine.
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DAVID CHILDRESS: We see this unusual keyhole shape as decoration for these gods.
NARRATOR: It appears in mystic texts.
The Secret Seal of Solomon has that interesting shape.
NARRATOR: It was incorporated in sacred architecture.
If you look at this from above it's this keyhole shape, and that to me is fascinating.
I am literally wowed by this.
NARRATOR: And it exists all over the planet.
ANDREW COLLINS: Why is that there are so many cultures that use the keyhole shape around the world? Is there some commonality to all of this? NARRATOR: Could this cryptic symbol represent a connection to beings that came to Earth thousands of years ago? ERICH VON DANIKEN: We were visited by beings from outer space.
And they left clues on this planet Earth.
GIORGIO A.
TSOUKALOS: There is an extraterrestrial message inside this keyhole shape.
NARRATOR: There is a doorway in the universe.
Beyond it is the promise of truth.
It demands we question everything we have ever been taught.
The evidence is all around us.
The future is right before our eyes.
We are not alone.
We have never been alone.
NARRATOR: Waterford, Virginia.
Cydonia Institute researcher George Haas is combing through images of Mars when something catches his eye.
A large formation protruding from the surface of the planet that displays extraordinary symmetry.
He is struck by the fact that there are no other large geographical features around it, and it has the distinct shape of a keyhole.
HAAS: When you initially look at it, it looks like something that someone made.
So, when scientists are looking for signs of activity on another planet, they're looking for structural symmetry, determining if this is possibly just something nature made or something that humans or extraterrestrials had a hand in.
What we're seeing on Mars could be evidence of intelligent design by some unknown extraterrestrial culture.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took amazing detailed maps of pretty much the whole surface of Mars.
And there are some anomalous pictures.
It's very much worth humanity's while to travel there and find out for sure, are these artificial or not? NARRATOR: Could it be that this strangely symmetrical formation on Mars is really an artificial structure, built by an extraterrestrial race? For ancient astronaut theorists, what makes this image even more intriguing is the fact that strikingly similar man-made structures exist here on Earth.
Osaka, Japan.
Today, this bustling metropolis is famous as one of Japan's cultural centers of food, fashion and finance.
But in its southern suburb of Sakai lies an ancient and mysterious monument: a megalithic tomb called Daisen Kofun.
It rises up 35 feet above the surrounding area and is 1,600 feet long and 980 feet wide, and it's encircled by three moats, making the entire edifice cover a space of five million square feet.
COLLINS: You can only really appreciate what it represents by going up into the air, looking down on it, because you then see that it's an enormous keyhole shape.
NARRATOR: The Daisen Kofun is merely the largest of more than 160,000 kofuns that dot Japan.
There are hundreds of these tombs, built between around 300 AD to around 600 AD all over Japan.
So what were these? Were these really just tombs built for emperors and kings, or were they something else altogether? WILLIAM HENRY: The keyhole shape can only be seen from the air.
And we're told that the ancient Japanese did not have a means of getting into the sky to appreciate this shape.
So there's a great mystery hereabout why the keyhole shape? NARRATOR: Some researchers suggest that the purpose of the keyhole shape can be traced back to the first kofun ever built.
The first of these tombs is associated with the first historical Japanese emperor, Emperor Sujin, in whose record in the book of ancient mythology, the Kojiki, a keyhole of a door actually also plays an important part.
NARRATOR: According to the story in the Kojiki, a young woman becomes impregnated by a powerful god who comes to her room through a keyhole, then gives birth to semi-divine children.
Another story from the same text tells that the Japanese royal family are all descendants of Amaterasu, who came from the celestial plane.
TSOUKALOS: So, what's the deal here? Why do we have these stories of someone coming from the sky? They also describe them as having come down from their celestial palace, which is called Takamagahara.
It's right there.
Our ancestors did not have words for extraterrestrials or aliens or any other creature coming from another planet, because it didn't exist at the time.
So you've got to wonder if these keyhole-shaped kofun aren't something that were actually designed by extraterrestrials.
There's something about that shape, it has meaning.
Are these sites signaling somebody who is apparently in the sky? NARRATOR: Is it possible that the design of the Japanese kofuns was inspired by contact with otherworldly visitors? As far as ancient astronaut theorists are concerned, this symbol may offer an important clue about alien intervention in Earth's distant past.
And as further evidence of its significance, they point to much more recently discovered keyhole-shaped structures that were also made to be seen from above.
Khaybar, Saudi Arabia.
May 2017.
An archaeological team conducting an aerial survey of the Saudi Arabian desert makes an extraordinary discovery: a series of mysterious stone structures.
Among them are 19 formations in the shape of keyholes, formed by walls roughly three feet high.
NEWMAN: These were keyhole-shaped kind of enclosures built of quite large stones and earth, and there were hundreds of them across the landscape.
And they're thought to be thousands of years old, but no one knows who built them.
No one knows why they were there, but they have this sacred symbol of the keyhole as the design.
So the keyhole shape is a combination of the triangle and the circle, and the circle is often a representation of the Sun and the Moon and other heavenly objects, whereas the triangle shape is really the pyramid shape, and that is a representation of the Earth.
So it really could be a representation linking heaven and Earth.
NARRATOR: Scientific testing of the materials made to build these enclosures dates them to roughly 6500 BC.
Could it be that they are somehow related to the keyhole-shaped kofuns that were built in Japan thousands of years later? Curiously, a keyhole design can be found at ancient sites belonging to numerous different cultures, and all over the world.
This shape is present in the Incan ruins of Moray in Peru, the Temple of the Foliated Cross in Palenque, Mexico, the Hopi kivas in the American Southwest, and the 10,000-year-old burial mounds in Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria.
Why is it that there are so many cultures that use the keyhole shape around the world? Is there some commonality to all of this? Even though they are thousands of miles apart? I would say that we have to look towards human consciousness.
And the commonality of symbols.
Since ancient times there have been keys and locks.
The keyhole is what can unlock a portal to another place, an unseen place, so it has a ritual and symbolic significance.
We are aware that there are things we do not know, that there are energies that affect human life and all other life that we are still learning, just barely beginning to grasp.
So the keyhole image symbolically represents the possibility that such gateways can be opened.
NARRATOR: Could the keyhole symbol carry a profound message for humanity? Was this shape repeated at ancient sites across the globe so that future generations would notice it and attempt to understand it? Perhaps further clues can be found by examining the connection between the keyhole shape and the ancient gods.
YOUNG: Khonsu has a pendant with a keyhole on it.
January 2018.
Archaeologists digging in this city, located in the heart of the Nile River Delta, uncover the remains of an ancient settlement.
Among the fragments of statues, they discover pieces of an amulet known as a menat.
RITA LUCARELLI: The menat is a a very important, uh, amulet, um, for ancient Egypt.
So, the menat was, uh, made by a series of lines of beads with the counterbalance, uh, in form of a keyhole.
And this way could use as a necklace, with the beads in front and a counterbalance in the back.
NARRATOR: In Egyptian mythology, the menat is often worn by the god Khonsu.
LUCARELLI: Khonsu is, uh, mainly god of the Moon.
But he's also a healing god.
He's considered a protector who can, uh, ward off evil spirits or evil forces.
Khonsu was seen as a wandering god.
This reflects how the Moon wanders through the heavens.
He has a pendant with a keyhole on it.
This represents the gatekeeping function of this particular divinity, the ability to open unseen worlds.
He taught many of the different sciences to the people.
He was also related to technology.
So this is the suggestion that he may have been involved in some of the construction of the sites there in ancient Egypt.
NARRATOR: Paintings often depict the gods giving the menat to members of Egyptian nobility.
While mainstream historians contend the amulet was simply a piece of jewelry, ancient astronaut theorists suspect it was something more profound.
If you look at some of the earliest representations of the menat, rays are jumping out into four different heads that are on sticks.
What is going on? To me, that is a representation of something technological that our ancestors witnessed.
But they couldn't quite figure out yet what they were looking at.
NARRATOR: Curiously, Khonsu isn't the only lunar deity or Moon god symbolized by a keyhole shape.
We also have Tanit, the Canaanite or Phoenician goddess who, again, her symbol was that of the keyhole shape, and she was connected with travel.
She was also connected with machinery.
So, again, there could be connections here between these ancient cultures and this symbol.
NARRATOR: Do depictions of Khonsu and Tanit point to the keyhole shape, representing some type of technological device? And could it be more than mere coincidence that both have a connection to the Moon? Ancient astronaut theorists believe further clues can be found on the Italian island of Sardinia.
Today, this picturesque island in the Mediterranean is famous for its crystalline waters, white sandy beaches, and luxurious resorts.
But thousands of years ago, Sardinia was home to one of the most mysterious civilizations in the ancient world the nuraghe.
The nuraghic culture of Sardinia were a Bronze Age people who occupied the island from around 1800 BC down to about 200 BC, when the Romans arrived and took over the island.
NEWMAN: There are question marks about the dating of the nuraghic civilization in Sardinia.
There's so many sites there that go back way before that.
There's dolmens that go back to 3500 or 4000 BC.
There's, uh, the giants' tombs, which are slightly older than the nuraghic civilization.
And there's even a pyramid there, Monte d'Accoddi, which dates back to around 3500 to 4000 BC.
The nuraghic culture emerged, really, from nowhere.
So they were masters of megalithic construction, and they built these amazing nuraghic towers all over the country.
There are recorded over 7,000 of them.
COLLINS: Sardinia is arguably one of the most interesting sites in Europe, not simply because of the-the large stone structures there, but it's the fact that so many of them are aligned to the Sun and the Moon and also the stars, that we have to ask ourselves: did they have a belief that their ancestors came from the stars? NARRATOR: The nuraghic people left no written historical record, causing many scholars to question how they could have achieved such incredible building prowess without having developed a writing system.
In May 2018, Oak Island treasure hunter Marty Lagina invited Giorgio Tsoukalos to join him in Sardinia to investigate the mystery of the nuraghe and offer his unique perspective.
[speaking foreign language.]
There, Giorgio and Marty were met by local guide Ivana Malu and archaeo astronomer Mauro Peppino Zedda, who showed them an archaeological site far stranger than they expected: the well of Santa Cristina.
- Now, wait a minute, wait a minute, aspetta.
- MALU: Yes, yeah, prego.
- These are modern, right? This is reproduction.
- [laughing.]
: Yeah.
- No, no, I mean it.
- No, I know, I know, I know.
- MARTY: This is reproduction.
- It's what people say when they are here they say, "Oh, Ivana, that's a fake.
What is that?" Can you imagine the well is 3,000 years old? MARTY: No.
Honestly, these are - the original stones? - Really.
Believe me.
- MARTY: Wow.
- Hundred percent.
That is built to last for the eternity.
Well, this is spectacular.
- I mean, look at - Do you want to touch with your hand - the sophistication of the wall? - Yes.
MALU: Here we go.
Andiamo.
- TSOUKALOS: This is crazy.
- MARTY: Unbelievable.
TSOUKALOS: Look at this.
It is round.
It's a perfect circle.
You can't put a-a piece of paper there's no mortar used to put this stuff together.
- I mean - MALU: It's amazing.
Incredible questo.
MARTY: Not only is it constructed beautifully, the foundation is below the water table.
Okay? That's very hard to do.
I could tell you from Oak Island, - working in the water is difficult.
- Right? Yes.
MARTY: This is spectacular.
NARRATOR: But the incredibly precise construction of the well of Santa Cristina is not its only extraordinary feature.
When archaeo astronomer Mauro Peppino Zedda began researching the ancient structures of Sardinia in search of astronomical alignments, he found that the well of Sardinia was constructed to track a very specific celestial event.
[speaking foreign language.]
And this cupola is really built to observe the Moon in its highest light.
[Zedda speaking foreign language.]
MALU [translating.]
: It's maximum.
- [speaking foreign language.]
- See, I get it.
Is every 18.
6 years, the full Moon reflects its light in the deep water over there.
NARRATOR: The event tracked by the well is known as a lunar standstill, the time when the Moon reaches its highest point in the night sky and appears to stay there for hours before finally sinking back toward the horizon.
But how was an ancient civilization one supposedly without mathematics or a written language able to build a structure that precisely tracks a lunar event that would have only occurred two or three times in a normal lifetime? The question is, there was no written language.
How was this planned? Because if you look at this from above, it's this keyhole shape, and that, to me, is fascinating.
I have not seen anything quite like this, okay? I'm-I'm literally wowed by this.
Clearly, someone told the local people how to place these stones into different areas, because it was a connection to the celestial realm.
So you're surmising the technology was given to these people? - The engineering knowledge.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Because this screams mathematics.
Yes, it does.
TSOUKALOS: It is unlike anything that I've ever seen, even though the stone steps have reminded me of inside the grand gallery of the Great Pyramid.
You can't put a dollar bill in between the fittings.
No mortar was used; it's absolute perfection.
And the hole with the oculus has a deviation of about 11 degrees.
So, that right there is something that's fascinating because only with that 11-degree deviation do you actually recognize this lunar standstill.
So, my suggestion is that this engineering knowledge was given to the local culture at the time by the extraterrestrials.
I'm not offering this opinion lightly.
The legends and the statuary and the figurines and the objects that have been found here all speak of someone descending from the sky.
NARRATOR: Ancient Moon gods in Egypt and Carthage symbolized by a keyhole.
An ancient well in Sardinia, aligned to record a rare lunar event and also shaped like a keyhole.
Could these incredible parallels provide evidence of extraterrestrial intervention on Earth? Ancient astronaut theorists say yes and suggest further evidence can be found by examining another mysterious structure in a remote village in India.
PRAVEEN MOHAN: The well of Badlapur June 2018.
Thousands flock to the Pasadena Convention Center to attend Alien Con, a three-day event that brings together ancient astronaut theorists and UFO researchers from across the world.
Featured contributor Giorgio Tsoukalos has just returned from his trip to Sardinia.
And while relating what he experienced there to convention attendees, he is shown a photo that is shockingly familiar.
The well of Santa Cristina is one of the most amazing architectural sites I've ever seen.
On that photo I was given at Alien Con was an almost-identical well 4,000 miles away in India.
And I was like, "This is incredible.
" When you look at these two structures from the sky, immediately you see that they both are in the shape of a keyhole.
So you have to wonder, "Is there a connection?" And that is the big question.
NARRATOR: A similar keyhole-shaped well 4,000 miles away? Is it possible that the well in India located in the town of Badlapur, near Mumbai is somehow connected to the well in Sardinia? Mainstream archaeologists believe that the well at Badlapur was created around 1715 during the time of Shivaji.
But there are no inscriptions in the well which state how old it is.
The fact is, locals believe that this well was created much, much earlier in time, possibly dating back to thousands of years.
Archaeological records in India are not precisely kept, so it is entirely possible that this well was built at the same as the step well in Sardinia.
NARRATOR: Curiously, both wells have a similar connection to the Moon.
In Sardinia, it's the Moon shining down on that pool of water once every 18 years.
And in India, we have 18 steps leading down to the water's edge.
Both of them reflective of the 18-year lunar cycle.
NARRATOR: Another commonality between the two ancient keyhole-shaped structures is that both were constructed using sophisticated building techniques.
The Badlapur well was originally constructed without the use of any mortar, which has only been added in recent years to ensure its preservation.
The well of Badlapur was created without the use of any mortar.
This type of construction is based on the ancient technology of Ayurveda where you are able to create a structure that can survive for many thousands of years.
NARRATOR: Archaeologists suggest that this construction style, known as Ayurvedic architecture, is derived from the ancient science of design described in India's oldest Sanskrit texts.
To the millions of Hindu faithful, these texts known as Vedas are accounts given directly by the gods themselves, and only transcribed by humans.
CHILDRESS: We still have these ancient texts from ancient India.
It's really the only civilization left that has this continuous thread to the very, very ancient past.
And these books can still be read by Sanskrit scholars today.
And what these books talk about is extraterrestrial gods coming to ancient India.
TSOUKALOS: Now, the ancient astronaut theory proposes that the reason why these similar structures exist is because perhaps both cultures were visited by the same teachers.
So, who knows if the nuraghic culture of ancient Sardinia was visited by the same extraterrestrials that were visiting ancient India, because in both cases there are local stories of beings descending from the sky.
Some thousands of years, we were visited by beings from outer space.
These beings, they wanted that we develop technology.
They wanted that sooner or later we find out that we are the offsprings of them.
So they left clues on this planet Earth.
NARRATOR: Is it possible that these two ancient wells, separated by thousands of miles and with eerily similar construction styles, were built with the help of extraterrestrial beings? And if so, does the keyhole shape represent some type of technology wielded by these visitors? Ancient astronaut theorists suggest further clues can be found by examining the significance of this shape throughout India in the form of the stupa.
MOHAN: In Ajanta caves, there are many carvings of Buddha inside stupas.
From the front, it appears as though Buddha is standing inside an elaborately carved arch.
But the fact is, what we are seeing from the front is a cross section of a stupa, inside of which Buddha is standing.
And what is a stupa? It is nothing but some kind of a vehicle.
It is also shaped in the form of a keyhole.
TSOUKALOS: Buddha sitting inside a stupa, in my opinion, is this creature inside a pod lifting off.
If we had one or ten or even 20 examples like that, you could be like, "All right, interesting.
" But what if I told you there are millions of the same motif in India about celestial beings depicted living in clouds up in the sky? Whatever the shape was that inspired the keyhole shape was what was so important, and in my opinion, that was a flying craft.
NARRATOR: Is it possible that the keyhole symbol found throughout the world was inspired by the shape of an extraterrestrial spacecraft that our ancestors witnessed descending from the sky? Some ancient astronaut theorists suggest there may be another, even more profound explanation, and point to an early Hebrew text that describes a magic ring used to control demons.
HENRY: The archangel Michael is going to give Solomon a power King Solomon of the United Kingdom of Israel begins construction on a great temple to house the Ark of the Covenant.
According to the Hebrew Bible, this sacred chest was built to carry the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written and also facilitated direct communication with God.
There's an ancient legend, recorded in, of all places, the Talmud, wherein which it is said that there were specific needs for building Solomon's Temple that no human being could provide.
HENRY: In the story, Solomon prays to God, and instantly the archangel Michael manifests, as if out of thin air.
And Michael says that he's going to give Solomon a power that has never before been seen on Earth and never again shall be.
And he produces for him a golden ring with a signet seal.
LITTLE: This is known as the Secret Seal of Solomon.
And it is a magical sign which has that interesting shape like a keyhole.
COLLINS: This ring was used to command a legion of 72 jinn.
These are fire spirits, uh, in Arabian tradition.
And once they were under his control, he used them to build monuments, including Solomon's Temple itself.
NARRATOR: According to the Talmud, these otherworldly beings that Solomon was able to rule with his divine keyhole-shaped seal were led by a jinn named Ashmedai.
In constructing Solomon's Temple, Ashmedai not only oversaw the building of the tabernacle to hold the Ark of the Covenant, but also a number of underground hidden chambers.
TZADOK: Ashmedai brought with him an army of his followers who built those places of the temple, which no human being was allowed to even know existed.
So these legends come down to us to this day that this temple of Solomon, the parts that were subterranean, were not built by human hands and, therefore, secret to this day to the human eye.
CHILDRESS: They built all kinds of tunnels and chambers.
And you have to wonder if it might have something to do with this high technology that they put into some very safe place for keeping.
NARRATOR: Could it be that the technology Solomon was given to build his temple was hidden somewhere beneath it? Solomon's Temple was destroyed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II in 587 BC.
But nearly 1,700 years later, the site where it stood, known today as Temple Mount, was excavated by a group of warrior monks called the Order of Solomon's Temple, also known as the Knights Templar.
And many believe that they did not leave empty-handed.
[horse neighs.]
The Knights Templars got a commission from the Pope to actually do excavations at Solomon's Temple.
And the story there goes that the Templars actually discovered a secret chamber beneath the temple.
NARRATOR: While it remains unknown just what the Knights Templar may have uncovered, researchers know that they would go on to display incredible building prowess, much like that of the jinn that legend credits with building Solomon's Temple.
The Knights Templars had very advanced knowledge of geometry, mathematics, architecture, and of working with stone.
Some of the early constructions include the Gothic cathedrals of Europe, and they show remarkable technology.
The way they worked with stone, the hidden geometry, the mathematics, and the sort of spiritual dimensions that these elements create are quite remarkable.
NARRATOR: Curiously, nearly every Templar church was built in the shape of a keyhole when viewed from above.
But perhaps most notable of all is that at a former Templar stronghold in France called Rennes-Le-Château, there is a statue of Ashmedai, the king of the jinn that helped Solomon to build his temple.
TZADOK: Rumor has it that the Templar Knights endeavored to communicate with Ashmedai, the king of the Shedim, the jinn, who built the temple to serve Solomon.
NARRATOR: Is it possible that the Knights Templar were in possession of a long-lost alien technology? One that was witnessed and documented all over the world in ancient times? Ancient astronaut theorists say yes and suggest further clues as to just what this technology was and if it still exists somewhere on Earth today can be found by examining the most iconic sacred object in all of Christianity: the Holy Grail.
Architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini oversees the finishing touches on his masterpiece, St.
Peter's Square.
This resplendent portico consists of two straight colonnades that open up to a wide ellipse.
St.
Peter's Square is a very large plaza in front of St.
Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
The thing is that St.
Peter's Square is not a square.
It's a keyhole shape, and the question is why? The architect Bernini tells us that when he envisioned the keyhole shape, it was to create a sort of a womb or a vessel so that the visitor to this place would feel like they're embraced by the welcoming or loving arms of the Church, that as many as one million people can gather together in this spot.
In fact, they would gather around a-a large Egyptian obelisk made of red granite that's in the exact center of the apex of this site.
But we know that shapes hold power, shapes have power.
We have to ask the question, could this be something more? NARRATOR: Some historians suggest a clue as to why St.
Peter's Square was designed in the shape of a keyhole can be found at the Garway Templar church in England.
In her 2007 book the Knights Templar Encyclopedia, author Karen Ralls notes that there is a curious etching above the church's piscina: a keyhole-shaped chalice thought to depict the Holy Grail.
There are different perspectives on what the Holy Grail is.
The one that most people are familiar with is that it's actually a cup or a chalice, one that was present at the Last Supper and that also was present at the Crucifixion.
What's interesting is that the Grail is very often distinctively keyhole-shaped.
This is eerily similar to what the Seal of Solomon looks like.
The keyhole shape that is believed to be the actual symbol that Solomon used in order to bind or control demons.
NARRATOR: Could it be that the Holy Grail and the Ring of Solomon are both representations of a technology that was wielded by extraterrestrial visitors? A mysterious 12th-century nobleman named Wolfram von Eschenbach, who is often regarded as the greatest poet of the Middle Ages, wrote of the Holy Grail falling to Earth from the heavens.
One of the origin stories of the Grail is that it was a giant emerald that was in the crown that Lucifer wore before his fall, that instead of descending to the underworld, it fell accidentally to Earth.
So we have a little piece of heaven here on Earth.
NARRATOR: While scholars debate what parts of Eschenbach's works were meant to be taken as fact, he goes into great detail about the Grail, which he alleged was carved from this otherworldly gemstone.
HENRY: The stone can instantly manifest wishes through the power of a frequency or vibration.
This is very important because one of the critical uses for the Grail is that it could transmute one thing into another.
A wasteland into a garden, for example.
Wolfram von Eschenbach said that the Grail fell from the heavens.
What if the Grail is, in fact, extraterrestrial technology? [horse neighs.]
LYNN PICKNETT: We know that the Knights Templar spent some time in Jerusalem, and it's often said that they were looking for holy relics.
They were looking, perhaps, for the Holy Grail.
Had they got it, where would they have taken it? So let's think about St.
Peter's Square, in light of this.
Maybe it tells us that the Grail is in Vatican City.
NARRATOR: is it possible that Bernini designed St.
Peter's Square in the shape of a keyhole to provide a clue that the Holy Grail resides somewhere at the Vatican? And was the Holy Grail not a cup that could bestow everlasting life but a powerful extraterrestrial technology? Some ancient astronaut theorists believe the Grail may represent something even more profound, and point back to the keyhole shape found on Mars.
NARRATOR: November 2016.
After a three-year study of the keyhole formation discovered on Mars, an independent research team led by the director of the Cydonia Institute, George Haas, publishes their findings.
The team determined that the formation exhibits such perfect symmetry that it is highly unlikely to be the result of natural erosion.
It appears what we're seeing on Mars is evidence of some unknown extraterrestrial culture that I think may have been telling the story of where we came from and possibly where we may be going.
NARRATOR: If the keyhole formation on Mars is an artificial structure, as this scientific study suggests, could it indicate that an alien technology, documented by our ancestors, was left on Earth's closest neighboring planet for humanity to one day discover? Or is it possible that the structure does not represent some physical object but carries a more important message? Was it meant to tell us that there are profound secrets waiting to be unlocked about both our past and our future? When we look at all the examples of the keyhole shape as it appears throughout different myths and traditions, it tells us that that is a vital shape for us to understand.
And it suggests to me that when we find the keyhole shape, no matter where it is, that they all refer to this great mystery, symbolized by the keyhole, and that perhaps by understanding one, it's gonna help us to unlock the mysteries of all, and release some tremendous cosmic power.
TSOUKALOS: I think that there's an extraterrestrial message inside this keyhole shape.
If anything, it is a project of spreading knowledge and information throughout the entire universe.
Because without information, what-what do you have? You have nothing.
CHILDRESS: I think that what's really lying in store for humanity now is that we will prove these keyhole shapes are really signifying intelligent life, perhaps giving us technology and helping us go into space.
NARRATOR: Could it be that the keyhole shape symbolizes a connection to the universe that humankind is only beginning to comprehend? Are religious artifacts like the Holy Grail not divine or even extraterrestrial objects but messages meant to tell us that our destiny lies in the stars? Perhaps we are on the verge of finally understanding the significance of this ubiquitous symbol and the next giant leap for mankind will be more profound than we could ever imagine.
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