{1}{1}25.000
{99}{160}There are many mysteries about the past
{169}{262}and how we journeyed from|the Stone Age to civilisation.
{317}{389}Now there is a controversial new theory.
{407}{522}It claims that historians have|ignored evidence of a lost civilisation
{523}{578}of spectacular sophistication,
{591}{633}the key to our past.
{705}{786}If true, this forgotten episode
{786}{905}would overturn all our ideas|about the origins of civilisation.
{926}{1088}If I'm right and our whole conception|of prehistory is wrong,
{1104}{1265}then the foundations upon which we have|built our idea of what our society is
{1285}{1309}are crumbling.
{1571}{1674}ATLANTIS|REBORN AGAIN
{1785}{1869}Graham Hancock is determined|to rewrite history.
{1912}{2006}His books about the ancient|past have sold in their millions,
{2010}{2116}making him a leading figure in a group|of influential and radical authors.
{2180}{2230}Hancock has a huge following
{2233}{2307}who believe passionately|in his controversial views
{2314}{2395}that civilisation was invented|by a god-like people
{2400}{2465}ignored by orthodox historians.
{2493}{2639}It's possible we may have lost from|the record an entire civilisation
{2645}{2748}and I feel that the evidence for|this lost episode in human history
{2753}{2780}is mounting.
{2992}{3043}According to orthodox archaeology
{3056}{3150}various Stone Age peoples slowly|evolved complex cultures
{3152}{3195}in different parts of the world.
{3269}{3310}13,000 years ago
{3318}{3396}groups of hunter/gatherers|began to settle and to farm.
{3463}{3600}Over thousands of years they separately|developed writing, religions and astronomy.
{3617}{3714}Eventually they built the great|monuments of the Ancient World.
{3834}{3927}But not everyone was satisfied with|the archaeologists' explanation.
{3941}{4011}For them there was a tantalising mystery.
{4038}{4123}Ancient people in far-flung|parts of the world,
{4129}{4189}who seemed to have had no|contact with each other,
{4193}{4243}were doing very similar things
{4253}{4282}building pyramids
{4306}{4345}and studying the stars.
{4411}{4486}One explanation for these|puzzling resemblances
{4492}{4549}was the enduring myth of Atlantis.
{4598}{4691}The story goes that Atlantis was|the home of an ancient civilisation
{4693}{4737}of astonishing sophistication.
{4852}{4895}When it was destroyed in a flood
{4904}{4953}its survivors travelled the world
{4955}{5015}bringing their knowledge to|less developed peoples,
{5158}{5248}but the idea of Atlantis as|the cradle of all civilisation
{5249}{5294}was scorned by historians.
{5347}{5441}If Atlantis were true, if|there was one source
{5443}{5514}it would be very easy to|test archaeologically
{5514}{5553}and the evidence would be clear.
{5556}{5598}The fact that it's not clear,
{5598}{5666}the fact that that kind|of evidence is not present
{5668}{5760}is indicative of the fact that the|cultures developed independently
{5761}{5824}and were not derived|from a single source.
{5912}{6030}Graham Hancock believes that the idea|of Atlantis deserves a second chance.
{6051}{6100}He does not claim to be a scientist,
{6109}{6191}but he has used science|to revive an old idea.
{6223}{6300}Ten years ago Hancock|set out on a quest.
{6348}{6397}He came back with a radical vision,
{6414}{6514}one that he hoped would overturn|established ideas about the past.
{6586}{6624}What we're looking at here
{6624}{6744}is an accumulation of discordant|evidence and information
{6744}{6837}which doesn't quite fit in|with the orthodox picture.
{6846}{6905}Bits and pieces of a jigsaw puzzle
{6907}{7015}that seem to have been just scattered|and thrown all around the world
{7032}{7107}and yet the feeling that if we|can put those pieces together
{7109}{7166}slowly, methodically, painstakingly
{7173}{7284}they will show us something that|we've forgotten about ourselves,
{7284}{7348}a great civilisation lost in prehistory.
{7445}{7475}In his research
{7480}{7560}Hancock became intrigued|by the ideas of writers
{7563}{7671}who have linked ancient monuments with|the stars as they appeared long ago.
{7803}{7901}Since ancient times people|have seen shapes in the stars
{7913}{8041}and they'd given these constellations names|like Aries the Ram, or Orion the Hunter.
{8063}{8180}Different ancient societies saw different|animals and objects in the stars.
{8221}{8290}The patterns of the|constellations don't change,
{8301}{8405}but the precise angle of groups of|stars in relation to the horizon
{8406}{8438}alters over time.
{8463}{8536}It's the result of a|process called precession.
{8573}{8664}The earth spins on its|axis every 24 hours,
{8679}{8814}but the axis has a very slow|wobble which lasts 26,000 years.
{8833}{8869}This is precession
{8884}{8953}and it slowly changes|our view of the stars.
{9022}{9076}It means that their position in the sky
{9079}{9146}is unique to different moments in time.
{9185}{9328}Astronomers have calculated the slowly|changing position of the stars back in time.
{9398}{9462}Using an astronomical software programme,
{9467}{9526}Hancock made an intriguing discovery.
{9564}{9619}Some of the wonders of the Ancient World
{9623}{9722}appear to mirror the stars at a|precise moment in the past:
{9739}{9800}10,500BC.
{9842}{9963}It was a date that was to assume an|extraordinary significance for his theory.
{10344}{10461}Groups of monuments in Egypt and another|large group of monuments far away in Cambodia
{10464}{10554}are copying constellations|in the sky as they looked,
{10554}{10620}not at the time when those|monuments were constructed,
{10631}{10747}but in a much earlier epoch,|the epoch of 10,500BC.
{10880}{10906}In other words,
{10910}{10949}if looked at from above,
{10959}{11053}groups of monuments mirrored|the unique position of the stars
{11056}{11126}as they looked at that|crucial moment in the past.
{11207}{11272}For Hancock, the|implications were stunning.
{11298}{11415}We are looking at the vestiges of an|ancient world-wide religious system,
{11415}{11454}a sky ground religion.
{11461}{11503}The essential thing that it had to do
{11503}{11580}was to build architectural copies|of groups of stars in the sky
{11581}{11692}and we're looking at the vestiges of that|system spread out around the world.
{11804}{11915}Hancock argued that there had indeed|been an ancient lost super-civilisation
{11919}{11973}destroyed 12,000 years ago.
{11992}{12080}Its survivors brought civilisation|to a Stone Age world
{12082}{12187}and a map of the sky|as it looked in 10,500BC.
{12203}{12290}It became a blueprint for future|generations around the world
{12295}{12390}who built monuments to mirror|these ancient patterns of stars.
{12408}{12482}Hancock could revive|the old idea of Atlantis
{12489}{12516}with a difference.
{12544}{12656}I avoid using the word|Atlantis in my books
{12664}{12761}because most people when|they hear the word Atlantis
{12761}{12836}immediately think that they're|dealing with the lunatic fringe.
{12844}{12912}I don't feel that I belong|to a lunatic fringe.
{12949}{13067}When Hancock published his theory|in 1995 it caused a sensation.
{13090}{13163}Five million copies were|sold around the world.
{13204}{13243}The impact of his book
{13243}{13357}rivalled the spectacular success of|Erich von Däniken's Chariots of the Gods
{13357}{13405}published in the 1970s.
{13429}{13497}Von Däniken explained|the birth of civilisation
{13502}{13574}as the result of visits|from alien astronauts.
{13649}{13697}Other books by Hancock followed,
{13704}{13749}every one a best-seller.
{13809}{13895}His success has been crowned|by a major television series
{13897}{13949}which reached 10 million viewers.
{14004}{14135}Hancock is now part of a growing movement|of radical, alternative historians.
{14221}{14288}These writers have|become hugely influential.
{14301}{14407}No mainstream archaeologist ever|reaches such a wide audience,
{14420}{14495}but for academics their ideas are heresy.
{14566}{14642}Certainly one thing that they're|doing is selling a lot of books.
{14665}{14767}There's a long and ignoble|history of this sort of thing
{14769}{14849}and I view it as merely|the latest incarnation
{14852}{14998}of somebody obviously quite fascinated|by the past, a populariser of the past,
{15000}{15092}but someone who doesn't want|to adhere to the scientific method.
{15094}{15335}It is inevitable that this is a threat|to orthodox views of the past.
{15342}{15453}It can't simply be|accepted by a historian
{15453}{15551}that the whole burden of his work|over many, many years is wrong.
{15776}{15835}If Hancock and his|fellow authors are right,
{15842}{15888}we will have to rewrite history.
{15963}{16050}The only way to find out if|they are is to test the theory.
{16304}{16425}It is Ancient Egypt that provides most of|these writers with their key evidence,
{16566}{16677}in particular the pyramids|built 4,500 years ago
{16677}{16742}on the Giza plateau near modern Cairo.
{16864}{16990}According to Egyptologists those|pyramids are tombs and tombs only.
{16995}{17053}They have no other function whatsoever
{17055}{17171}and they were built to serve as the tombs|of three Pharaohs of the 4th dynasty
{17171}{17236}Khufu, Khefren and Menkaure
{17246}{17364}and that's the end of the story really as|far as orthodox Egyptologists are concerned.
{17380}{17517}I think there's room for a reconsideration|of what the pyramids might be
{17530}{17593}and in order to reconsider|that information
{17593}{17692}I think it's very important that|we take astronomy into account.
{17823}{17916}There's always been a mystery|about the three Giza pyramids.
{17955}{18042}Looked at from above they|form a perfect diagonal,
{18053}{18104}but with the third, smaller pyramid
{18107}{18133}that is offset.
{18169}{18255}Many have been baffled by|this curious imperfection,
{18281}{18341}but now there is a new explanation.
{18618}{18683}Robert Bauval is a former engineer.
{18710}{18797}He has developed a controversial|theory about the Giza pyramids
{18805}{18931}and it has a crucial role in the evolution of|Hancock's theories about a lost civilisation.
{18968}{19045}In 1982, on his way to Cairo airport,
{19051}{19158}Bauval flew over these mysterious|wonders of the Ancient World.
{19191}{19270}There was something about the|puzzling layout of the pyramids
{19271}{19313}that began to obsess him.
{19389}{19484}Now if you can see you|have two large pyramids
{19486}{19530}which are of almost equal size
{19538}{19639}and along a diagonal line|whereas the third pyramid,
{19639}{19685}the smaller one, of Menkaure,
{19694}{19761}is offset to the east of this diagonal.
{19801}{19847}Bauval had an inspiration.
{19864}{19954}The plan of the three pyramids|reminded him of a constellation
{19957}{19987}Orion the Hunter.
{20015}{20103}In the middle of the constellation|are the three belt stars.
{20119}{20224}They, too, form a diagonal|line with one star offset.
{20268}{20348}It seemed to be a perfect|match for the pyramids.
{20385}{20531}I observed that the stars had exactly the|same pattern as the pyramids on the ground.
{20531}{20616}You have two bright stars, or|two large stars if you like,
{20623}{20764}and the third one on the top dimmer and offset|to the east in exactly the same pattern.
{20792}{20867}There are, of course, many|other stars in Orion,
{20885}{21002}but it was the three belt stars that|led Bauval to make another discovery,
{21016}{21134}one that linked the pyramids uncannily|with that date long in the past.
{21162}{21205}As a result of precession,
{21218}{21304}the angle of the three|stars changes over time
{21323}{21435}and Bauval found the best|fit on one particular date.
{21456}{21576}So we have a moving|sky over a fixed land,
{21576}{21619}the pyramids on the ground,
{21629}{21716}and when you move that sky in|time to fit the patterns of Orion
{21720}{21784}you get that lock in 10,500BC.
{21804}{21870}Hancock was impressed|by Bauval's theory
{21877}{21927}and the way it linked Ancient Egypt
{21934}{21986}with an even more ancient date.
{22023}{22127}The whole arrangement|freezes the time of 10,500BC.
{22416}{22530}In his television series Hancock|showed how Bauval's idea works.
{22551}{22681}The pyramids form a precise 45 degree|angle with a line running north/south
{22702}{22852}and the three stars form the same exact|angle in the sky on only one date:
{22860}{22918}10,500BC.
{23019}{23181}For Hancock, Bauval's findings seemed like|compelling evidence for a lost civilisation.
{23218}{23390}I accept Egyptological opinion the|great pyramids were built in 2,500BC.
{23390}{23489}I am not saying that the pyramids|were built earlier than that.
{23489}{23588}What I'm saying is that|they were built in 2,500BC
{23590}{23739}but designed to commemorate architecturally,|symbolically and astronomically
{23741}{23775}an earlier epoch.
{23888}{23945}If Bauval and Hancock are right
{23953}{24011}the implications are astounding.
{24051}{24135}It means that Ancient|Egyptian civilisation
{24144}{24202}was inherited from a lost people
{24206}{24286}unknown to any mainstream historian.
{24419}{24513}One astronomer took a keen|interest in Bauval's theory
{24518}{24538}Ed Krupp.
{24591}{24663}He quickly became troubled|by Bauval's claims.
{24719}{24832}When The Orion Mystery came out|my curiosity was naturally aroused.
{24832}{24900}Anybody comes up with a good|idea about ancient astronomy
{24900}{24932}I want to know about it
{24934}{25002}and in going through the book|there was something nagging.
{25021}{25161}In The Orion Mystery there's|a nice double page spread
{25167}{25289}and anybody looking at this would|say ah, Giza pyramids, belt of Orion,
{25293}{25386}one kind of looks like the other, you know|you've got three in a row, three in a row,
{25386}{25454}slanted, slanted, we've got a map
{25476}{25580}and what I was bothered by turned|out to be really pretty obvious.
{25580}{25677}In the back of my head I knew that|something was wrong with these pictures
{25684}{25750}and what's wrong with these|pictures in their presentation
{25754}{25917}is that north for the constellation|Orion is here at the top of the page.
{25924}{26014}North for the Giza pyramids is down here.
{26016}{26106}Now they're not marked, but I|knew which way north was at Giza
{26106}{26167}and I knew which way north was in Orion.
{26171}{26270}To make the map of the|pyramids on the ground
{26271}{26424}match the stars of Orion in the sky|you have to turn Egypt upside down
{26488}{26571}and if you don't want to do that then|you've got to turn the sky upside down.
{26700}{26779}But Hancock and Bauval|reject Krupp's analysis.
{26796}{26910}They point out that Orion can only be|seen by looking in a southward direction.
{26948}{27002}So you're looking south of correlation
{27009}{27130}and for the natural tendency is to|draw what you see in that direction
{27132}{27245}and you would come up with looking|at three stars in that pattern 
{27247}{27392}and three dots, or three pyramids,|or three marks in the same direction.
{27456}{27548}If you choose a time when Orion|is at its highest point in the sky
{27549}{27659}looking south high over the pyramids|there is an apparent match 
{27667}{27738}and Bauval and Hancock's|view seems convincing.
{27772}{27816}There's no other way you can draw them
{27816}{27901}except in the way that the pyramids|lie on the ground today.
{27918}{27981}You can't do it in any other way.
{27993}{28045}If you're extremely pedantic
{28045}{28146}and believe that the Ancient|Egyptians' priesthood
{28146}{28241}was a group of narrow-minded bureaucrats
{28241}{28328}determined to follow|procedure above all else
{28336}{28504}then it's true that the northern most star is|depicted in the southern most place on the ground
{28504}{28594}and the southern most star in the|northern most place on the ground
{28594}{28641}and this is what Ed Krupp is getting at,
{28642}{28765}but if you regard it as a work|of symbolic and religious art
{28765}{28877}meant to copy on the ground what|the observer sees in the sky
{28875}{28972}then there's just no other way you|can make it than the way it is made.
{29012}{29093}But there's evidence that the Egyptians|may well have seen it another way;
{29106}{29189}perceiving the sky as forming|a canopy over their heads,
{29194}{29264}with north in the sky matching|north on the ground,
{29269}{29337}and the top of Orion thus pointing north.
{29445}{29554}The pyramids are set out facing|precisely north, south, east and west
{29566}{29670}and research suggests they were|aligned using the north polar stars
{29825}{29945}and also there are shafts built through the|north and south sides of the great pyramid
{29950}{30047}which point directly to stars in|the north and south of the sky
{30060}{30177}indicating that the Egyptians clearly linked|directions on the ground and in the sky.
{30203}{30366}That locks the pyramids north side and|south side to the north side of the sky
{30366}{30411}and the south side of the sky.
{30414}{30500}That means the Egyptians, in building|and laying out the pyramids,
{30500}{30577}said we know where north|is and we care about it
{30577}{30643}because we've incorporated|it into the architecture.
{30680}{30813}The Egyptians were perfectly capable of|drawing the pyramids right if they wanted to.
{30832}{30947}If they wanted Orion's belt to look|like Orion's belt on the ground
{30947}{31024}and match up with the north|and south sides of the pyramid
{31024}{31051}they could have done that.
{31219}{31274}But whether or not the|Egyptians cared about
{31274}{31349}matching north and south in|the sky and on the ground
{31349}{31386}there are other problems.
{31436}{31495}There are 13 other stars in Orion.
{31504}{31546}None of them match pyramids.
{31645}{31712}There are over 75 other pyramids in Egypt
{31718}{31816}and among them all there are no|convincing matches with stars,
{31900}{31979}but Hancock and Bauval|still stand by their theory.
{31994}{32104}I don't need every pyramid in|Egypt to map a star in the sky.
{32122}{32166}The people who built these monuments
{32166}{32240}were making a grand symbolic statement
{32240}{32347}that was supposed to be understood|on an intuitive and spiritual level.
{32430}{32591}It is hard to invest a lot|of intellectual effort
{32603}{32699}into three stars in a row and|three pyramids on the ground.
{32721}{32783}That's like a simple configuration
{32783}{32869}and it's very easy to find|three things in a row
{32869}{32953}and if, if you know there are roughly|81 or so pyramids in Egypt
{32953}{33052}well yeah if all 81 of 'em mapped|the sky perfectly I'd be impressed,
{33063}{33173}but if three of them mapped the|sky sorta I'm not impressed.
{33221}{33240}There's more.
{33253}{33377}Astronomer Anthony Fairall has|re-examined that precise 45 degree angle
{33382}{33449}that seemed to link the|pyramids with the belt stars
{33450}{33530}as they were in 10,500BC.
{33556}{33650}Fairall found that the match was not|as precise as originally claimed.
{33704}{33807}The angle formed by the two|large pyramids is 45 degrees,
{33840}{33928}but the angle formed by|the Belt stars is 54.
{34036}{34137}Hancock and Bauval dispute the|large size of Fairall's angle,
{34143}{34192}but accept there is a discrepancy.
{34342}{34402}No they're not absolutely|correct and I don't care.
{34412}{34526}I have to stress that in my view|the Ancient Egyptian priesthood
{34526}{34604}was not staffed by|anal-retentive bureaucrats.
{34607}{34732}The Ancient Egyptian priesthood was a|group of creative and imaginative thinkers
{34732}{34785}who were exploring the|mystery of life and death
{34785}{34862}and who believed that there was a|connection between ground and sky.
{34867}{35013}They wanted to make a resemblance on|the ground of a particular moment in time.
{35130}{35187}There is a simple explanation
{35189}{35340}for the way the pyramids were laid out|along that diagonal line 4,500 years ago
{35360}{35418}and it has nothing to do with Orion.
{35448}{35511}Kate Spence is an Egyptologist.
{35542}{35716}She's studied the historical sequence of quarrying|and construction on the Giza plateau in 2,500BC.
{35783}{35835}The interior blocks of the pyramids
{35839}{35909}were extracted from quarries|on the plateau itself.
{35918}{35984}The bases of the blocks|can still be seen today.
{36014}{36092}It turns out that the choices|of the pyramid builders
{36092}{36185}were severely limited by the site|they had chosen to build on.
{36220}{36336}It's entirely possible to explain the position|of the pyramids relative to each other
{36337}{36440}just through the geology of the site and|the nature of the pyramids themselves.
{36442}{36532}If we look at a map of the pyramids
{36545}{36623}which shows the contour lines you|can actually see it quite clearly.
{36633}{36748}These are the pyramids, the Khufu|pyramid, Khefren and Menkaure
{36761}{36846}and they're built on a ridge|which runs diagonally.
{36851}{36931}The reason they're set|obliquely to the ridge
{36931}{36997}is because they're aligned|so carefully towards north,
{37006}{37083}so this is the first pyramid to|be built, the Khufu pyramid
{37084}{37202}and when Khefren came along to build|his he couldn't build it in a straight line
{37202}{37289}because there's a quarry here|and it's very steeply sloping.
{37289}{37342}So he had to set the pyramid back,
{37352}{37445}for two reasons, both so that it|was on a reasonably high level
{37453}{37559}and also so that he could get a clear|view of north for the alignment,
{37561}{37655}and exactly the same thing happened|when Menkaure came to build his.
{37655}{37739}It's actually set back from the|line of the Khefren pyramid
{37739}{37843}because if you see here the contours|are very close so it's quite steep,
{37849}{37966}so it's set on a level plateau at about|the same height as the Khefren pyramid
{37966}{38020}and with a clear view towards north.
{38070}{38191}It seems clear that as the Egyptian kings|built their monuments across the Giza plateau
{38212}{38284}the decisions they made about|the position of the pyramids
{38290}{38353}were not inspired by a pattern of stars
{38365}{38471}but were the result of the limitations|of the site they chose to build on.
{38602}{38675}But Graham Hancock's radical|theory about the past
{38679}{38745}does not depend on|the Orion theory alone.
{38764}{38852}He claims to have discovered a|global network of ancient monuments,
{38855}{38912}either mapping constellations|on the ground
{38917}{38971}or linked in other ways to the stars.
{38999}{39124}He believes that they're all based on a|12,000 year-old blueprint of the night sky.
{39168}{39197}Far from Egypt
{39204}{39296}Hancock has discovered other|crucial evidence in Cambodia,
{39311}{39399}at one of the most extraordinary|archaeological sites in the world:
{39408}{39448}the temples of Angkor Vat.
{39638}{39699}The temples were built|by the Khmer people
{39707}{39790}3,000 years after the|Giza pyramids were built,
{39808}{39926}but Hancock claims to have found|evidence of a more ancient master plan.
{40258}{40344}There's a similarity,|a very strong similarity
{40344}{40413}between the pattern of|the temples on the ground
{40414}{40517}and the pattern of the stars in|the constellation of Draco,
{40517}{40578}one of the great northern constellations.
{40578}{40656}Quite simply if you take a map|of the temples of Angkor
{40658}{40745}and join the dots to connect|up the different temples
{40745}{40864}you find that you have drawn out on that map|the pattern of the constellation of Draco.
{40902}{40969}As Hancock shows in|his television series,
{40982}{41120}it does seem as if the temples at Angkor|are a genuine mirror of the stars
{41123}{41190}mapped out by the lost civilisation,
{41287}{41317}and that wasn't all.
{41346}{41470}The temples of Angkor also seemed to|be connected with that momentous date:
{41478}{41541}10,500BC
{41560}{41604}as a result of precession.
{41726}{41790}I found extraordinarily
{41806}{41915}that the correlation becomes as close|as possible to perfect only at one date,
{41963}{42033}and that is 10,500BC.
{42270}{42309}In his television series, 
{42314}{42420}Hancock refers to the work of one of|the world's leading experts on Angkor,
{42441}{42468}Eleanor Mannikka.
{42503}{42592}She has spent 20 years surveying|and mapping the temples
{42606}{42669}and now she's examined Hancock's theory
{42678}{42698}in detail.
{42730}{42796}This hypothesis is based on the fact
{42798}{42895}that certain temples are|placed in their position
{42902}{43035}because they have to follow a pattern|that evokes the constellation Draco,
{43049}{43223}so if we look at this we see the beginning|apparently is the head right here at Angkor Vat
{43228}{43417}and the pattern goes from there up to Phnom|Bakheng which is this enormous central mountain.
{43464}{43551}Then it travels up here|to (TEMPLE NAME) Thom
{43551}{43620}and then it goes over|here to (TEMPLE NAME)
{43625}{43697}and from (TEMPLE NAME) it|goes to (TEMPLE NAME).
{43781}{43872}Then it goes to (TEMPLE NAME),|then it goes to (TEMPLE NAME),
{43900}{44025}out here to (TEMPLE NAME)|built in the 12th century.
{44034}{44187}I see a vague resemblance of course|because it goes up and down and off,
{44187}{44284}but actually the tail of|Draco goes way up like this,
{44284}{44340}it doesn't just go off like that.
{44370}{44408}When examined closely
{44413}{44500}the actual match between the|temples and the constellation
{44502}{44542}is not at all precise.
{44612}{44651}Does Hancock have an answer?
{44684}{44732}There's a rather good correspondence.
{44740}{44859}By no means you know|absolutely spot-on accurate,
{44859}{44946}but a rather good correspondence|between the stars in the sky
{44950}{44980}and the temples on the ground
{44980}{45061}and when you bear in mind that|these temples were constructed
{45061}{45159}across hundreds of square miles|of really very dense jungle,
{45185}{45233}something like 1,000 years ago,
{45233}{45319}when there was no ability for the|builders to get above their subject
{45319}{45401}and check that they were|achieving a perfect design,
{45401}{45434}I think they did a very good job.
{45459}{45547}But surveying has never depended|on viewing from above.
{45556}{45649}It's all done by measuring distances|and angles on the ground.
{45665}{45795}Mannikka's investigations show that the|Khmers must have been expert surveyors.
{45813}{45859}Such is the precision of their work
{45862}{45955}that she is convinced that they could|have accurately laid out and built
{45956}{45991}any pattern they wanted,
{46021}{46119}and there is good evidence which reveals|why the Khmers placed the temples
{46120}{46142}where they did.
{46190}{46304}Certain of these temples within|this so-called constellation here
{46317}{46458}are where they are for very|clear-cut historical reasons
{46461}{46529}referred to in inscriptions,|very obvious reasons.
{46529}{46579}For example, (TEMPLE NAME),
{46657}{46771}which is located here on top of|the central hill at Angkor,
{46772}{46866}had to be the place where the|king put his royal temple
{46875}{46948}because nothing else was|so prominent at the site.
{47055}{47206}Up here at (TEMPLE NAME) there was|a very bloody battle around 1190.
{47287}{47326}That's why (TEMPLE NAME) is here.
{47326}{47363}It couldn't be anywhere else.
{47363}{47412}It had to be here 'cos|the battle was here.
{47511}{47543}Mannikka discovered
{47549}{47658}that the position of every one of|the temples included by Hancock
{47663}{47759}can be explained in similarly|well documented ways.
{47874}{47995}Hancock includes only ten temples in|the shape of the constellation Draco,
{48027}{48081}but investigation of the Angkor region
{48084}{48165}has revealed that there|are more than 60 temples.
{48197}{48289}It seems arbitrary to use|so few out of so many.
{48304}{48348}The correlation he has found
{48349}{48426}begins to look more like|coincidence than planning.
{48445}{48604}I'm sure that, that there are|academics who can find a dozen reasons
{48604}{48745}why the resemblance of the temples of Angkor|to the pattern of the constellation of Draco
{48745}{48848}is accidental and a coincidence and can|be explained in all sorts of other ways,
{48852}{48986}but I've put forward my case in as|much detail as I can in my work.
{48988}{49079}I think there is a striking resemblance|between the basic pattern on the ground
{49084}{49141}and the pattern of the|constellation in the sky.
{49248}{49290}But there is a final problem.
{49308}{49433}Although Hancock believes the Khmer based their|cherished temples on the constellation of Draco,
{49442}{49532}strangely it is not mentioned|in any of their inscriptions.
{49606}{49672}Draco had nothing to do|with the culture whatsoever.
{49672}{49753}I mean there's no reference to the|constellation in any inscription,
{49789}{49891}there's no reference to|it whatsoever in any way.
{49959}{49980}No Draco.
{50091}{50174}Unfortunately, Ancient Egypt and Cambodia
{50174}{50242}are Hancock's most important|pieces of evidence,
{50248}{50336}that monuments mirror an|ancient blueprint of the stars.
{50376}{50424}His claim seems flawed
{50446}{50560}and Horizon has made a discovery which|further questions his basic theory.
{50579}{50680}It links a group of unique monuments|with a pattern of stars.
{50706}{50772}Here are the monuments on|the ground looking north.
{50825}{50896}The pattern matches one of|the great constellations:
{50904}{50931}Leo the Lion.
{51023}{51057}These are the monuments:
{51077}{51111}Grand Central Station,
{51126}{51167}the New York Public Library,
{51170}{51193}Macey's,
{51195}{51229}Madison Square Gardens,
{51230}{51266}the Central Post Office,
{51266}{51287}a theatre,
{51297}{51323}a university,
{51333}{51362}Times Square,
{51369}{51399}the Rockefeller Centre
{51411}{51440}and a police station.
{51480}{51529}The monuments are, of course,
{51529}{51556}in Manhattan.
{51617}{51721}The Leo master plan doesn't account|for every Manhattan landmark,
{51726}{51805}but using Hancock's|criteria it doesn't have to.
{51824}{51867}As long as you have enough points
{51878}{51937}and you don't need to|make every point fit,
{51949}{52017}you can find virtually|any pattern you want.
{52065}{52154}But Hancock does offer other|kinds of evidence for his theory.
{52184}{52291}I'm already convinced about the existence|of an ancient worldwide religious system
{52293}{52393}which must have emanated|from a remote, lost source,
{52408}{52449}but I need to convince others
{52449}{52486}and the best way to do that
{52491}{52663}is to produce artefacts and evidence|that are 12,000 or so years old
{52663}{52795}and which, therefore, fall outside of|the framework of orthodox history.
{52899}{52951}There are two far-flung monuments
{52956}{53068}that Hancock claims were actually built|by the people of the lost civilisation.
{53111}{53193}One is the ancient city|of Tiwanaku in Bolivia,
{53206}{53261}the other is the Egyptian Sphinx.
{53347}{53437}The Sphinx was carved out of the|limestones of the Giza plateau.
{53456}{53579}Mainstream archaeologists think|it was built 4,500 years ago
{53604}{53695}but Hancock believes|it is 12,000 years old.
{53732}{53799}Some of his evidence|is again astronomical.
{53816}{53937}The constellation Leo rose above the|horizon directly east of the Sphinx
{53941}{53999}in 10,500BC,
{54026}{54147}but there is no evidence that this constellation|was recognised by the Ancient Egyptians,
{54186}{54268}but Hancock also claims there|is geological evidence.
{54324}{54418}Egypt has had a dry climate since|the time the pyramids were built,
{54431}{54529}but the Sphinx and its surrounding|enclosure are deeply eroded.
{54555}{54684}It has been argued by Hancock and others|that the erosion was caused by heavy rainfall
{54697}{54730}and that this means
{54730}{54847}the Sphinx must have been carved many|thousands of years earlier than we thought,
{54854}{54893}when the climate was wetter.
{55142}{55253}But the erosion argument has not|stood up to the scrutiny of geologists. 
{55266}{55354}Erosion on the Giza plateau|does not depend on water.
{55369}{55436}The Giza limestones contain salts
{55445}{55526}and these have proved to cause|destructive levels of erosion
{55526}{55577}in very short periods of time.
{55630}{55760}There is no hard evidence that the Sphinx|is any older than the orthodox date.
{55815}{55881}Hancock has also focused|on another monument
{55882}{55926}thousands of miles from Egypt,
{55926}{55959}in South America.
{56077}{56159}High in the Bolivian Andes|lies Lake Titicaca.
{56178}{56303}Nine miles to the east is one of the most|mysterious ruined cities in the world.
{56312}{56367}It is called Tiwanaku.
{56433}{56546}Archaeologists think that this was the|capital of a South American empire
{56547}{56627}that began to flourish|nearly 2,000 years ago,
{56656}{56763}but the identity of the people who|created Tiwanaku remains a mystery.
{56783}{56871}Whoever they were, they|were superb stone-masons
{56880}{56929}creating temples and monuments
{56930}{57029}using immense but precisely|carved blocks of stone.
{57126}{57158}For more than a century
{57164}{57245}Tiwanaku has attracted|fabulous explanations.
{57307}{57375}As to who would have built Tiwanaku
{57375}{57468}what we might be talking about is|the survivors of the lost civilisation,
{57468}{57568}people who have moved into the|mountains to create a new settlement
{57568}{57646}to try to preserve something of their|culture, something of their tradition,
{57646}{57691}something of their religious ideas.
{57717}{57828}For evidence Hancock turned to|the writings of Arthur Posnansky,
{57838}{57940}who thought Tiwanaku was the cradle|of ancient American civilisation.
{57968}{58033}He stumbled on the site at|the turn of the century
{58039}{58097}and became a self-appointed expert.
{58134}{58264}Posnansky claimed Tiwanaku was|an ancient astronomical observatory. 
{58320}{58438}He believed that particular stone blocks|had once been positioned to face the sun
{58441}{58533}as it rose above the horizon at|the winter and summer solstices,
{58559}{58604}but like the constellations,
{58615}{58714}the position of the solstices|changes very slowly over time
{58732}{58841}and Posnansky found the best match|between the stone blocks and the rising sun
{58846}{58884}12,000 years ago.
{58931}{59037}Arthur Posnansky, who is by no means|a favourite with orthodox scholars,
{59037}{59184}but did spend 50 years of his life studying|Tiwanaku from the early 1900s up until the 1940s,
{59203}{59342}made a very strong case that the alignments,|the original alignments of Tiwanaku,
{59341}{59446}had been set out at a time when the rising|point of the sun was quite different
{59461}{59534}from, from where it is today at|the winter and summer solstices
{59534}{59624}and he dated that approximately|to about 12,000 years ago.
{59647}{59716}But how good is the evidence|that Hancock relies on?
{59730}{59803}Has Posnansky's work|stood the test of time?
{59850}{59917}Tiwanaku is in a ruinous state.
{59925}{59987}Its great blocks lie shattered and fallen.
{60031}{60085}That's because in the 17th century
{60092}{60178}the Spanish Conquistadors arrived|in this region of the Andes.
{60196}{60271}They set about destroying|this pagan monument.
{60307}{60351}The Spanish broke up the site,
{60358}{60400}moved hundreds of blocks
{60406}{60456}and built a cathedral with them nearby.
{60659}{60766}No one knows where many of the remaining|blocks were originally positioned.
{60776}{60902}Posnansky could only guess that they might|once have been aligned with the rising sun,
{60917}{60982}yet this was his most important evidence.
{61070}{61129}Posnansky died in 1948.
{61147}{61242}That means he missed a revolution|in archaeological science,
{61249}{61326}one that might have changed his|mind about the age of the site.
{61415}{61515}Carbon dating is a method that has|provided increasingly reliable dates
{61515}{61581}for archaeological|sites all over the world,
{61587}{61628}including Tiwanaku.
{61661}{61722}Carbon dates for the|great stone monuments
{61727}{61796}show they are less than 2,000 years old.
{61825}{61950}Graham Hancock disputes their age because|carbon dating can't date the stone itself,
{61958}{62084}but only organic remains like bone or|charcoal found in association with the stone.
{62111}{62178}He regards this association as unreliable,
{62191}{62281}although the method has been tried and|tested at sites throughout the world,
{62289}{62378}and at Tiwanaku archaeologists|are confident of the link.
{62402}{62525}But anyway, here archaeologists have|dug deeper than the stone structures.
{62541}{62609}The earlier signs of any human habitation,
{62614}{62649}probably a small village,
{62655}{62787}easily dated from organic remains|are just 3,500 years old;
{62792}{62865}nowhere near 10,500BC.
{62893}{62982}So how does Hancock deal with this|information in his most recent book?
{63027}{63084}I'm not required to be encyclopaedic.
{63113}{63257}In Heaven's Mirror there is no representation|whatsoever of recent carbon dates for Tiwanaku.
{63257}{63314}I simply didn't discuss it in there.
{63394}{63432}There is no hard evidence
{63436}{63580}that survivors of a lost civilisation built|Tiwanaku or the Sphinx 12,000 years ago.
{63672}{63773}But there is one other way Hancock|could change our view of the past
{63793}{63874}and that is to find the home|of the lost civilisation.
{63902}{63950}It would be the find of the century,
{63959}{63992}the real Atlantis.
{64097}{64198}Hancock has made an astonishing|suggestion about where it could be:
{64226}{64252}Antarctica.
{64306}{64403}He has claimed that Antarctica|was once in a warmer region
{64408}{64465}and home to the lost civilisation.
{64494}{64548}12,000 years ago, he argued,
{64556}{64689}a massive shift in the earth's crust|thrust Antarctica to the South Pole
{64697}{64741}where it became ice-bound.
{65032}{65133}Geologists have studied the history|of Antarctica through ice-cores,
{65139}{65204}some as deep as 3.5 kilometres.
{65233}{65284}Ice-cores are like tree rings
{65291}{65367}and they can be used to work out|the history of the ice-sheets.
{65389}{65444}The scientists' work shows clearly
{65452}{65559}that the ice has been here|for over 400,000 years.
{65692}{65792}It would have been hard to|survive here in 10,500BC
{65798}{65872}let alone create a|sophisticated civilisation.
{65954}{66030}What I've come to realise as|my research has gone on
{66049}{66128}in a sense, is that I|don't need Antarctica
{66130}{66302}and therefore I don't need to propose|a radical revolution of geological ideas
{66304}{66359}in order to explain a lost civilisation.
{66410}{66489}Hancock now believes we've been|looking in the wrong place.
{66513}{66602}The lost civilisation was|underwater all along.
{66727}{66783}This is the Yonaguni formation.
{66823}{66902}Discovered in 1987 by|a Japanese fisherman
{66909}{67033}it lies under five metres of water at|the end of the Japanese island chain.
{67065}{67170}It appears to be a series of steps|and pyramid-like structures.
{67320}{67423}Could this be the remains of a|city lost 12,000 years ago?
{67464}{67493}It looks like a monument.
{67493}{67530}It has very curious features.
{67530}{67616}It has a series of steps and|terraces cut into its side,
{67635}{67685}it's oriented to the cardinal directions,
{67685}{67815}it faces due south, it has a deep east/west|feature running along in front of it.
{67816}{67971}It bears all the hallmarks of a designed|ceremonial, ritual or religious monument.
{68010}{68101}Yonaguni looked as if it could|be a spectacular discovery
{68111}{68162}and Hancock needed corroboration.
{68239}{68305}He invited the Boston University geologist
{68306}{68359}Robert Schoch to inspect the site.
{68395}{68509}Professor Schoch has taken a keen interest|in unorthodox views of the past
{68519}{68604}and he welcomed the chance to|examine the underwater discovery.
{68637}{68724}Schoch dived with Hancock|several times at Yonaguni.
{68766}{68935}I went there in this case actually hoping|that it was a totally manmade structure
{68935}{69064}that was now submerged underwater, that|dated maybe back to 6,000BC or more.
{69099}{69185}When I got there and I got|to dive on the structure
{69232}{69292}I have to admit I was|very, very disappointed
{69292}{69440}because I was basically|convinced after a few dives
{69440}{69558}that this was primarily possibly|totally a natural structure.
{69567}{69669}I think that what Robert Schoch|needs to do is a lot more diving.
{69669}{69784}When I took him there in 1997,
{69793}{69830}September of 1997,
{69830}{69870}he did four dives at that time
{69870}{69935}and then he went back|again in July of 1998
{69935}{69971}and did a few more dives.
{69984}{70134}I really feel that before anybody|pronounces definitively on this monument
{70142}{70212}they should put in a|minimum of 50 dives.
{70271}{70341}Professor Schoch has|not changed his mind.
{70395}{70488}Isolated portions of it|look like they're manmade,
{70488}{70628}but when you look at it in context,|you look at the shore features etc
{70629}{70669}and you see how, in this case,
{70669}{70797}fine sandstones split along|horizontal bedding plains
{70797}{70839}that gives you these regular features. 
{70839}{70888}I'm convinced it's a natural structure.
{71054}{71184}Graham Hancock is still scouring the oceans|of the world for a lost civilisation.
{71209}{71263}He has also investigated pyramids
{71269}{71346}and a giant stone face on the planet Mars,
{71422}{71559}but he has yet to find firm evidence that|there really was a forgotten civilisation
{71561}{71658}of god-like astronomers 12,000 years ago.
{71706}{71744}I believe passionately
{71748}{71807}that the past has been misrepresented
{71807}{71884}and that people today are not|being given the full picture
{71889}{71999}and I don't think that my arguments are ever|going to be successfully destroyed by nit-picking.
{72042}{72111}After having invested a lot of time
{72121}{72166}doing what I think very|few other people do,
{72166}{72278}which is saying, OK, you've made|this claim, let's see if it holds up.
{72283}{72354}And so, subjecting it to|the rules of evidence
{72378}{72435}and then coming to a conclusion,
{72446}{72527}my conclusion is no, I|don't think they're right
{72530}{72656}and I don't think they're right because I|don't think the evidence fits the hypothesis.