All language subtitles for What’s Really Hidden Beneath the Pyramids of Giza¿ ¦ The UnXplained (1080p_24fps_H264-128kbit_AAC-anglais).anglais

[William Shatner]
An ancient desert

covered in hundreds of pyramids.

A massive earthen hill

hiding a sacred
and deadly spring.

And a controversial discovery

hidden deep beneath
the Alaskan wilderness.

For thousands of years,

civilizations around the world

built monumental structures
made of stone and brick

that we call pyramids.

In Africa, Asia, Europe,
and the Americas,

ancient engineers created

surprisingly similar
constructions

while having no knowledge

of what other cultures
were crafting.

How is this possible?

Were pyramids meant
to be tombs or temples?

Or was there a greater purpose

to some of these
incredible works?

Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

♪ ♪

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

Towering over the limestone
desert sands

of the Giza Plateau
stands the oldest

of the Seven Wonders
of the Ancient World.

It is called
the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Built in 2600 BC,

the monolith is flanked
by two smaller

but equally colossal
pyramid structures.

The Giza complex is
a monumental achievement

in ancient engineering

and a marvel that has confounded

scientists and researchers
for centuries.

[Hugh Newman] The Great Pyramid

on the Giza Plateau

is an astonishing construction.

There's 2.3 million blocks
of limestone

in the structure itself.

I mean, it takes an hour
to walk around it, at least.

But it's also the fact that
you have these giant platforms

of megalithic blocks,

perfectly created.

[Chris Naunton] Inevitably,

people want to ask how on earth

a civilization
thousands of years ago

could have achieved this.

The right angles at the corner

are almost absolutely bang on
90-degree angles.

The lengths of the sides
are almost perfectly equal

on all four of them.

They are closer to perfect

than would be required
for modern buildings.

It is a-an unparalleled
achievement.

[Shatner] It's possible we'll
never completely understand

how the great pyramids
were constructed

with such remarkable precision.

But perhaps
an even greater mystery

is why were they built
in the first place.

The great pyramids of Giza are

one of the great
untold mysteries.

We're not quite sure
how they were used.

But what we see today

in the pyramids of Giza

are the-- sort of the bones
of these buildings

in Egyptian antiquity.

The pyramids at Giza

were, uh, encased
in white limestone

and presumably polished.

And so, during the daytime,

you would have seen these sort
of white mirror-like surfaces.

What we're missing is
the limestone covering

and the golden top piece.

But the pyramids themselves

don't have
any particular explanation

of why they were built
or the symbolic purposes of it.

So part of the mystery
is trying to figure out

what is this thing.

[Robert Schoch] Ultimately,
there are more questions

than answers when it comes
to the pyramids

on the Giza Plateau.

Some of them were used as tombs.

But my own opinion
is that that was

a secondary function
for many of them.

[Shatner] If the great pyramids
weren't strictly used as tombs,

as most mainstream
Egyptologists maintain,

then what was
their fundamental purpose?

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

This massive building
houses the largest collection

of ancient Egyptian antiquities
in the world.

Among the many treasures is
a 3,800-year-old capstone

from the pyramid
of King Amenemhat III

that some believe is connected
to a mythical Egyptian object

known as the Benben stone.

[Schoch] In the Cairo Museum,

there is a pyramidion
which is made out

of beautiful black basaltic type
of rock from a pyramid

that seems to be
our best representation

of what the Benben stone
was like,

according to
the ancient Egyptians.

That Benben stone goes back
to maybe 1850 or so BC.

So it's not the original one,

but it represents
what the original one was.

In ancient dynastic Egypt,

there was
a literal Benben stone.

That Benben stone has
long been lost, unfortunately.

But some people have suggested
maybe it was a meteorite

that was pyramidally shaped.

And by the ancient Egyptians,

it had sacred power.

[Shatner] While some believe
the original Benben stone

was a meteorite,

legends from ancient Egypt
suggest

it was a place
of divine creation.

Egyptian mythology says

that there were once

just waters of chaos.

[thunder rumbling]

And then what broke through

the waters of chaos
was an island

in the shape of a pyramid
called the Benben.

And it was here that the sun god
Ra came to Earth

and began life.

When they built
the first pyramids,

it seems that they were trying
to recreate this Benben stone.

Interestingly, on top
of many of the early pyramids,

they actually had a recreation
of the Benben stone

on top of them, a capstone,

which was covered in electrum,

which is a alloy
of gold and silver,

so that it shone
in the sunlight.

All this showing
that the pyramids are connected

with the Sun

and gaining the power of the Sun

or the sun god Ra.

[Newman] There's also these
ideas that these Benben stones

were actually some kind
of power collector.

Some people suggest
they attract lightning.

There's different ideas
about this,

but it has been suggested
in Egyptian tradition

that placing such a thing
on top of a pyramid

would almost be like connecting
with the solar energy

but also connecting
with the cosmos.

[Shatner] Could the great
pyramids have been some type

of ancient power plants?

Perhaps clues can be found
in the 21st-century research

that presents
an extraordinary claim.

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

After analyzing satellite data,

a team of Italian scientists
make an extraordinary

yet controversial announcement.

They claim to have identified
a vast underground complex

extending beneath
the great pyramids of Giza.

[Newman] One
of the most fascinating

discoveries that could
potentially rewrite the history

of Egypt and the world
are the discoveries

that have been made beneath the
pyramids on the Giza Plateau.

Now, this is the work
of the Khafre Research Project,

using satellites to actually
penetrate into the ground

with a mix
of other technologies.

What they claim to have found

is a series of shafts

going over 600 meters down
into the ground.

And then there's
these giant square chambers

and many other chambers
and many other systems

across the entire Giza Plateau,

underneath all the pyramids

and even underneath
the Sphinx as well.

They're now claiming
that there's a whole veritable

underground city beneath Giza.

But then the question becomes:
why did they do this?

And we can't obviously tell
exactly what's down there

until we fully investigate.

But it would seem that
this influenced the positioning

of the pyramids,
actually, on the surface.

[Shatner] Could there be
an entire city

hiding beneath
the great pyramids of Giza?

Only time will tell.

And while Egypt's colossal
creations are awe-inspiring,

these remarkable structures
represent a mere fraction

of all the enigmatic pyramids
found

on nearly every continent
on Earth.

[Naunton] Pyramids

have captured our imagination

just because
of their sheer monumentality.

The biggest of them are
among the biggest buildings

human beings have ever built.

They are monumental,
serious achievements.

Very, very beautiful.

That, to me, is
absolutely awe-inspiring.

[Collins] Pyramids were built
by different cultures

at different times,

with the earliest pyramids
probably going back

to the beginning
of the third millennium BC.

But I suppose
the bigger question is:

why build pyramids?

Was there some reason

different cultures
have done this

all over the world
for many thousands of years?

We need to know why.

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

Among the ever-shifting sands

of the Nile Valley stands
a remarkable achievement--

hundreds of ancient pyramids

that stretch about 150 miles
across the desert.

These UNESCO
World Heritage sites

contain what are known as

the Nubian pyramids.

[Breidenstein] What
often surprises people

is that there are
more pyramids in Sudan

than there are in Egypt,

with more than
200 known structures.

Most of them are clustered
around El-Kurru,

Nuri, and Meroë.

A few are found at Jebel Barkal,
near the sacred mountain.

These pyramids functioned
as tombs for the dead

but also a statement
of authority

and continuity in ancient Sudan.

Often, there was
a offering chapel placed

at the front of these pyramids.

They had a distinct
Nubian character to them.

What's really interesting
about them is the fact

that they're, like,
solid stone constructions.

They don't have
any chambers within them,

but they have chambers
deep underneath them,

where the kings and queens
are said to have been buried,

with staircases around the side
of them leading down into them.

[Shatner] Construction
on the Nubian pyramids

began around 750 BC

and continued
for about 1,100 years.

These steep structures
range from 20 to 100 feet tall

and are made from a combination
of sandstone,

rubble, and mud bricks.

And the mysterious
lost civilization that made them

is known as the Kingdom of Kush.

[Naunton] Kush was a kingdom
to the south of Egypt.

They seem to have been very much
influenced by the Egyptians.

It flourished from
around the eighth century BC

down to the third
or fourth century AD.

Um, in that very early time,

eighth century
into the seventh century,

Kush became powerful enough to
invade Egypt and take it over.

A Kushite king

took control of Egypt

and made himself
recognized as the pharaoh.

He was able
to maintain control of Egypt.

And, in fact,
his successors were as well.

And this line of Nubian kings
came to rule Egypt

as the Egyptian 25th dynasty.

And they remained in control
for the best part of a century.

But we don't understand

in all the details
exactly how this happened.

[Shatner] As powerful
as the Kingdom of Kush once was,

much of their story
remains unknown

because scholars
have yet to decipher

their puzzling system
of writing,

known as Meroitic.

But some believe
the key to understanding

this mysterious kingdom

could still be hiding
beneath one of its pyramids.

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

A team of scientists begin
an unprecedented investigation

of the ancient necropolis

that consists
of around 20 Nubian pyramids,

including the pyramid
of King Nastasen,

the last Kushite king
to be buried here in 315 BC.

[Breidenstein] King Nastasen
reigned

during a very interesting time
of political transition.

The fact that he was
the last to be buried at Nuri

and then the Kushite capital
was moved deeper in the desert,

that makes his tomb
an interesting capsule

of maybe what was happening
during this time.

The Nuri Archaeological
Expedition began work in 2018

to start excavations
at this massive 170-acre site.

We had a possibility

that there was an intact tomb
for Nastasen,

and so I was brought on to work
with the skeletal remains

that may be found on-site.

[Shatner] Over the centuries,
rising groundwater

has left
the three burial chambers

of King Nastasen's pyramid
completely flooded.

To access the tomb,

an experienced dive team
was needed

to explore the pristine
and unpredictable environment.

The tomb of Nastasen has
remained untouched from looters

due to it being flooded.

The water has acted
like a protector for the tomb.

No one's gonna be able to swim
and hold their breath

and swim all the way
into chamber three

and retrieve these objects.

So it's kept them safe
over the last 2,500 years.

[Shatner] What wonders
could the flooded pyramid

of King Nastasen
still hide below?

In 2019, Justin Schneider
became one

of the first people
in thousands of years

to enter its unknown depths.

[Schneider] The water
in the front of the tomb

is a brownish sand color

from all of the outside

sediments and all the rock
falling into it.

You come in through chamber one,

which is a-a long hallway.

Water goes all the way
to the top.

Once you go into chamber two,

you can actually put
your face out of the water

and you can see
inside this tomb.

[Breidenstein] It was
a little scary to see

how much of the ceiling
had collapsed.

That chamber was pretty chaotic,

but you could still make out the
size and shape of that chamber.

And we were finding shabtis,

these small figures
that have hieroglyphics on them.

[Schneider] These little
shabti figurines,

they're these tiny
doll-like carved statues.

They are five to six inches.

They're made of clay.

They're beautiful.
They're ornate.

Just touching this stuff
is to touch history.

It's-it's incredible.

[Shatner] While the team
discovered

a number of small artifacts,

the real prize was believed
to be inside the pyramid's third

and final chamber.

[Breidenstein] Within
the third burial chamber,

while it was difficult to see,

there was
a large rectangular slab

that was about in the middle
of the chamber

that we would estimate to be

either a sarcophagus
or a burial bed.

[Schneider] You're swimming
through this water,

this murkiness,

and then finally getting
to chamber three,

the burial chamber.

It was breathtaking to see what
you know is a king's burial.

There is a pharaoh, there is
a king buried inside of this.

It's a time capsule that's
just waiting to be opened.

But we just can't blatantly go
in there and start digging.

We have to figure out
how to take that out

in order to be preserved.

[Shatner] Unfortunately, before
the team could enact a plan

to safely open
King Nastasen's sarcophagus,

civil war broke out in Sudan

and all excavations
have since been halted.

It is my hope that the political
situation can be resolved.

The Nubian pyramids
are tantalizing clues

to understand a past
in the Nile Valley

that has
typically been overlooked

when studying the ancient world.

There's so much more
to be discovered.

It's fascinating to imagine
the Kingdom of Kush

covered in more
than 200 pyramids.

But halfway across the globe,

there is a massive structure
that stands alone.

It's the largest pyramid
in the world.

And for centuries,

it was hidden in plain sight.

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

In the shadow
of an active volcano

stands a massive
grass-covered hill

crowned by an impressive
16th-century Spanish church.

And buried below hides
something few would expect--

the Great Pyramid of Cholula.

[McNeill] This is
an interesting one.

The pyramid of Cholula,
its name in Nahuatl

means "man-made mountain."

So there's already
an acknowledgement

that this thing is big.

And this thing is really big.

It is, in fact, contrary
to many people's expectations,

the largest pyramid
in the world.

It's not the tallest.

The Great Pyramid of Giza
is in fact taller.

But by volume,

the pyramid of Cholula
is the largest pyramid

that humans
have ever constructed.

[McCafferty] Scientific
archaeology

really began in the, uh...

in the late 1920s
with the Proyecto Cholula...

...a project that was directed
by Ignacio Marquina.

And Marquina explored
the pyramid

through eight kilometers
of tunnels

that the archaeologists dug.

These tunnels uncovered murals.

And archaeologists
discovered that there were

actually multiple
construction phases.

So the pyramid is a--
sort of a layer cake

with platforms
that come out from the sides.

All largely unexcavated.

Today, walking
through the tunnels,

you absolutely get
a sense of the weight

of the pyramid above you.

Because it is massive.

[Jarzombek] The pyramid started
out as a smaller pyramid.

Later on, that got covered over

by just sort of putting
a new one on top of it.

And then that got covered over.

There are, like, eight
or nine layers to this.

And over time, it got bigger
and bigger and bigger.

And then when the Aztecs
took over,

they had no idea
how it got this big.

And it was just as much
a mystery to the Aztecs

as it was to us.

[Shatner] While it's believed
the pyramid

was first constructed
about 200 BC

and later built
upon by Mesoamerican cultures

like the Olmecs and the Toltecs,

local legends describe
the original builders

as monumental in stature.

It's one of
the most fascinating traditions

relating to the pyramid
of Cholula

is that
of the Quinametzin giants.

This was this very ancient era

going back
potentially thousands of years.

These giants, who were said
to be up to 12 feet tall,

constructed the Cholula pyramid.

Because it is so vast, so big,

no one could imagine
how any humans

could've constructed it
themselves.

[Shatner] While it's intriguing
to think that giants built

the first iteration
of the Great Pyramid of Cholula,

the legend itself suggests
that, even centuries ago,

the structure was
not only hard to explain

but also a place of profound
and ancient reverence.

[McNeill] This has been
a temple at every stage.

So I think one of the things
we see here is

a recognition of the holiness
or the sanctity of this place.

That a temple
followed by another temple

followed by another temple,

being topped with a church.

In Cholula, we see
this unintentional

collaborative process
that builds upon the sanctity

of this unbelievably holy place.

[Shatner] Cholula's importance
to many Mesoamerican cultures

has led to another
fundamental mystery:

why was the largest pyramid
ever constructed

hidden under piles of dirt?

[Schoch] Some people suggest

that it wasn't
necessarily just abandoned

but the Aztecs
and the Indigenous people,

knowing that the Spanish
were coming to conquer them,

they wanted to cover it up.

So there are some suggestions

that they may have tried
to plant

plants on it,
hide it, disguise it.

By the time the Spanish came,

apparently they thought
it was a natural hill.

They did not recognize it
as a pyramid.

[Shatner] Was the Great Pyramid
of Cholula

deliberately disguised to hide
it from Spanish invaders?

And if so, what were its
guardians compelled to protect?

[Collins] According to legend,

right at the base
of the Cholula Great Pyramid,

there was a natural spring.

And it is seen
as the waters of life

emerging from the place
of first creation.

It was said
that Cholula was built

shortly after the time
of a great flood,

a deluge that had ended
a previous world age.

So, did this really happen?

Is this a memory of some
of the first people to create

the earliest stages
of this pyramid?

Very possibly.

[Shatner] Could
the Great Pyramid of Cholula

be built atop
a powerful sacred spring?

It's a belief that was
still in existence in 1519,

when Spanish invaders
led by Hernán Cortés

first reached
the ancient city of Cholula.

[McCafferty] One of the myths

from the time of the conquest

was that the Indigenous allies
that were accompanying Cortés,

uh, on the attack on Cholula

were afraid of entering the city

because they believed
that anybody attacking Cholula

would be washed away
when the pyramid burst forth

with earthly waters.

But we don't know.
Chalk it up to a mystery.

[McNeill] We don't know
who built it.

We don't know the details

of their mythology
or their cosmology.

But we see this recognition
of sacredness in this location.

It's significant that what
was built here at every stage

was a temple.

It's common knowledge

that the Cholula pyramid
was built to be

a sacred religious site.

And it successfully
served that purpose

for over a thousand years.

But the same cannot be said
for a collection

of rectangular
pyramid-shaped structures

found in the remote
Canary Islands

whose very existence

has baffled scientists
for decades.

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

More than 200 miles

off the northwest coast
of Africa,

this remote island rises
from the Atlantic Ocean.

And here stand
six enigmatic structures

made of stacked volcanic stone

known as the step pyramids
of Güímar.

These are pyramids that there's
a lot of controversy about.

People have suggested
that these are

very ancient pyramids,
a very ancient site.

So, there's been
a lot of mythology

and speculation about them.

And modern legends have
developed about these pyramids.

But these pyramids may only
go back to the 19th century.

They may be nothing more
than the result

of people clearing their fields

and stacking them up
and making pyramids out of them.

[Shatner] So, just how old
are these mysterious structures?

Well, some believe
the most compelling clue

could be their connection
to the summer solstice,

the longest day of the year.

[Collins] These pyramids
are perfectly aligned

towards sunset at the time
of the summer solstice.

And this was actually confirmed
by archaeoastronomers

under the leadership
of Juan Belmonte,

who actually lives
on the Canary Islands.

So, this is
a very special phenomena,

and it could be behind why

these pyramids were constructed
in the first place.

[Shatner] Were the Güímar
Pyramids built

to mark the summer solstice?

If so, the theory
that they were simply stacked

by 19th-century farmers
after clearing their fields

seems too simple an explanation.

And more intriguingly,

some claim
the pyramids on Tenerife

share striking similarities
to other pyramids

around the world.

[Phillips] There are
other alignments to stars

exactly as we find
in the Egyptian pyramids,

and we also find in the pyramids
of Central America.

The native people
who lived on Tenerife

before the Spanish
arrived in the 1500s

had seemingly
been living in isolation

for thousands of years.

How could they possibly

be building the same kind
of things as people

either side of the Atlantic,

unless there was some connection
between them?

[Shatner] Are the Pyramids
of Güímar connected

to other pyramids
around the world?

Well, according
to one world-famous explorer,

the link could be more
significant than we've imagined.

[Bradshaw] Thor Heyerdahl
was a Norwegian explorer

who was most famous
for his Kon-Tiki voyage,

which aimed to show that people
could use quite simple rafts

to conduct
long-distance sea travel.

Heyerdahl traveled
to Tenerife in the 1990s

and was particularly intrigued
by the idea

that ancient navigators
would have had

a very good understanding
of the stars

to help them navigate.

And that as they traveled,

ideas would be spread around
geographically.

So, mapping that theory
onto the Pyramids of Güímar,

Heyerdahl thought, "Well,
if there are pyramids here

in the Canary Islands,

which is between Europe, Africa
and the Atlantic Ocean,

why can't there have been
this sort of cross-pollination

of ideas around the world?"

[Shatner] Did pyramid builders
share their knowledge

throughout the ancient world
across vast oceans?

It's a fascinating theory
that may suggest

that the Pyramids of Güímar

really were constructed
in antiquity

by the original inhabitants
of the Canary Islands.

A now-extinct culture
known as the Guanche.

[Schoch] The Guanche
are Indigenous people

to the Canary Islands.

They're very mysterious
on many levels.

Modern scholarship suggests

that they actually are
an offshoot from North Africa

that got to the islands
in the first millennium BCE,

living there until the Spanish
ultimately

conquered the Canary Islands
in the 15th century.

The Guanche had
a lot of what appears

to have been advanced knowledge
in terms of mummification

and the rituals
they carried out.

They lived in caves
and stone huts.

But there's this whole modern,
should we say,

hypotheses and legends
and suggestions that somehow,

they were descendants
of Atlantis,

the legendary civilization

that was decimated
by natural events.

Bottom line is,
the Guanche are a real mystery.

They're something
that needs more study.

Um, absolutely fascinating.

[Shatner] Could the early
inhabitants

of the Canary Islands
have some connection

to the mythical island
of Atlantis?

It's fantastic to consider.

But more importantly,
were the Guanche people

once part of a network

responsible
for the proliferation

of pyramids around the world?

[Newman] The builders
of these pyramids on Tenerife

were pretty sophisticated.

They were building
these quite elaborate

black stone constructions.

They were aligning them

to specific movements
of the Sun,

and the stars as well.

It does appear that

there was a common
architectural language

being spread across the world
in ancient times.

We find very similar
pyramid styles

in all these different places.

Often, step pyramids.

And it was almost like
an ancient code

being embedded within
these permanent structures

in all these different parts
of the world.

[Schoch] So, this gets into
the argument of,

was there knowledge
being passed around?

We don't know.
There's just a lot

of mysteries about pyramids,
when it comes right down to it.

Could the astrological
alignments

found at the Canary Island
structures

be evidence
of a universal pyramid code

spread around the world?

Perhaps time will tell.

Which may also be the case
for a controversial claim

that a powerful pyramid
lies hundreds of feet below

the Alaskan tundra.

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

With over 57 million
acres of designated wilderness,

which is more than
all other U.S. states combined,

and with civilization found
in less than one percent

of its total landmass,

there have been
many claims as to

what's hiding in
this remote frontier.

But perhaps
one of the strangest tales

revolves around
an alleged "Dark Pyramid,"

obscured beneath
Alaska's frozen wasteland.

[Ricksecker] The Dark Pyramid
is a presumed pyramid

that is hidden
under the ice and tundra

of remote areas of Alaska.

This pyramid
is near Mount Denali,

in the heart of what's known
as the Alaska Triangle.

The Alaska Triangle
is a very anomalous area,

which stretches
from Juneau in the south

to Anchorage in the middle
and Utqiagvik at the top,

formerly Barrow.

And it's much like its namesake,
the Bermuda Triangle,

in which there's, uh,
a lot of strange activity

that happens in this area,

with the Dark Pyramid
right at the heart of it.

[Shatner] If a pyramid
is hiding beneath the ice

in one of the most
remote regions of Alaska,

how would we even know
about it in the first place?

Well, according to the story,

it was detected in 1992,

when China was testing
weapons of mass destruction

beneath a dry lake bed
known as Lop Nur.

[Ricksecker] In 1992,
the Chinese government

initiated underground
nuclear testing.

The United States
knew about this,

our geologists set up
a bunch of seismic equipment

to be able to detect

the shock waves
from this explosion.

And when that explosion occurred

and the seismic equipment
was going off,

they discovered
this strange pyramidal shape

near Mount Denali in Alaska.

[Shatner] To this day,
no public record

has confirmed the discovery of
a buried pyramid beneath Alaska.

But some are convinced
that the lack of evidence

is purely intentional.

Because it's said that when news

of the Dark Pyramid
was released,

it was immediately covered up.

[Ricksecker] It was broadcast

on the local news,
Anchorage channel 13,

that this had been discovered.

And there was a young
service member Doug Mutschler,

in the Army, who saw
this particular broadcast.

And he was
so fascinated by this.

[Howe] Doug Mutschler worked
in counterintelligence

for the Army
in Fort Richardson in Anchorage.

That particular night,
there were 40 guys,

and they're watching channel 13,
and it shows

a pyramid structure
underneath the ground in Alaska.

So, he approaches the general
manager at channel 13.

The general manager said,
"I don't know

what you're talking about."

[speaking inaudibly]

[Howe] And Doug said
he started arguing

with the general manager.

"I was with 39 other guys.

40 of us, we watched this."

And the general manager said,
"Well, you are mistaken."

Doug turns around to leave,
and coming around a corner

is a man who took ahold
of his arm and says,

"I know
what you're talking about.

Yes, we have that film,

but we have been told
that we are not

to broadcast it
or talk about it anymore."

[Shatner] Was the story
of the Dark Pyramid

deliberately buried?

And if so, why?

For some, the answer is simple:

the Dark Pyramid
isn't really a structure at all

but a 550-foot-tall

top secret machine.

[Ricksecker] There are
a few different theories

about the Dark Pyramid.

One is that it was some sort of

ancient power plant
that has been hidden

under the surface of Alaska.

When we look at
the Great Pyramid of Giza,

one of the suggested ideas
of what it was,

was a possible
ancient power plant.

Now, the Dark Pyramid
is supposed to be taller

than the Great Pyramid of Giza.

So, how much more energy
than the Great Pyramid of Giza

could this Dark Pyramid
be harnessing?

[Howe] Why would a 550-foot

solid black pyramid
be underground?

What is it doing
in the backcountry of Alaska,

and how long has it been there?

I think, there's no question,

the government
of the United States

didn't want anybody
to know anything

about this Dark Pyramid.

Did they know
about the pyramid before

the 1992 Lop Nur bomb test?

Oh, I think so.

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

As NASA's Mariner 9 spacecraft

photographs the Red Planet,

it captures something unusual
in a region called Elysium.

Formations that appear,
at least from orbit,

to resemble pyramids.

[George Haas] One of the images
that they took

in the Elysium area of Mars,

uh, actually showed
what appeared to be

three-sided pyramids.

They were noticed by a scientist

by the name of Mack Gipson.

He actually had
a science paper published

in Icarus journal titled
"Pyramidal Structures on Mars."

So, early on, there was a lot
of scientific investigation.

Real scientists
were looking at Mars saying,

"Ooh, possibly
there's structures here."

Structures
that looked artificial.

[Shatner] Could there actually
be artificial pyramids on Mars?

While it sounds far-fetched,

in 1976,
NASA's Viking 1 orbiter

photographed
yet another strange formation

that researchers named
the D & M pyramid.

[Schoch] The D & M pyramid

looks like a five-side pyramid,
which is unusual unto itself.

Other pyramids
in Martian photographs

look like they have three sides.

But people made claims these
must be artificial structures

that came from some,
you know, civilization on Mars.

And I'm not opposed
to the possibility

of there being extraterrestrial,
sophisticated civilizations,

but we have to be very careful

when we think
we see artificial pyramids.

Nature also forms pyramids

and pyramidal-type structures.

You can have symmetry in nature.

As a geologist,
I see symmetry all the time.

What are some of
the most symmetrical things?

A pyramid.

[Shatner] Without visiting
the Red Planet ourselves

for a closer look,
it's impossible to know

whether the alleged
pyramids on Mars

are just natural formations
or artificial constructions.

But with so many
mysterious pyramids

that continue to fascinate us
right here on Earth,

perhaps it's simply part
of human nature

to become enamored
with these iconic,

awe-inspiring structures.

Humans have always
wanted to build

the biggest thing
that lasts for the longest.

So, if you're
an ancient culture,

this is a pyramid

because you have
the stable structure

which allows you
to build quite high.

I therefore think
that the fact you have

pyramids in Mesoamerica,

in the Canary Islands
and in Egypt,

is just a reflection
of how different cultures

come up with similar solutions
to similar problems.

How do we build high?
How do we build big?

A pyramid is your answer.

[Jarzombek] Each of these
things that we call pyramids

has a code.

Whether we understand
that code or not,

that's part
of what the scholarship

is trying to sort of figure out.

How were these places used?

And that's the stuff
that scholarship is made of.

But whether we know
the code or not,

that's another question.

Could pyramids really exist
on other planets?

Who knows?

For now, it's the remarkable
structures we have here on Earth

that continue to captivate us

and challenge our understanding
of human history.

The Giza Plateau may be
the best-known pyramid complex,

but it's only one example

of this
extraordinary engineering

found all around the world.

Will we ever know how

and why
some pyramids were built?

The secrets surrounding
these mysterious structures

are innumerable,
and may forever remain...

...unexplained.

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