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Massive stone circles that date back

thousands of years...

Rows of perfectly positioned pillars

that stretch on for miles.

And huge statues with secrets

buried deep underground.

All over the world, there are giant monoliths

that our ancient ancestors carved out of solid rock,

but what was the purpose of these huge stone monuments?

Did they serve some kind of ritual function?

Were they intended to honor the gods?

Or is it possible that, as some believe,

certain monoliths were actually designed to

conduct energy?

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

Here, sitting atop a grassy clearing

in the English countryside,

about 80 miles west of the city of Plymouth,

is a set of three monoliths that stand out

from the natural landscape.

In the language of ancient Britain,

the site was named M�n-an-Tol,

which translates to

"the stone of the hole."

There�s nothing else on Earth quite like the M�n-an-Tol.

It consists of a big, round stone

with a big, round hole in the middle of it.

It�s a couple of feet across.

You can crawl through it quite comfortably.

Uh, there�s a straight stone on either side.

It�s highly visible in the landscape

and bafflingly mysterious.

Archaeologists believe that M�n-an-Tol

was constructed around the year 2000 BC.

It is also thought that there were once additional monoliths

that encircled the center stone,

which have been lost to time.

There�s something very melodramatic

about the M�n-an-Tol.

There has to be a reason

why ancient people had put up a big stone

with a big hole in it.

And the real thing to do with a stone with a hole

is crawl through it, so there must be a good reason for that.

Local folklore says that crawling through the center

of the M�n-an-Tol is really good for you.

Diseased children can get better,

especially if they�ve got rickets.

And if you put a couple of brass pins

on the top of the holed stone,

the way in which they fall off

can predict your future.

When it comes to M�n-an-Tol in Cornwall,

we have to question what is going on here?

Is this really a magical place?

Is it just ancient traditions?

Or is there some reality to the power of these ancient stones?

M�n-an-Tol is just one of approximately 1,300

ancient monoliths that are scattered

throughout the British Isles.

It may sound outlandish to think that M�n-an-Tol

and other standing stone sites

can have a mystical affect on people, but

who can say for sure that they don�t?

Because even after centuries of study, these

remarkable structures remain shrouded in mystery.

Stonehenge gets all the fame and the recognition,

but there are thousands and thousands

of other prehistoric monuments that are worth attention

up and down the British Isles.

For example, Avebury is absolutely stunning

because it�s a very big place.

What you�re looking at there is an enormous bank

with a ditch inside it,

and inside this enormous circular enclosure

was originally 100 stones in a circle,

and inside this enormous circle of stones

are the remnants of two other enormous stone circles.

I mean, the place is so big that about half

of a village was built inside it.

It was an entire community.

The largest standing stone in Britain

is known as the Rudston Monolith.

It�s around 25 to 26 feet in height,

but there is just as much of it under the ground,

creating this huge,

great monolith

almost 60 feet in length.

The significant thing about this is that

the type of stone that it�s made from

can only be sourced about 30 miles to the north.

That meant that it was dragged in some way

to its position in the village of Rudston,

and we have to ask ourselves,

is there a greater purpose behind all of this?

And if so, what is that greater purpose?

In the U.K., right now, we have thousands of known monuments,

but there were probably thousands more, originally.

We do know that

the people who built the megaliths in the U.K.

were early farmers, they were from

4000 to about 2000 BCE.

But we really don�t know what language

they spoke, we don�t really know

how they socially organized themselves or their politics.

So, it�s still very much a question

exactly why they built them.

Why would prehistoric people go to the trouble of erecting

heavy standing stones that weighed, in some cases,

as much as 40 tons?

Well, one theory suggests that these monoliths

served as a connection to a higher plane of existence.

In many cases, these standing stones

seem to be orientated towards celestial events,

such as the rising and setting of the sun

at the equinoxes and the solstices.

And so, these monoliths are very clearly

a reflection of this belief

of contact with higher forces

that would�ve taken place through the ceremonies

and the rituals that would go on once, maybe twice a year.

Were these monolithic sites built for ceremonial purposes?

It�s an intriguing theory,

and some researchers suggest that England�s

standing stones were also connected to each other.

Because, as it turns out, many of these monoliths

appear to be geographically aligned

on what are commonly referred to as ley lines.

Ley lines, or leys, were first visualized

by a thinker and visionary called

Alfred Watkins in the 1920s.

He wrote a book called The Old Straight Track,

which said that a whole range of prehistoric monuments

are connected by extremely long lines,

even corridors, that stretch across

the length and breadth of Britain.

Alfred Watkins theorized

that the straight lines which connect

Britain�s monoliths were ancient trade routes.

But some researchers disagree

and claim that the massive stones

were placed along ley lines

to serve a more energetic purpose.

It would seem that the whole long lines of monuments

are connected with the geomagnetic fields of the Earth,

and that the peoples of Britain

created these stone circles and standing stones

to enhance this natural energy of the landscape.

Is it possible that ancient people,

who did not even have written language,

figured out how to use monoliths

to harness the energy of the Earth?

And if so, for what purpose?

If prehistoric people believed that

there were currents of Earth energy,

then prehistoric monuments may have been

put where they were in the landscape

because they would have amplified prayers,

invocations, chants, drumming, singing, and that would�ve

considerably enhanced ceremonies.

It�s going to create a very impressive effect

for religious purposes.

Although numerous intriguing theories have been put forward,

ultimately, no one has been able

to explain the purpose,

placement, and construction of Britain�s

remarkable monoliths.

There�s a lot of things

we don�t know about these megalithic structures.

We really don�t know how they did it,

why they did it. These are important questions,

and we have certain hints, but most of it

is still pretty much a mystery.

What we can say is that there was a unified effort

around building these monoliths,

and that they are certainly

cornerstone and symbolic of

ancient Britain�s culture.

The massive stone circles found throughout

the United Kingdom are astonishing.

But how were ancient people, with limited technology,

able to carve and transport such huge blocks?

Perhaps the answer can be found by examining

a number of large statues located on an island

in the Mediterranean Sea.

Statues that may be depicting

real-life giants.

There was this giant stone head

gazing back at him with these obsidian eyes.

The classical Greeks and Romans

discussed how there was an ancient giant bloodline

on the island of Sardinia.

On this island, located off the coast of Italy,

a farmer in a region known as Mont�e Prama

is tilling his fields,

when he strikes what appears to be a large rock.

But upon closer inspection, he realizes that his plow

has revealed something far more amazing.

It�s the head of a massive, ancient statue.

The farmer started digging around it,

brushing away the mud, pulled it out,

and there was this giant stone head gazing back at him

with these obsidian eyes.

And so, this became quite a sensation at the time.

It was one of the most important archaeological

discoveries of the decade.

Subsequently, archaeologists

entered the area, and through the late �70s,

they dug, and they found over 5,000 fragments

of these giant statues.

We have archers, we have warriors,

we have boxers.

They are, generally speaking, about eight feet tall,

and approach a ton in weight,

and they are unique in the regard that,

for their time, there was

no other statuary that was in human form

and size

and that level of detail and sophistication.

The monolithic statues came to be known as

the Giants of Mont�e Prama.

According to archaeologists, they were carved by

the Nuragic people, a mysterious civilization

that lived on Sardinia nearly 4,000 years ago.

The Nuragic people were the Indigenous population

of Sardinia,

beginning around 1750 BCE or so,

and they were not the kind of society

that would have writing.

So, we don�t know a lot beyond their everyday lifestyle,

which would be in many ways similar to what was going on

throughout the Mediterranean at the same time.

Incredibly, some researchers claim

that the reason why the Nuragic people

carved statues that were eight feet tall

is because these monoliths

were created in the image of an actual race

of giants.

One of the strange things about these statues

is that they appear

to be buried underneath these kind of slabs of stone

in this elongated grave,

as though they were almost like ancestors

being buried in the ground.

Why they did this, we don�t know.

But there are many legends of giants

all over Sardinia and the stories go on and on and on.

So, these could be the same giants

who were memorialized in these particular statues.

Could the monoliths of Mont�e Prama

really be evidence that a civilization of giants

once inhabited the island of Sardinia, as some believe?

Many researchers think that it�s possible

and claim that there are additional clues in folklore

throughout the Mediterranean.

Diodorus, an ancient Greek historian,

discussed how there was an ancient bloodline

of the Athenian civilization known as the 50 sons of Hercules

that mated with a mortal race of women

to create a giant bloodline

that built these monolithic statues

on the island of Sardinia.

This story really put the idea

into different philosophers� heads

that this was actually a very advanced culture

that kind of led up to the time of the Nuragic people

and culminated in the era of the Mont�e Prama giants.

The massive monoliths of Mont�e Prama

and stories from folklore aren�t the only pieces of evidence

to suggest that giants once lived on Sardinia.

Because there are also mysterious tombs

located throughout the island that may have been

where their oversized bodies were buried.

What we see at Mont�e Prama,

are totally separate structures

for where they buried their deceased,

and these are called the giants� tombs, Tomba dei giganti.

They are typically made of one very large stone

that have a semi-hemispherical

entry area, or front,

that curves inward

with the center part having a small hole down at the bottom,

which is where the skeleton would have been interred.

As you see these giants� tombs, what you realize

is that it�s entirely made of large blocks

with a small opening in the base.

In tradition, these were the burial places

designed for giants.

They would actually build the tomb around it.

This is one of the clues that

kind of links with the legends

that giants did exist in Sardinia.

But there is further evidence that

actual skeletons have been found

in some of these giants� graves.

We have accounts from 1901,

where there�s a report of four nine-foot skeletons

being unearthed in the vicinity in northern Sardinia.

And even relatively recently, there are reports of

three skeletons being dug up in an area called

Torralba, in southwest Sardinia.

However, the problem is, is that most of the evidence

has now disappeared.

They�ve just gone missing, basically.

And so, you have to question,

why is this? Is there a cover-up?

Is it possible that the bones of giants

have actually been hidden from the public?

It�s an intriguing theory,

and it deepens the mystery surrounding

the strange, towering statues

uncovered at Mont�e Prama.

The Giants of Mont�e Prama

are very unique and enigmatic,

and Sardinia�s myths and stories about

who these people were typically talk about giants,

but there�s a lot of things we don�t know

about who these people were.

And so, these giant statues

are the mystery within that mystery.

Were the statues of Mont�e Prama built to honor

a society of actual giants?

The fact that some of the statues

are more than eight feet tall definitely makes you wonder

whether it could be possible.

And there�s another group of monoliths,

located some 800 miles away in Western France,

that is also associated with a lost civilization,

a civilization whose mastery of mathematics and engineering

was centuries ahead of its time.

Carnac is a unique phenomenon from any other Neolithic sites.

Right around 4000 BCE, engineers

were creating these in a very exacting way.

This peaceful countryside,

located in the northwest part of France,

is known for its rustic farms and wide fields.

But jutting out from the green hills

is something rather striking.

It�s a formation

of more than 3,000 stone monoliths

that stretches across the landscape

for an astonishing two miles.

These monoliths are collectively known as

the Carnac stones.

Carnac is like enormous stationary giants,

or needles plugged into the Earth,

stretching as far as the eye can see.

It�s a unique phenomenon

from any of the ancient sites, because none of the others

have these marching processions of stones

in pretty straight lines running on for miles.

There�s no other place in Europe or the U.K.

that we see this kind of arrangement.

Within Carnac is Europe�s

largest single megalith.

It was called the Menhir of Er Grah.

Now, it�s fallen over, broken, and it�s in four pieces.

But it was originally 60 tall and over 300 tons.

At Carnac, there are thousands and thousands of stones,

but the real draw are these alignments,

with neat rows of megalithic stones

going in a single direction.

Carnac has three main alignments,

one of which is particularly interesting.

It consists of 1,050 stones

across ten different rows.

And these are aligned east to west,

and they decrease in size towards the east.

So, there was definitely some sort of plan

going on with the alignments.

But what that plan is remains a mystery.

According to archaeologists,

the Carnac stones were positioned

in approximately 4000 BC,

making them older than the Great Pyramid of Egypt.

But who constructed this extraordinary array

of monoliths and aligned them

with such incredible precision

remains a mystery.

There�s a huge amount of folklore about Carnac.

The monoliths are often seen as sinners

who are turned to stone by the Almighty for breaching

a whole range of, uh, religious rules.

Some see them as an army of the dead

that rose up and began marching and then got turned into stone

as death reclaimed them.

There�s also a theory that involves Merlin,

the wise man,

and that there was an invading Roman army,

and to protect the local peoples,

Merlin cast a spell upon the Roman soldiers,

and turned them all into stone.

And that�s why you have nice, neat alignments.

The fantastic legends surrounding the Carnac stones

may suggest that they had a mystical origin.

But many historians believe the ancient monoliths

are so perfectly aligned not because of magic,

but rather mathematics.

The alignments in Carnac are spectacular and elaborate.

The scope of them is astonishing,

but also, the alignments are geometrically perfect,

in that there are Pythagorean theorems

built within the stone alignments.

For decades, some historians and archaeologists

have argued that there appears to be

precise triangles within the monolithic structure.

Historians find this extraordinary because

the Greek philosopher Pythagorus

developed this geometric concept

in the 6th century BC,

more than 3,000 years after

the Carnac stones were erected.

When you take a look at the location of the stones,

you can say, "Well, yeah,

there�s a Pythagorean triangle there."

And, just remember, these monoliths date back 6,000 years.

So, the ancients were much more advanced

than we give them credit for.

If the builders of the Carnac stones

used the Pythagorean theorem thousands of years

before it was first defined,

then how did they obtain such advanced mathematical knowledge?

It�s a profound mystery.

One that Alexander Thom,

a professor of engineering at Oxford University,

tried to answer in the 1950s.

Alexander Thom really was

on the quest to

show us just how sophisticated

these megalithic engineers and builders were.

And he determined that... by measuring

about 600 different stones...

That there was basically a megalithic yard,

and by yard, he meant yardstick.

It was basically 2.7 feet, is what he thought

was the unit of measure used to create these stones.

According to Alexander Thom,

the megalithic yard was precise to the millimeter,

and that this was used to make

the mathematical judgements

inherent within these stone configurations.

And he considered it to be a very serious scholarly idea.

Alexander Thom believed that people across

time and distance, such as between Stonehenge and Carnac,

were using this megalithic yard.

And we can see this in the evidence

that they leave behind,

with the alignments and enormous monoliths.

There�s certainly a connection between the standing stones

in Britain and the alignments in Carnac.

However, that is just scratching the surface.

I don�t think we even have the first idea

of how extraordinary the intelligence was

that created these alignments in Carnac.

And Carnac needs and deserves so much more study

to understand how exceptional

these ancient monoliths actually are.

Is it possible that there is a connection between

the Carnac stones and other monoliths

scattered throughout Europe?

Some researchers believe

that it�s a distinct possibility,

and they also claim

that these monoliths

were part of an ancient network of sites that stretched

not just across Europe

but all over the world.

Why did the ancient islanders

invest so much in these giant statues,

and why are they here?

Some of these moai were built

by a much more ancient civilization than the Rapa Nui.

2,300 miles off the coast of Chile,

an island rises from the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Called "Rapa Nui" by the locals,

the island is perhaps better known by the name given to it

by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen,

when he landed here on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1722

and dubbed it "Easter Island."

Today, some 5,000 people make their home here,

most of whom are the descendants

of Easter Island�s original inhabitants,

who were also named the Rapa Nui.

But its most famous residents

are the hundreds of massive, ancient monolithic statues,

known as moai,

that are scattered across its grassy cliffs.

Easter Island is famous for its moai statues.

They are these human depictions.

Their faces are very long, and their chins are long,

and there are over 900 of them on the island.

About 95% of them

were quarried at a crater called Rano Raraku,

and there are a number of failed or just

given up on moai still carved into the crater�s face.

The moai vary quite a bit in size,

but the average moai

is about 12 to 13 tons and about 13 feet tall.

So, people are really fascinated by this

and continue to beg for an explanation

of why did the ancient islanders

in this remote location invest so much

in these giant statues, and why are they here?

Archaeologists estimate that the moai

were created between 1400 and 1600 AD.

For centuries, experts have been confounded

as to what these massive headstones

were intended to represent.

But then, in 2010, archaeologists uncovered

an important clue, when a series of excavations revealed

that there was more to the moai than meets the eye.

They discovered the moai have torsos,

and they have very long, thin arms and hands.

They�re huge statues,

and they�re buried up to their necks,

literally, in sediment and debris.

The moai have details on the body.

Some have petroglyphs on the body.

And people are really fascinated by this

because the common misperception of the moai

comes from the really

iconic photos of

the heads alone.

And so, people see that, and they just call them heads,

but it�s correct to really refer to the moai as statues.

The discovery of the full-sized moai statues only deepens

the mystery surrounding them.

The revelation that some of these monoliths

are more than twice as big as previously believed

naturally begs the question,

how did the Rapa Nui move these massive stones into place?

The transport of these giant statues

has been a continuing mystery.

For example, the largest moai ever transported

goes by the name of Paro.

Paro is about 33 feet tall,

and he�s estimated to weigh about 75 to 80 tons.

Paro was transported from the quarry

to the platform where he was displayed,

and it�s over three miles.

So, it�s an amazing accomplishment.

The mystery of how they moved

these giant statues

has been a-a perennial question.

When the first Europeans showed up

and asked the local people how they did it,

they said, "Well, the statues walked there themselves.

"They walked from the quarry

to these platforms they stand on, called ahu."

And so, if we listen to the Rapa Nui,

there was a magical quality to creating these moai.

Is it possible that the moai somehow

walked into place?

Of course, it sounds impossible,

but according to tests conducted by archaeologists in 2012,

there may be some truth to this legend.

What we showed in experiments,

with a replica of an actual moai,

is that the statues have a lower center of gravity

that makes them lean forward,

and if you attach ropes to the head,

and rock the statue...

the pendulum effect takes over,

allowing it to fall forward,

and the statue actually walks.

It turns out that it looks like, in the end,

the Rapa Nui may well be right. Maybe they did walk there.

Were the moai statues moved by an ingenious use of ropes?

It�s just one of the many intriguing theories

about these giant stone statues.

But, ultimately, how they were transported

and became buried up to their necks

remains unknown.

The moai of Easter Island really have come to represent mystery.

Huge stone sculptures

on a grassy, windswept island...

people wonder who made these and why.

And so, the mystery continues.

Even after centuries of study,

the origins and true purpose of the amazing moai statues

of Easter Island remain shrouded in mystery.

But there have been monoliths created in modern times

that are no less mysterious,

including a nine-foot-tall metal pillar

that was discovered in a remote desert canyon in Utah.

A pillar that seems to have appeared

out of thin air.

Monoliths appeared around the world,

and so it attracted the public imagination.

The sighting of this odd metal monolith was

a shot heard �round the world.

In the remote sandstone canyons of the Utah desert,

a team of biologists tracking sheep make a shocking discovery.

They come upon a gleaming, 12-foot-tall

metal monolith.

It�s just a completely unearthly image.

It�s this big, triangular prism,

about 12 feet tall,

firmly embedded in the desert ground

in this incredibly remote place where there are no roads.

It�s very difficult to get

anything out there, let alone

a 12-feet-tall slab of metal.

But what�s very weird about it is,

using Google Earth satellite imagery,

they eventually figure out that it has been there

for four to five years without being discovered.

The sighting of this odd metal monolith,

looking like some kind of

otherworldly portal,

was a shot heard �round the world.

In some regards, it was not a monolith

because "lith" means "stone,"

and this is a metal thing.

But, still, it attracted everyone�s eyes.

I think part of it was the-the mystery. How did it get there?

Numerous theories were put forth as to who

might�ve created the so-called "Utah monolith."

And then, during the following months,

the mystery took another twist,

as similar monoliths started popping up

all over the world.

Other people became inspired

by this monolith in the Utah desert,

and started copycatting from that.

And so,

another monolith appears in India.

Shortly after that, one shows up in Italy.

You get one showing up in Pittsburgh,

right outside of a candy shop.

There�s one that shows up in San Francisco

that is made out of gingerbread.

In the end, between November of 2020 and May of 2021,

over 200 monoliths around the world just appear.

While some wrote off the worldwide

monolith phenomenon as a cultural fad,

historians were quick to disagree

and claimed that something more profound was occurring

that dates back to the dawn of history.

Because, curiously, about 6,000 years ago,

upright stones known as menhirs

that bear a striking resemblance to the Utah monolith,

were inexplicably erected

all over Europe.

When we look at this menhir phenomenon,

there�s a time right around 4000 BCE

where these sites pop up

all over the place, at least in Europe.

The most well-known are the ones that are in the U.K.

and in France and Portugal and Spain,

but it�s actually a much larger and more expansive tradition.

They started creating these everywhere.

In Germany, we have the Wotan stone.

In Sweden, one of their most famous

standing stones is the Menhir of Grandson.

Overall, in Europe, there are over 35,000

standing menhirs still today,

in almost every country.

The number of ancient menhirs located throughout Europe

is staggering, and many historians have wondered

why were so many monoliths

created during the same time period?

Travel and trade had been standard for thousands of years.

People are observant, and they like to remember

and replicate and interpret and represent.

So, if somebody�s traveled to, say,

Rudston in East Yorkshire,

and then they go back to Germany,

and they say, "Oh, I saw these amazing stones.

Let�s have a go at making them."

It�s not impossible that people may have just observed this

and then imitated it.

Is it possible that the phenomenon

surrounding the Utah monolith

was actually history repeating itself?

And that humans have actually been imitating each other

by building monoliths for thousands of years?

It�s interesting that

people don�t want to take credit in modern times

for creating these monuments,

and that may give us some insight

into the mentality of the people

that built ancient monoliths.

They didn�t carve their names in there,

and it perhaps was not about them, either.

It was about the human compunction

to make a piece of immortality.

Are human beings hardwired to create

and then replicate monoliths?

Well, if that�s true, then it�s intriguing to think

that we share this instinct with our ancient ancestors.

And based on the number of monoliths

being constructed today,

it seems that humanity�s compulsion

to build these mysterious structures

shows no signs of stopping.

Each year, around 150,000 people celebrate

the oldest arts festival in all of Europe,

which is known as the National Eisteddfod.

Since 1176 AD,

the Eisteddfod has been an annual celebration

of Welsh culture that includes music,

poetry, dancing,

and more.

The most curious part of the festival is that, every year,

a set of 12 monoliths,

known as Gorsedd Stones,

are carved and then carefully placed in a circle.

Although most of the Gorsedd Stone circles

have been built in the last 200 years,

they closely resemble

the thousands of ancient monoliths

that can be found throughout the British Isles.

At each of these Eisteddfods,

a Gorsedd Stone circle, uh, was created,

so that there are now

quite a number of them throughout Wales.

And each one was resurrecting

the beliefs and practices

of a very ancient tradition

to celebrate Welsh history

and culture and tradition.

Unlike the Utah monolith phenomenon,

which was a modern interpretation

of standing structures,

the Gorsedd Stones are a literal recreation

of the monoliths of the past.

But what inspires the residents of modern-day Wales

to erect pillars of stone?

Well, some historians believe that

people remain fascinated by ancient monoliths

because these giant standing stones

that were laid thousands of years ago

are still part of our world today.

Everywhere in Europe,

there is some sort of megalithic architecture that

modern communities are identifying themselves with.

Sometimes, monoliths

are actually just right along a country road.

People pass it every day, like it�s an everyday object,

but it�s thousands of years old.

And it�s become part of that community.

In some regards, perhaps that was the intention

of the people who built it thousands of years ago.

Standing stones are striking,

awe-inspiring, inexplicable,

and this is a very compelling combination.

It doesn�t matter whether they were built this year

or 6,000 years ago,

they�re fascinating, but why?

Well, why are we fascinated by anything out of the ordinary?

Because it�s magnificent. It�s humbling.

It fills us with wonder.

The great thing about monoliths

is that they are enduring.

And once it�s there,

it�s highly visible in the landscape,

and it goes on forever,

but they are enigmatic.

Because, at the last analysis,

the big, eternal question remains:

why were they built?

And that is a mystery

which we may never solve.

Was Stonehenge created to harness the energy of the Earth?

Were the statues of Mont�e Prama

actually based on real-life giants?

Was there a global network of interconnected,

ancient stone monuments?

Perhaps.

But while mysterious monoliths

around the world were built to stand the test of time,

their purpose and their power

remain unexplained.

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