Ancient Apocalypse Episode 3: "Sirius Rising"
Netflix's Most-Watched Documentary Brings Global Attention to Malta's Ancient Temples
In October 2022, Netflix released Ancient Apocalypse , the 8-part documentary series featuring renowned author and journalist Graham Hancock. In the weeks after its release this extraordinary exploration of ancient megalithic civilizations became Netflix's most-watched documentary series.
The series explores ancient megalithic sites from across the globe, challenging conventional archaeological timelines and revealing evidence of ancient knowledge of astronomy often overlooked by mainstream academia.
In Ancient Apocalypse "Sirius Rising": Malta Takes Center Stage
Episode 3, titled "Sirius Rising," focuses entirely on Malta's ancient temples and their revolutionary astronomical alignments. This pivotal episode brings the remarkable story of Malta's megalithic civilization to millions of viewers worldwide, finally giving these extraordinary Stone Age monuments the global recognition they deserve.
The episode's title itself reveals its central theme: the crucial importance of Sirius, the brightest star in our sky, to the ancient Maltese temple builders. This astronomical connection, which forms the foundation of the book Sirius, the Star of the Maltese Temples, provides the key to understanding both the purpose and high antiquity of Malta's ancient temples .
Graham and Lenie during the recordings in the Mnajdra Middle Temple, October 2020
Breakthrough Work
The episode culminates in an interview with Lenie Reedijk, who first discovered and proved the connection between Malta's ancient temples and the star Sirius. Her groundbreaking work presents:
- The mathematical evidence proving the temples' deliberate stellar alignments
- The revolutionary dating method that places these monuments in the Mesolithic period
- The sophisticated astronomical knowledge possessed by Malta's Stone Age people
- The implications for our understanding of ancient human capabilities
Global Impact
Through Ancient Apocalypse, the story of Malta's megalithic temples reached an unprecedented global audience. The documentary's massive success brought international attention to:
- The unique concentration of temples across Malta and Gozo
- The precise astronomical alignments that previous researchers had missed
- The advanced knowledge systems of Mesolithic civilizations
- The need to reassess conventional archaeological timelines
The episode demonstrates how the temples of Malta represent far more than isolated ancient monuments - they're evidence of a sophisticated civilization that understood stellar movements thousands of years before such knowledge was thought possible.
From Insider Secret to Global Phenomenon
The Netflix film "Sirius Rising" has sparked great interest in Malta's prehistoric heritage, bringing visitors from all over the world to the remarkable ancient temples.
The episode shows how mathematical analysis revealed the deliberate patterns in temple orientations, proving that these weren't random placements but carefully calculated astronomical instruments.
