BRADFORD on Avon author John Cowie has brought out a third edition of his book Silbury Dawning – The Alien Gene Theory, featuring new information supporting the claim that the human race gained its intelligence from extraterrestrial visitors.

The retired computer executive believes that pyramids which are found on all continents – and he believes Silbury Hill may have been built as a chalk-block pyramid – could have been energy-creating beacons by which ancient Britons communicated with aliens.

Father of two Mr Cowie, 68, published the first copy of the book in 2000 with a second edition in 2002 and his third reprint now available from Amazon, local book shops including the Henge Shop at Avebury and as an e-book for Kindle users.

He was an executive at the time of the silicon chip and semiconductor revolution and originally intended writing a book based on the characters he had met through his work for Intel and other multi-national computer companies.

He said: “As I watched the remarkable evolution of the silicon chip and in turn the personal computer and telecommunications industries, I began to link these extraordinary envisioneering achievements with the human brain.

“Regular journeys past Silbury Hill and the standing stones of Avebury prompted me to consider where our knowledge could have come from, so the seeds of the alien visitor gene began.”

Mr Cowie has devoted his retirement to learning more about Silbury Hill and thoughts on its intended purpose and although archaeologists believe it is at least 4,000 years old he contends the man-made mound could be much older.

In his book he explores historical clues that, he claims, point to the arrival of aliens in the ancient human past and he argues that these extraterrestials mated or genetically experimented with man “changing the course of human evolution and supercharging our intelligence”.

Mr Cowie has extended his study of pyramids not only to Egypt but also to Bosnia and China where man-made pyramids are found.

“It seems that pyramid geometry and their amazing scientific properties were clearly understood by our ancient ancestors.”

His studies included going inside Silbury Hill four years ago, during the work to stabilise the hill and re-fill old tunnels and shafts that treasure hunters and archaeologists had made into the hill over the centuries.