Treasure Seekers

Deep in the heart of southern Africa, in present-day Zimbabwe, a great civilization rose and flourished in the 9th century A.D. Its magnificent walled city stood as testament to a thriving, sophisticated culture called Great Zimbabwe. But in the 14th century, this society abruptly passed into oblivion. Obsessed by rumors of mysterious ruins, German geologist Carl Mauch survived kidnapping and robbery to rediscover Great Zimbabwe in 1871.

Great cities in ruins, lost in the jungles of Central America and Mexico. Who would have built these cities? It would take more than a century and two extraordinary people to uncover the secrets of ancient Maya. The american John Lloyd Stephens, together with his english companion Frederick Catherwood, enbarked upon the first of two epic voyages to central america in 1839. Facing many dangers and illnesses, they returned from the mysterious land with extraordinary stories and breath taking images from a once great civilization of native americans. One hundread years later, Mayan archaeology had made enormous advances, although the inscriptions that adorn the Mayan ruins had not been completely decyphered. It would be the extraordinary studies of the russian Tatiana Proskouriakoff, a woman in a world of men, that would reveal the true lives of the Maya to the world.

Famed for its wealth, cultural treasures, and spirituality, India has beckoned the outsiders for centuries. Many have vied for control of this fabled and diverse land. Two great empires, one established by invading Moguls, the other by the British, flourished on this vast subcontinent.

In 1858, a young French naturalist, Henri Mouhot, set out to discover new animal species in Southeast Asia. Instead, he stumbled on the lost city of Angkor. Uncovering temple after temple hidden by jungle, Mouhot wrote a stirring account of Asia's most bewitching and romantic ruins, sparking an explosion of interest around the world.

Wealthier and more powerful than any other ancient civilization, the Roman Empire enjoyed a long period of prosperity. But perhaps the greatest treasure of this period was not its riches, but its myth. The image of this extraordinary empire has inspired dreamers and dictators throughout the ages, luring some to return to Rome to fuel their own dreams of power.

Setting out in search of Vilcabamba, a hidden jungle city built in one of the more remote and inaccessible regions of the Inca Empire, Hiram Bingham stumbled upon one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the century—the magnificent ruins of Macchu Picchu which opened up the glories of the Inca civilization to the entire world.

A former circus performer drawn to Egypt’s mystique, Giovanni Belzoni developed a passion for uncovering its secrets and discovered that he possessed an extraordinary talent for archaeological discovery. But another man made what is perhaps the most well known find in Egypt. Howard Carter worked in vain for seven years to locate the tomb of King Tutankhamun. In 1922, just as his funding was drying up, Carter and his team unearthed the elusive tomb. The rest is ancient history.

The legend of the Holy Grail, written in 1185, seized the European imagination and maintains its hold to the present day. It was the most sacred of relics, the vessel alleged to have held both the wine of the Last Supper as well as the blood of the crucified Christ. The legendary quest for the grail became the ultimate treasure hunt.

Early in the 19th century, the fog that long had shrouded Mesopotamia began to lift, in large part due to French-born Austen Henry Layard. Journeying to the upper Tigris valley, Layard gained the right to excavate along the banks of the river, and discovered the most fantastic artwork and architectural remains found anywhere outside of Egypt.

When East met West along Asia’s silk route, the collision of culture and tradition changed the course of world history. Winding tens of thousands of miles between China and Europe, the Silk Road enabled the exchange of goods and ideas between peoples that knew virtually nothing of each other.

In the 19th century, as it became aware of the colonial designs of European power on central Asia, Tibet expelled westerners and closed its frontiers. As its isolation deepened, so did Tibet's allure and mystique. But in the early 1900s, Francis Younghusband, a British colonialist, managed to penetrate the hidden city of Lhasa and bring to an end the country's years of isolation.

A Chinese monk's description of oasis cities during a 7th Century pilgrimage would prove invaluable to another explorer more than 1000 years later. Sir Aurel Stein found cities buried in sand and a 1000 year-old Buddhist library in near-perfect condition.