19th-century explorers John L Stephens and Frederick Catherwood altered our view of the Maya civilisation and uncovered great wonders such as this El Castillo (Kukulkan) pyramid, Mexico.

In the early 1800s a party of men headed by a Thomas Beale set out from Virginia to the Colorado Rocky Mountains where they discovered gold. After mining a fortune in gold ore they exchanged it for treasure, which they then buried in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains.

The dying days of World War II. Hitler was in his bunker, unable to accept defeat. But most Nazis knew the game was up. It was time to start hiding evidence of their crimes. A unit of SS officers were instructed to transport boxes to the Salzgammergut lake district in the Austrian Alps.

At the end of the 19th century, the Priest of Rennes-le-Chateau, Berenger Sauniere mysteriously and suddenly became fabulously rich. Rumours spread the priest had discovered buried treasure, but others claim Sauniere had uncovered a secret so profound, it could rock the foundations of the Catholic Church; evidence of a bloodline of Christ, the Holy Grail.

A desert in California is said to hold something truly astonishing. According to the myth, somewhere in the Mojave Desert is a ship wreck with a precious cargo.

While on holiday in Spain researching a book, American author and writer Janice Bennett, found herself looking at an exhibit in the cathedral in Valencia, which was claimed to be the Holy Grail.

A quest for buried treasure allegedly hidden on an island near Costa Rica is undertaken by a German adventurer in the late 19th century, which eventually went on to influence the novel Treasure Island.

This week’s episode turns to King Arthur who according to legend was Britain's greatest king. He led his Knights of the Round Table from Camelot, a vast, spectacular castle built on a hill, and was supposed to have bravely fought AngloSaxon invaders and united the country.

This week’s episode turns to history’s greatest story of war loot - the legend of Yamashita's Gold. During WW2, it's said the Japanese Imperial Army had a covert, systematic looting operation in place and amassed a huge fortune. But in June 1942, the tide of the war turned and the stolen gold was apparently hidden in 175 different locations throughout the Philippines.

Yesterday’s fascinating series continues this week in America’s Rocky Mountains where according to legend, a fortune in gold bullion lies buried. The only clue to the treasure's location is a cryptic map, drawn by the sole survivor of a doomed French expedition.

In 1911, Hiram Bingham was a young scholar specialising in modern Latin American history at Yale University. He was 36-years-old, married to Alfreda Mitchell, an heiress to the Tiffany diamond empire, they had six children and lived in a thirty-roomed mansion on top of a hill.

Historically the 'face of God' has been linked to the one of the greatest Catholic relics - the Veil of Veronica - a similar miraculous image, created on the day of Christ's crucifixion.

According to legend, somewhere in Texas lies buried a vast treasure of Spanish gold. At the turn of the 20th century, one man is on a mission to find it. His name is Dave Arnold. Guided by a cryptic map he unearths three mysterious stones.