Myth Hunters

The armies of Nazi Germany crossed the border with Austria, but when Hitler arrived in Vienna just 2 days later, the very first thing he did was to go to the Hofburg museum to lay claim to what appeared to be a simple Roman spear head. This spear head was something that Hitler had apparently coveted ever since he had first nurtured ambitions to become the ruler of a new German Reich. After the end of the Second World War, the lance was lost. Walter Horn, a US Army lieutenant who had fled Germany, went in search of the Holy Lance.

Nazi military commander Heinrich Himmler's search for an Aryan race he believed came from the mythical underwater city of Atlantis. He claimed that while the city was lost under the sea, its inhabitants had fled to the Himalayas. However, the search for evidence to prove the theory would ultimately harm his peace of mind.

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. Stephens even bought the Mayan city of Copan for $50 with the mis-guided intention of moving it along the river to US museums. The Mayans were one of the greatest civilisations of all time, building incredible structures without the use of metal tools, horses or carts. Even with these constraints, their buildings are as large as, if not larger than, some of the astounding Egyptian wonders.