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.