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Dan Cruickshank sets out on television's most ambitious treasure hunt ever - filmed over five months and visiting more than 40 countries - to reveal the most beautiful and precious things made by man since the dawn of time.

The first episode takes Dan deep into the Amazonian rainforests of Brazil, to the peaks of the Peruvian mountains and to the distant wilds of Easter Island.

Surviving tempest-tossed seas, crocodile-infested rivers and the digestive challenge of eating fresh guinea pig, Dan's choice of treasures ranges from the celebrated to the secret. His destinations in this programme – the giant Moai, the ruins of Machu Picchu and the statue of Christ in Rio – are famed worldwide. Less well known but equally spectacular are the gold treasures of the human-sacrifice-loving Moche people, with the sinister gold spider necklace and the largest mud-built city in world – the magical location of Chan Chan.

Never before has the variety and range of mankind's creations around the world provided the stepping stones for such a momentous journey.