Temples hidden deep in the jungle, cities half-buried in desert sands, and carved slabs from ancient monuments scattered carelessly on the ground... Images like these are bound to make us wonder: Who built these places What kind of societies lived here And how could such once mighty civilisations have collapsed From Mesoamerican pyramids to the giant statues of Easter Island, from the Great Sphinx of Giza to the circle of Stonehenge and on to Pompeii, Persepolis and Petra, Abandoned Civilisations explores more than 90 lost worlds around the globe. In surveying these temples and tombs, cave paintings and sculptures, cities and citadels, Kieron Connolly explains how great civilisations fell into decline. The story, though, does not end there. Engulfed in dense jungle or buried in burning desert, many of these places were forgotten or ignored for hundreds or even thousands of years. But, wrapped in nature's protective cape, they kept their secrets at which we now wonder. With 150 hauntingly beautiful colour photographs from more than 30 countries, Abandoned Civilisations is a brilliant pictorial examination of extraordinary worlds lost and found again.