Dan Cruickshank explores the wonders of a once-great civilisation, discovering monuments to rival the pyramids, treasure that outshines Tutankhamun's and even magical ancient sculptures of naked cavorting women, heroically hidden from the Taliban.

Afghanistan stands at the crossroads of western and eastern civilisation, but its brilliance has been clouded by centuries of conflict - from the conquering armies of Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan to occupation by the British and the Russians and finally the rise of the Taliban.

Travelling the most land-mined country in the world, dodging rival warlords and gangs of gunmen, Dan reveals for the first time the cultural tragedy of Afghanistan. But as he climbs the terribly scarred cliff face of the destroyed giant Buddhas of Bamiyan, he glimpses symbols of great hope for a lost civilisation.