Karl Gottlieb Mauch (7 May 1837 – 4 April 1875) was a German explorer and geographer of Africa. He reported on the archaeological ruins of Great Zimbabwe in 1871 during his search for the biblical land of Ophir.

Exploration and Great Zimbabwe

thumb|left|Some of the ruins of Great Zimbabwe as they are presently.

In 1871, Mauch arrived at the stone ruins now known as Great Zimbabwe, five years after discovering the first gold mines in the Transvaal. Mauch believed that the ruins were the remnants of the lost biblical city of Ophir, described as the origin of the gold given by the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon. He did not believe that the structures could have been built by a previous local population similar to those which inhabited the area at the time of his excavation. Further research on the site, including one of the first archaeological uses of aviation, resulted in the conclusion that the structures had indeed been of African origin.

The Great Zimbabwe site is now considered to have been built by ancestors of the Shona people between the 11th and the 15th centuries CE.

Mauch died as a result of a fall from the third floor window of a hotel in which he was living. It is uncertain whether the death was accidental or self-inflicted.

"The Real King Solomon's Mines" was the fifth episode of World Media Rights' docudrama series Raiders of the Lost Past, and emphasized the life of Mauch and his quest to discover the fabled mines.