Bosnian Pyramids are alleged human made pyramids
that are situated near a village of Visoko, North- West of Sarajevo
in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bosnian pyramids is a
pseudo-archaeological claim promoted by the Bosnian entrepreneur
Semir Osmanagic, consisting of declaring a group of natural hills in
the population of Visoko in Bosnia-Herzegovina, northwest of
Sarajevo, as the oldest and largest pyramids human beings built on
Earth. The hill of Visocica (43 ° 58'45.55 "N, 18 ° 10'45.09" E),
the largest of them, became a focus of international attention in
October 2005, after a media campaign by Osmanagic and his
supporters.
Osmanagic claims to have found tunnels, stone
blocks and ancient mortars, which he has suggested once covered the
structure of Visočica. Excavations opened in 2006 have reconfigured
the hill, which makes it look like a step pyramid. However,
geologists, archaeologists and other scientists have concluded,
after an analysis of the site, its history known and excavations,
the hills are natural formations and no sign of human construction.
The European Association of Archaeologists issued a statement
considering the so-called pyramid a "cruel deception" and protesting
the Bosnian authorities' support for the project.
Osmanagić's interpretation
In April 2005, Semir Osmanagić visited the Visoko Homeland Museum,
where Professor Senad Hodović presented him with information about
medieval Bosnia and the stone remains of the medieval town of Visoki
on Visocica. Explaining how the three royal capitals can be seen
from Visocica, he mentioned that Visocica has a pyramidal shape,
which is a rare phenomenon. Osmanagić became interested in this
phenomenon and obtained a permit to drill, after which he stated
that he noticed numerous anomalies which indicate that there is a
pyramid under the hill Visočica, ie its upper part.
Osmanagic
called Visocica the "Pyramid of the Sun", and the two nearby hills,
identified as pyramids based on satellite and aerial photographs,
the "Pyramid of the Moon" and the "Pyramid of the Bosnian Dragon".
The reports mention two other alleged pyramids: the "Pyramid of the
Earth" and the "Pyramid of Love". In the intense media campaign that
followed, Osmanagic claimed that the alleged pyramids were built by
the ancient Illyrians, the ancient inhabitants of the Balkans around
12,000 BC. But in an interview with Philip Coppens of Nexus magazine
(April 2006), Osmanagic tried to correct previous allegations by
claiming that he had been misquoted: he did claim that the alleged
pyramids were most likely built by The Illyrians, who according to
his claims inhabited this area between 12,000 and 500 BC. n. e., so
the alleged pyramids were most likely built somewhere in that
period, and not exactly 12,000. years before the new era. Lately,
Osmanagić claims that the "pyramid" is about 7,000 years old.
Osmanagić points out that the four sides of the hill Visočica
are facing the sides of the world (east, west, north, south), as all
the pyramids were allegedly built. This is not true and can be
easily verified using Google Earth. The deviation from the assumed
direction is almost 30 degrees.
Towards the end of 2005,
Osmanagic, with the support of BiH institutions, founded the
Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation, and
appointed Professor Senad Hodovic as president for logistics. In
early January, Dr. Amer Smailbegović, a member of the Archaeological
Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation, analyzed the results of
thermal inertia and based on them concluded that the hills Visočica
(Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun), Plješevica (Bosnian Pyramid of the
Moon) and two other elevations are anomalies. According to him,
these elevations cool faster than the environment because there are
materials of lower density, higher porosity, as well as internal
cavities and passages, which affects the heat loss normal for
artificial structures.
The alleged research was carried out
in a tunnel not far from Visocica, in Ravne, where sandstone blocks
weighing up to five tons were found, which are claimed to have been
processed by human hands. The oxygen content of 20.9% was determined
in the tunnels, which allegedly confirms the thesis about the
ventilation systems inside the tunnel. In addition, it is claimed
that in the tunnels there are intersections at right angles that
coincide with the sides of the world: east-west, north-south.
Osmanagić refers to the alleged measurements of the Geodetic
Authority of BiH, according to which the sides of the base are 364 m
long, and the sides form equilateral triangles whose all angles are
precise 60 degrees. It is further claimed that the north side is
oriented towards the "cosmic north", ie that there is a deviation
from the geographical north by 21 '. In addition, he claims that the
cadastral office of the municipality of Visoko confirmed to him that
the geodetic peaks of the three pyramids (Pyramid of the Sun, Moon
and Bosnian Dragon) form an equilateral triangle of 60 degrees,
where there is allegedly no deviation in one minute, which is
confirmed by alleged satellite images .
On the northeast side
of the Pyramid of the Sun, on the third day of research (April 17,
2006), stone blocks of breccia were found, which were claimed to
have been processed by human hands. According to Osmanagić and his
followers, this is the most serious proof of the existence of the
Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun.
Scientific explanations
Osmanagic's
allegations, published in the mass media, are disputed by a large
number of experts who accuse him of promoting pseudo-scientific
theories and destroying real archeological sites with his
excavations. Amar Karapuš, curator of the National Museum of Bosnia
and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, said on this occasion: "When I first
read about the pyramids, I thought it was very funny. I couldn't
believe that anyone in the world could believe in something like
that. "
Professor Garrett Fagan of the University of
Pennsylvania says: "Real archeological sites should not be allowed
to be destroyed in an attempt to find their misconceptions [...]
It's as if someone was given permission to bulldoze Stonehenge to
find under it the secret chambers with lost ancient wisdom. "
Curtis Runnels, an expert on prehistoric Greece and the Balkans
from Boston University, says: “Between 27,000 and 12,000 years ago,
the Balkans were frozen in the last glacial maximum, a period of
very cold and dry glacier climate. some of the mountain ranges. The
only inhabitants of this area were Upper Paleolithic hunters and
gatherers who left behind the remains of the camp in the open and
traces of living in caves. These remains consist of simple stone
tools and the remains of animals and plants on which they ate. These
people did not have the tools or skills needed to build monumental
architectural structures. "
Enver Imamovic from the
University of Sarajevo, former director of the National Museum in
Sarajevo, expressed concern over the danger that excavations could
destroy real archeological sites, such as the medieval royal capital
Visoki. He claims that the excavations would "irreversibly destroy
the national historical treasure."
In a letter to the Times
of London on April 25, 2006, Professor Anthony Harding, president of
the European Association of Archaeologists, called Osmanagic's
theories "twisted" and "absurd" and expressed concern that
insufficient attention was being paid to protecting "the rich
archaeologists." Bosnia "from" robbery and uncontrolled and
unauthorized construction ". After visiting the site in person,
Harding stated: “we saw fields of natural stone (breccia), with
fissures and cracks; but no trace of anything resembling archeology.
"
Members of the geological team who conducted field research
on behalf of the Foundation "Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of
the Sun" held a press conference on May 8, 2006 in Tuzla in order to
publish the results of their research. Professors of the Faculty of
Mining and Geology at the University of Tuzla, led by Professor Dr.
Sejfudin Vrabac, concluded that "Visocica has been established as a
natural geological formation, consisting of classical sediments of
layered structure, of different thickness, and its shape is due to
endodynamic and exodynamic processes in the post-Miocene period ”.
According to Professor Vrabac, an expert in paleogeology: "in
the area of the Sarajevo-Zenica mining basin, there are dozens of
such morphological forms." The report of the Visocica Geological
Research Team, made on the basis of examinations of six boreholes
with a depth of 3 to 17 m, was supported by the Scientific-Teaching
Council of the Faculty of Mining and Geology and the Association of
Geologists of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In
June 2006, the name of one of the greatest Egyptologists of today,
Professor Zahija Havas, was linked to the excavations at Visocica.
Osmanagic claimed that Professor Hawass recommended the alleged
"expert" Ali Abd Al Barakat to explore the hills. Hawass denied any
connection to this, accusing Osmanagic of "giving false
information", and explained that Barakat "knows nothing about the
Egyptian pyramids".
Notwithstanding Havas' reaction, the
Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation announced
that Barakat had conducted a survey of the hill and stated, "In my
opinion, this is a kind of pyramid, probably a primitive pyramid."
Barakat's report was posted in English.
Osmanagic also invited geologist and alternative
archaeologist Robert Schoch to visit the site. In his preliminary
report, he concluded that there are natural geological explanations
for all the phenomena that Osmanagic claimed were the work of human
hands. Shoh's web page states that "the excavations caused
exceptional damage" and accuses Osmanagic of launching a "deliberate
campaign to mislead".
In 2007, the Archaeological Park:
Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun published a report by Egyptologist Nabil
Mohamed Abdel Svelim, claiming that Visocica was in fact the largest
pyramid in the world. against, I cannot influence the fact that the
concept of the pyramid and the corresponding shape are obvious and
that everyone can see it. ”Despite these allegations, Svelim
published a report in 2010 explaining that he did not claim that
Visocica was the work of human hands, but used by the expression of
a pyramid for any object, natural or artificial, which represents
this body in a geometric sense.
In addition to the mentioned,
many other domestic and foreign scientists have expressed doubts
about the existence of the pyramid on Visocica. A petition entitled
'Stop Osmanagić Now!' Was also launched. Many state that there are
no historical facts according to which it could be claimed that
there is a pyramid in Visoko and condemn any works on Visocica,
which is a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and consider
any activity in this place a demolition and damage to cultural
property.