Bosnian pyramids

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Visočica overlooking Visoko, photo taken in 1973

Visočica overlooking Visoko, today

A site known as Visočica hill, in the Bosnia-Herzegovina town of Visoko, northwest of Sarajevo, became the focus of international attention in October 2005, following highly controversial claims that it is actually an ancient man-made pyramid, the so-called Bosnian pyramids.

The 213 metre Visočica hill, which was occupied by Old town of Visoki, has a generally symmetrical pyramid-like shape when viewed from certain angles. The idea that it constitutes an ancient artificial edifice was publicised by Houston-based expatriate Bosnian author and metalworker Semir Osmanagić, whose subsequent excavations at the site have uncovered what he claims to be a paved entrance plateau and tunnels, as well as stone blocks and ancient mortar which he has suggested once covered the structure. Osmanagić has claimed that the dig involved an international team of archaeologists from Australia, Austria, Bosnia, Scotland and Slovenia, ^[1] however many archaeologists named have stated they had not agreed to participate and were not at the site.^[2] The dig began in April 2006.

1 Interpretation
- 1.1 Osmanagić's interpretation
  - 1.1.1 Atlantean connections
- 1.2 Other interpretations
2 Research program
3 References
4 Images from the excavation sites
- 4.1 "Pyramid of the Sun"
- 4.2 "Pyramid of the Moon"
5 See also
6 External links
- 6.1 Main sites

[edit] Interpretation

Locations of the Pyramids of the Sun, Moon and (Bosnian) Dragon, according to the hypotheses of Semir Osmanagić

[edit] Osmanagić's interpretation

Osmanagić has named Visočica hill the "Pyramid of the Sun", while two nearby hills, identified from satellite and aerial photography, have been dubbed the "Pyramid of the Moon" and the "Pyramid of the (Bosnian) Dragon" (and another two, one named the "Pyramid of the Earth", have been mentioned in reports). Newspaper reports have quoted Osmanagić as claiming that they were constructed by ancient Illyrian inhabitants of the Balkans as early as 12,000 BCE. But in an interview with Philip Coppens in Nexus (April-May 2006), Osmanagić attempted to clarify his previous statements, stating he was misquoted: he does claim that they were most likely constructed by the Illyrians, who he claims lived in the area from 12,000 BCE to 500 BCE, and that the pyramid was therefore most likely constructed between those two dates - not in 12,000 BCE. In an interview with Vesna Peric Zimonjic, appearing in the Belgian newspaper De Morgen, he refused to date the structures:

"We have not yet found organic remains, bones, wood or coal. Such analysis will help us to date the structures."

Nevertheless, on the Bosnian pyramid website, he is quoted as saying:^[3]

"The following year, 2007, will be marked by the astonishment of the world public how such colossal monuments could have been made before the end of the last Ice age."

and also

"Regarding the age, there is more and more evidence that the main pyramid complex were built right before the end of the last Ice age, indicating that there was world wide plan for building these monuments."

However, a report by his team, made in November last year after some initial diggings - therefore six months before the statement that no bones have been found - says:

"However, in the second (II) sequence of sandstone plates at the right hand side of the probing well we found two plates one over another at the angle of approximately 25 degrees. Between those two plates there was clay marl and a human skeleton in it. The skeleton was not complete. It consisted of a left leg bones and fractions of a skull placed in the area of pelvis. All sandstone plates in the III sequence were paved one over another under the same angle as it was done in the II sequence. In the II sequence of plates remains of a human skeleton were found again. The remains of this skeleton were photographed by an archaeologist and its orientation was defined. Then they were packed and sent to analysis in order to determine how old they were."

Currently Osmanagić states the excavation has produced evidence of building blocks one metre below the surface of the hill, as well as tunnels ^[4]. Earlier geological work has also indicated that human activity had shaped the hill.^[5] Additionally Osmanagić has found tunnels in the hillside which he interprets as ventilation shafts. He plans to date the tunnels by analysis of stalactites found within them.^[6]

Osmanagić believes his discoveries around Visoko will have further implications for world prehistory. By comparing the varying heights of the tallest pyramids in Mexico and Egypt with Visočica hill, he concluded that the pyramids may all have been built by the same people(s), with the Bosnian Pyramid being the last to be built.^[7] However, upon further thought he has decided that this dating mechanism may not be reliable and has now announced Visočica hill could be "The mother of all Pyramids", a claim he says would be corroborated by the existence of sacred geometry and further numerological study of messages left in the pyramid for future generations.^[8]

Osmanagić estimates that the Sun pyramid stands 722 feet (220m) high (or, depending upon the report, either 230 feet (70m) high or 328 feet (100m) high). If it is 722 feet, it would be one third taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza, making it the largest pyramidal structure on Earth.

The current target of the project is to complete excavation by 2012. This is in order to "break a cloud of negative energy, allowing the Earth to receive cosmic energy from the centre of the galaxy" according to Osmanagić.^[9] It is also hoped that it will be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.^[10]

[edit] Atlantean connections

Osmanagić, who has also published under the name Sam Osmanagich, is the author of a book entitled The World of the Maya that presents a global pseudohistory involving Atlantis and Lemuria, and concludes:

The Maya inherited knowledge from their ancestors at Atlantis and Lemuria (Mu). Cities were planned and built around the main square toward which the pyramids and temples were turned. They communicated with the movement of the Sun and the paths of other heavenly bodies... Many cultures around the world, from India, Sumeria, Egypt, Peru, the Indians of North and Central America, the Inca and the Maya, call themselves the 'Children of the Sun' or the 'children of light.' Their ancestors, the civilizations of Atlantis and Lemuria, erected the first temples on energy potent point of the Planet. Their most important function was to serve as a gateway to other worlds and dimensions.

Osmanagić's concept is similar to that popularized by William Perry and Grafton Elliot Smith in their book The Children of the Sun (1923). Smith and Perry suggested that all ancient civilizations could trace their history to ancient Egypt. Their work represented a school of thought known as diffusionism, also represented in the scholarship of Gustaf Kossinna. However, Osmanagić adds to this a belief in the lost continents of Atlantis and Lemuria. Smith and Perry's theories of hyperdiffusionism have been rejected on the basis of subsequent research and models concerning Atlantis and Lemuria are not taken seriously by the majority of professional archaeologists and historians.

[edit] Other interpretations

Semir Osmanagić's claims, widely reported in the mass media, have been challenged by a number of experts, who have accused him of promoting pseudo-scientific notions and damaging archaeological sites with his excavations. Penn State University Professor Garrett Fagan is quoted as saying "They should not be allowed to destroy genuine sites in the pursuit of these delusions[...] It’s as if someone were given permission to bulldoze Stonehenge to find secret chambers of lost ancient wisdom underneath." ^[11]

Boston University's Curtis Runnels, an expert in prehistoric Greece and the Balkans states that, "Between 27,000 and 12,000 years ago, the Balkans were locked in the last Glacial maximum, a period of very cold and dry climate with glaciers in some of the mountain ranges. The only occupants were Upper Paleolithic hunters and gatherers who left behind open-air camp sites and traces of occupation in caves. These remains consist of simple stone tools, hearths, and remains of animals and plants that were consumed for food. These people did not have the tools or skills to engage in the construction of monumental architecture." ^[12]

Enver Imamovic of the University of Sarajevo, a former director of the National Museum of Sarajevo, concerned that the excavations will damage historic sites such as the medieval royal capital Visoki, said that the excavations would "irreversibly destroy a national treasure". ^[13]

In a letter to the editor of The Times on 25 April 2006, Professor Anthony Harding, president of the European Association of Archaeologists, referred to Osmanagić's theories as "wacky" and "absurd" and expressed concern that insufficient safeguards were in place to protect Bosnia's "rich heritage" from "looting and unmonitored or unauthorised development". ^[14]

According to one source, on May 8, 2006, members of the Geological team investigating Visočica on behalf of the Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation held a press conference in Tuzla to present the results of their research. The academics, from the Faculty of Mining and Geology^[15] at the University of Tuzla^[16] and led by Professor Dr. Sejfudin Vrabac,^[17] concluded that the hill is a natural geological formation, made of classic sediments of layered composition and varying thickness, and that its shape is a consequence of endodynamical and egsodynamical processes in post-Miocene era.

According to Professor Vrabac, who specializes in paleogeology, there are dozens of like morphological formations in the Sarajevo-Zenica mining basin alone. The Geological team report on Visocica, based on the data collected in six drill holes at 3 to 17 metre depths, is supported by the Research and Teaching Council of the Faculty of Mining and Geology, as well as the Association of Geologists of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[18]

In June 2006, Zahi Hawass's name became linked to the excavations^[19] as recommending an expert, Aly Abd Alla Barakat, to investigate the hills. Upon being contacted Hawass denied any involvement, accusing Osmanagić of "giving out false information". ^[20].

The Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation has said that Barakat inspected the hills and stated, "My opinion is that this is a type of pyramid, probably a primitive pyramid."^[21]^[22] So far no report has appeared from the foundation confirming this. Osmanagić also invited geologist and alternative archaeologist Robert Schoch to visit the site. In a preliminary report he concluded that there were natural geological explanations for all the features claimed to be artificial by Osmanagić. In the case of the tunnels he further added:

The much-touted “ancient inscriptions” seem not to be ancient at all. I was told by a reliable source that the inscriptions were not there when members of the “pyramid team” initially entered the tunnels less than two years ago. The “ancient inscriptions” had been added since, perhaps non-maliciously, or perhaps as a downright hoax.^[23]

The foundation has described such comments as "ill-intentioned" referring to "irrelevant and completely incorrect facts" ^[24]. In return Dr Schoch's website documents "extreme damage being done by the way the excavations are being performed," and accuses Osmanagić of launching "a deliberate smear campaign" ^[25]

[edit] Research program

The Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation have published a research plan outlining a program of activity from 2006 to 2010. In 2006 the plan is to restore the top of the Pyramid of the Sun, though no attempt will be made to restore the medieval capital of Bosnia at the same time. There are also plans to upgrade transport links in the region and produce marketing material. In 2007 the plan is to continue digging and promote the hill of Pljesevica as the Pyramid of the Moon. Further research activity will consist of opening more areas of the Pyramid to tourists. The main research focus from 2008 onwards will be the provision of more tourist facilities until 2010, when it is planned to install a plaque declaring the site a UNESCO World Heritage site^[26].

Additionally the Foundation has protected the names Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun, Bosnian Pyramid of the Moon, Pyramid of the Bosnian Dagon (sic) and Bosnia's Valley of Pyramids^[27]. This is unusual in academic practice. There have been at present no announcements regarding post-excavation analysis or scientific publication.