Pyramid Discovered in Bosnia
April 21st, 2006
Experts Find Evidence of Bosnia Pyramid according to Yahoo today. Turns out this is old news, but the first I have heard of it.
The three hills, named the pyramids of the Sun, Moon and Dragon, come complete with ancient pre-Illyrian temple and labyrinth of tunnels.
Osmanagic believes the structure will prove to be 722 feet high, or a third taller than Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza. The huge stone blocks discovered Wednesday appeared to be cut in cubes and polished.
The discovery, which could turn out to be the first pyramid found in Europe, was initially raised last October. It was met with some skepticism at the time on blogs such as Unjournaled, and Orbis Quintus. Turns out there is even a website dedicated to the enigma. Looking at some of the pictures on that site of the large pyramid-sized hill which is shaped exactly like a pyramid, I would ask questions about the locals as to why it took them so long to make the “discovery” 
BBC’s article says that work will continue for around six months, with the first results expected in the next three weeks. They give a small bit of archaeological background on the area:
According to anthropologists there is evidence of 7,000-year-old human settlements in the valley. German archaeologists also recently found 24,000 Neolithic artefacts one metre below ground.
Mr Osmanagic says the hill is a classic example of cultures building on the top of other cultures. The town was Bosnia’s capital during the Middle Ages, and a medieval fortress used by Bosnian kings sits atop Visocica. The fortress was built over an old Roman Empire observation post, which in turn was constructed over the ruins of an ancient settlement.
Bosnia was at the heart of much of European history and even if this pyramid turns out to be nothing more than a few slabs on the side of a pointy hill, all the discussion on pre-Illyrians and 27,000 year old temples has already kindled my interest in the archaeology of the area. I was thinking of touring Eastern Europe this summer, I will definitely be keeping an eye on this story.
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April 29th, 2006 at 3:16 am
[...] The beardy archaeology nerds are up in arms, collectively sneering with disdain for the crackpot Osmanagic. As I said in my last post on the topic, its very easy to be cynical here. Anyone could scoff at the seemingly absurd notions, but you would expect a more professional stance from a major archaeological publication. These are the guys who are supposed to sift the fact from the fiction and perhaps even come up with a theory as to what exactly it is this guy is digging up. [...]
May 7th, 2006 at 0:03 am
I also think an old Roman fort on top of a hill (artificial or natural) in Bosnia is very interesting by itself.
I am a legitimate scientist who works at U. Penn. What you are seeing is what happens when someone who doesn’t have a Ph.D. in the proper discipline announces a discovery of any kind whatsoever. It is called and ad hominem attack. This type of attack is also quite popular with politicians as well.
If you read the complaints about this guy, you hear only that he is not a “legitimate� archeologist and/or that pyramids could not have been built 12,000 years ago. These “facts� are then used to claim that this guy’s works, claims, speculations, etc. have no value at all. None of these critics dispute any of the evidence, since none of them have actually visited the site.
As Bush likes to say: “I strongly disagree� with these critics. Give the guy a chance for crying out loud. He isn’t wasting taxpayer money like many “legitimate� researchers do.
This is a very interesting archeological site that has been sitting there unexplored by “legitimate� archeologists for centuries. It has the ruins of an old Roman fort on the top. That alone makes it interesting.
If this guy is full of beans about the hill actually being a pyramid that was built 12,000 years ago (he doesn’t actually say that – what he actually says is that it appears to be a man-made structure – that the evidence uncovered so far warrants further study) he will be thoroughly ridiculed in the coming months. It has four sides, each pointing to a cardinal direction, rises at a steep angle (steeper than most natural hills), has large stone slabs at this steep angle under shallow earth (it is not a dirt, clay, rock hill).
What I see is a little town in the middle of nowhere in Bosnia, which is enjoying a little economic boom time. If it turns out to be nothing more than a dirt hill with a fort on top, the town will sink back into obscurity. If it does turn out to be a pyramid built 12,000 years ago, that town will wish it was never discovered.
Thanks to this guy, we will find out for sure in the next few months. “Establishment� archeologists have already made up their minds – and I feel sorry for them, since they have that special misery that automatically accompanies a closed mind.
One last thing. He doesn’t say that it was built 12,000 years ago. He simply says that the area was occupied by humans – to at least 27,000 years ago. This period was a very dry time, since much more water was tied up as ice. England was connected to Europe by a land bridge.
I’m hoping the thing gets dated to 27.000 years BCE. I’m one of those scientists who actually is thrilled by new discoveries.
May 7th, 2006 at 1:53 am
Thanks for the comment Dave. Those ad hominem attacks really get on my nerves, especially from a supposedly reputable source like the Archaeology magazine. Particularly in science, where eccentric and underqualified (on paper) people have made some remarkable discoveries in the past. I’m also looking forward to seeing how this develops.