The Bosnian Pyramids

Semir Osmanagic, sometimes called the Indiana Jones of the Balkans, thinks a prehistoric structure (a pyramid) is hidden beneath Visocica hill overlooking the town of Visoko, 18 miles (30 kilometers) northwest of Sarajevo. For many people he is only a dreamer and for others a real hero.

Background

Inhabitants in Visoko have been fascinated by the hill for thousands of years. Anthropologists discovered that Visoko has a rich history and that it was the center of organized human settlements in the Middle Ages. German and Bosnian archeologists found 24 000 Neolithic artifacts which are 7 000 years old.

Visocica hill is 2120 ft (650 m) high and has a triangular form. Back in time, the medieval fortress was constructed by Bosnian kings at the top of the hill. The fortress was built over an old Roman Empire observation post which was made over the ruins of a prehistoric settlement. In other words, the hill can be used as a typical illustration of cultures building on top of other cultures.

There are no records of any civilizations in Europe attempting to build pyramids. Local and international experts dispute the theory about Bosnian pyramids. They claim that ancient civilizations in Bosnia were not capable of constructing colossal structures as the bosinan pyramids.

However, Mr. Osmanagic claims that the hill has 4 perfectly formed slopes pointing toward the cardinal points, a plane top and an entrance complex (not yet discovered).

Leader of the Bosnian Pyramids project – Semir Osmanagic

Bosnian - American businessman, Semir Osmanagic (45 years old), is an amateur researcher who has been investigating Latin America pyramids for more than 15 years. Today he is the leader of excavations on the hills Visocica (Pyramid of the Sun) and Pljesevica (Pyramid of the Moon).

Osmanagic found out about the hill from Senad Hodovic who is the director of a museum in Visoko town. Mr. Hodovic visited a promotion of a book by Osmanagic about old civilizations and proposed to him to take a closer look at Visocica hill.

That’s how the story began. Later they got a permit to dig the site.

Osmanagic thinks the hill was made (shaped) by the Illyrians who lived in the area of Balkan before Slavic tribes conquered it. According to Mr. Osmanagic, Illyrians might be more sophisticated than we believe today.

Possible evidences of Bosnian Pyramids

The top of the Visocica hill (pyramid of the Sun) is protected by the state as a national monument. Obtaining the permit to research the site was easy because local institutions welcomed the theory of Bosnian Pyramids and saw the project as an opportunity for the town of Visoko.

Osmanagic’s team carried out the first probes of the main hill Visocica at six points. The leading geologist, Nadja Nukic, found 15 anomalies telling that some layers of the hill were not natural.

They think the hill was already there and some ancient civilization formed it to look like a pyramid. They even made some small excavations until November 2005. During the winter time they planned and organized the work and started with new excavations of the Bosnian Pyramids in early Spring 2006. The bosnian pyramids team is made up mostly of volunteers.

Team of rescue workers from a local coal mine, archeologists and geologists discovered a manmade tunnel which might be part of a network of underground passages. Experts believe the tunnel might be 2,4 miles (3,8 km) long.

They found that the hill has 45 degree slopes pointing toward the cardinal points and excavations indicate that the hill is covered by large stone blocks. Satellite and thermal photos show two other pyramid-shaped hills in the same valley. One of them is the hill called Pljesevica (Pyramid of the Moon) and it has pavements on various levels. Archeologists believe that it might be a spiral path from the bottom to the top of the hill.

How Bosnian Pyramids effected people’s lives

The theory of Bosnian Pyramids has focused big media in Bosnia and many local inhabitants started seeking ways to earn some money on the event of the Bosnian Pyramids . Local biggest hotel changed the name from “Hollywood” to “Motel Bosnian Sun Pyramid”. Artisans make pyramid shaped souvenirs, shop owners sell T-shirts with Bosnian Pyramids symbols, restaurants serve meals in pyramid shaped plates and even pizza is made in pyramid form.

In other words, a real pyramid mania has taken hold of Visoko. Their expectations are high and they believe the “pyramid” could be their gold mine. Visoko town receives in average 10 000 tourists during weekends and inhabitants expect the number to grow rapidly.

Experts about Bosnian Pyramids

Because of the fact that Bosnia has little archeological expertise, the pyramid theory divided experts in two groups:

- experts who joined Osmanagic’s team and would like participate in the research
- experts who fight to stop all activities on the hill.

The second group of 22 experts even signed a petition declaring that Osmanagic is an amateur who can destroy or damage the historically valuable site. His response on that claim is that they are only jealous and that the digging is taken place far from the protected area of the hill.

These two groups invite, independently, some “neutral” international experts to visit the hill and excavations. Unfortunately, they choose people who already have the same opinion on the theory of pyramids in Bosnia as they do.

Let us see who the experts are and who invited them:

• Aly Abd Alla Barakat

– geologist from Egyptian Mineral Resource Authority, an expert in the stone blocks used to build pyramids in Egypt; invited by Semir Osmanagic. He spent 2 two weeks on the Bosnian Pyramid hills and his conclusion was that the structure is “man made” and worth investigating. Osmanagic’s team used this opinion in the media and claimed that international experts confirmed existence of Bosnian Pyramids. What Mr. Barakat really said was: ”My opinion is that this is a type of pyramid, probably a primitive pyramid.”

For Osmanagic it was confirmation of his theory of Bosnian Pyramids , but for experts who oppose to him there was nothing significant in Barakat’s words because he did not leave any scientific reports; instead, he recommended to more experts to visit the site and he scheduled some archeologists from Egypt to visit the hill. He pointed that in further investigation they should find out the age and type of material used.

• Prof. Anthony Harding

– president of the European Association of Archeologists based in the Czech Republic; invited by experts who signed the petition against excavations. First he talked with his colleagues in Bosnia, then he visited the hills for two hours and rejected the theory of Bosnian Pyramids . He sad that no evidence has been found and no scientific reports have been presented. He never visited other sites in the area, such as a tunnel leading to the top of Visocica and other new excavations. This event did not dishearten Osmanagic and he continued with more excavations and invited the next visitor.

• Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Ali

– a professor of Egyptology in Cairo; invited by Mr. Osmanagic. He investigated the hill for a week and recommended more digging at sites. In his opinion it might take decades before the final conclusion. So far they did not find any artifacts and organic material such as bones, wooden fragments, charcoal…

Future of the project

What we can expect is new international teams of experts who should work on the hills. Since the country does not have an archeological institute, it has very little archeological expertise. More archeologists from Egypt are probably going to visit the hill and help local enthusiasts in finding more evidence for confirmation of the controversial theory of Bosnian Pyramids .

Sarajevo, 23rd September 2006