Scientists begin dig at Bosnian ‘pyramid’

[foreigngirl]

History-laden hill contains human-made tunnels, researchers say



By Aida Cerkez-Robinson

Updated: 6:28 p.m. ET April 14, 2006
VISOKO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Archaeologists began digging Friday for what they hope is an ancient pyramid hidden beneath a mysterious Bosnian hill that has long been the subject of legend.

The Bosnian archaeologist leading the work says the 2,120-foot (650-meter) mound rising above the small town of Visoko resembles pyramid sites in Latin America that he has studied. It would be the first pyramid ever discovered in Europe.

Initial research on the hill, known as Visocica, found that it has perfectly shaped, 45-degree slopes pointing toward the cardinal points and a flat top. Under layers of dirt, workers discovered a paved entrance plateau, entrances to tunnels and large stone blocks that might be part of a pyramid's outer surface.
Satellite photographs and thermal imaging revealed two other, smaller pyramid-shaped hills in the Visoko Valley.

Friday's excavations began with a team of rescue workers from a nearby coal mine being sent into a tunnel believed to be part of an underground network connecting the three hills.

They were followed by archaeologists, geologists and other experts who emerged from the tunnel later to declare that it was certainly human-made.

"This is definitely not a natural formation," said geologist Nadja Nukic.

Weeks of work ahead
The teams descended about 260 meters (yards) into the tunnel but found the rest of the way blocked by a cave-in. The tunnel is thought to be 2.4 miles (3.8 kilometers) long, and the team found two intersections with other tunnels leading off to the left and right.

Other teams began digging 10 shafts at several spots to see if they will run into stone blocks below the slopes of the hill.

The work will continue for about six months at the site just outside Visoko, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Sarajevo. Two experts from Egypt are due to join the team in mid-May.

"We expect the first raw results in about three weeks," said Semir Osmanagic, the Bosnian archaeologist leading the project.

Millennia-old legends
Locals have held many legends about the hill, but Osmanagic, who spent the last 15 years studying the pyramids of Latin America, was the first to suggest that Visocica could be hiding a pyramid.

Anthropologists say the Visoko Valley already offers ample evidence of organized human settlements dating back 7,000 years. The town was Bosnia's capital during the Middle Ages, and German archaeologists working the valley recently found 24,000 Neolithic artifacts just 3 feet (1 meter) below ground.

Osmanagic claims Visocica is a classic example of cultures building on the top of other cultures.

A medieval fortress used by Bosnian kings for two centuries sits on top of the Visocica hill. The fortress was built over a Roman Empire observation post, which was built on the ruins of an Illyrian settlement. The Illyrians inhabited the Balkan peninsula long before Slavic tribes conquered it around A.D. 600.

No pyramids are known in Europe, and there is no evidence any ancient civilization there ever attempted to build one.

Osmanagic believes Visocica is hiding one, though he has no solid theories on how old it is or who might have built it. Osmanagic quickly named the three hills the Pyramids of the Sun, Moon and Dragon.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12320566/

 

[foreigngirl]

Experts Find Evidence of Bosnia Pyramid


By AMEL EMRIC

Updated: 12:03 a.m. ET April 20, 2006
VISOKO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Researchers on Wednesday unearthed geometrically cut stone slabs that they said could form part of the sloping surface of what they believe is an ancient pyramid lying beneath a huge hill.

Archaeologists and other experts began digging at this central Bosnian town last week to explore the team leader's theory that the 2,120-foot hill covers a step pyramid, which would be the first ever found in Europe.

These are the first uncovered walls of the pyramid," Semir Osmanagic, a Bosnian archaeologist who studied the pyramids of Latin America for 15 years, said of the stonework found Wednesday.

"We can see the surface is perfectly flat. This is the crucial material proof that we are talking pyramids," he said.

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.

"It is so obvious that the top of the blocks, the surface is man-made," Osmanagic said.

Earlier research on the hill, known as Visocica, found that it has 45-degree slopes pointing toward the cardinal points and a flat top. Under layers of dirt, workers discovered a paved entrance plateau, entrances to tunnels and large stone blocks.

Satellite photographs and thermal imaging revealed two other, smaller pyramid-shaped hills in the Visoko Valley.

Last week's excavations began with a team of rescue workers from a nearby coal mine being sent into a tunnel believed to be part of an underground network connecting the three pyramid-shaped hills.

They were followed by archeologists, geologists and other experts who emerged from the tunnel later to declare that it was certainly man-made.

The work at Visoko, about 20 miles northwest of Sarajevo, will continue for about six months. Two experts from Egypt are due to join the team in mid-May.

"It will be a very exciting archaeological spring and summer," Osmanagic said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12394730/from/RL.1/

 

[the-short-one]

holy crap. that's HUGE news. keep us updated.

 

[the-short-one]

 

[foreigngirl]

lol..you even went to look for a pic..good job girl

 

[the-short-one]

lol..you even went to look for a pic..good job girl

I get excited about this kind of stuff. I'm a

 

[foreigngirl]

I get excited about this kind of stuff. I'm a

lol...I'm the same. Especially with archeology and religious studies

 

[BrothaBill]

so does anyone know why they built a pyramid and covered it with dirt?

 

[foreigngirl]

so does anyone know why they built a pyramid and covered it with dirt?

I didnt believe and still cant believe that there is a pyramid there. If there rerally was, dont you think it would be out in the open long time ago? And yeah, why is it covered with plants and grass? I havent seen one excavated pyramid that was like that

 

[fortunatesun]

so does anyone know why they built a pyramid and covered it with dirt?

That's sort of an easy one from you, BB.
Although industrious, our ancient brothers didn't understand geological processes very well so site selection was haphazard. Then, if the site continues being cultural center as civilizations come and go, it will collect the dust and silt of the centuries. One civilization builds atop the last one. When the site is in an area subject to marauding tribal conflicts, there is sometimes intentional effort to camoflage the position in an effort to preserve cultural identity.

 

[fortunatesun]

Also, agreed. This thread is much more useful with the pic.

 

[foreigngirl]

Pyramid or PR stunt? Critics blast Bosnian find
Amateur archaeologist dismisses controversy, says he'll be proven right


By Heather Whipps

Updated: 8:10 p.m. ET May 4, 2006

It's either one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of our time, or man has made a giant pyramid out of a molehill.

In the wake of recent news that evidence of colossal pyramids had been found in the small Bosnian town of Visoko, many in the archaeological community are speaking out and dismissing both the discovery and the man who made it, businessman Semir Osmanagic.

Some critics have gone as far as to call the pyramid an absurd publicity stunt.

But Osmanagic stands by his claim.

"They are jealous," Osmanagic told LiveScience in a telephone interview. "These people are going crazy because they've been teaching students that these [Bosnians] were cavemen, and all of a sudden they are finding complex structures here."

Osmanagic first noticed the irregularly shaped hills on a trip to the town, located 18 miles north of Sarajevo, in April of 2005. Preliminary digging uncovered mysterious slabs in a stone not native to the immediate area. Further excavation of the hills in April of this year, along with the incredible announcement that one would be much larger than the great pyramid of Cheops at Giza, Egypt, prompted the most recent news release.

Satellite images, thermal analysis and radar studies have been performed at the site, all independently confirming the existence of pyramid-shaped architecture, according to Osmanagic. More importantly, he said, the tests suggest that the layout could not have been man-made.

Photos released by the media and made available on Osmanagic's website show a series of stone plates buried just beneath the top layer of soil and vegetation. Despite the tests and pictures, some archaeologists aren't convinced by his claims.

"Clearly there are voids or something similar in the rock, but that is a long way from saying these are man-made," said Anthony Harding, president of the European Association of Archaeologists.

The pyramids could be upwards of 12,000 years old, Osmanagic has deduced, based on geological knowledge of the area. That is a main point of contention for specialists concerned with the archaeology in the Balkan region.

"Europe was in the late Upper Paleolithic at this point and no one was building anything except flimsy huts," Harding said.

Workers at Visoko are spending this dig season sending twelve probing wells into different spots on the hill. Radiocarbon dating on organic material taken from the site may be performed as early as this fall, Osmanagic said.

Critics blast Osmanagic's background
Whatever the outcome of the tests, critics also charge that the media did not do enough research into the background of Osmanagic, who has no formal archaeological training.

"A self-described archaeologist, who believes the Maya and others are descended from Atlanteans ... has been accepted as a legitimate researcher by many news outlets," writes Archaeology magazine online editor Mark Rose, in reference to Osmanagic's somewhat unorthodox interpretation of the Mayan culture found in his book, "The World of the Maya" (Gorgias Press, Euphrates imprint, 2005). The Bosnian spent fifteen years studying pyramids throughout the world and much of that time was in Mexico and Central America.

Many of those conducting the fieldwork at Visoko are local volunteers, not professionals. Experts worry that the often arduous scientific process is being eschewed in favor of some quick publicity for the country of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has been hungry for good press after years of civil conflict dogged it in the 1990s.

"It adds insult to injury when rich outsiders can come in and spend large sums pursuing their absurd theories (the construction of a colossal pyramid so large that it dwarfs even those of Egypt or Mesoamerica? 12,000 years ago?), in ways that most other countries would never countenance," Harding wrote in an April 25 letter to the editor of The London Times.

Work is slated to continue at Visoko through at least 2010, by which time Osmanagic believes the research will have vindicated his theories. Meanwhile, he isn't worried that what he's found does not mesh with current thinking.

"We laugh at the people who said that the world was flat, and they laughed at Galileo," he said. "The history books will just have to be rewritten from scratch, that's all."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12635805/from/RL.2/

 

[foreigngirl]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12619302/from/RL.1/


FEATURE-Controversial dig sparks pyramid mania in Bosnia


By Daria Sito-Sucic

Updated: 8:00 a.m. ET May 8, 2006
VISOKO, Bosnia - Pyramid or publicity stunt? Archeologists can't agree but for the people of Visoko, the debate is almost irrelevant: They believe there's a pyramid under the hill near their town and they are already cashing in.

Visoko is booming, boosted by a controversial dig that aims to prove that the nearby Visocica hill is a pyramid built 12,000 years ago by the ancestors of the Illyrians, said to be the first inhabitants of the Balkans


visitors have flocked to the top of Visoko's hill, some 18 miles north of Sarajevo, making the ascent by car, motorbike and even horse-drawn coach.

On a sunny April day, lines of people clambered up the 2,300-foot-high hill while models from Sarajevo Fashion Week walked around the dig, waving paper Bosnian flags.

"We read about the pyramid on the Internet. It would be great that something so grand happens to Bosnia," said tourist Senada Wiitigen, who came to Bosnia from Germany on holiday.

Nearby, the manager of a food factory was flogging "Bosnian Sun Pyramid" pralines. Hawkers sold hastily printed T-shirts and brandy in pyramid-shaped bottles while craftsmen turned out pyramid souvenirs.

Retiree Rasim Kilalic turned his weekend home near the dig into a cafe. "Please God, let them find a pyramid," he said, rushing to serve crowded tables.

But many established archeologists believe the theory behind Visoko's mini-boom is nonsense.

"Even the slightest acquaintance with archeology would tell anyone that the only things being built in Europe at that time were flimsy huts, and a lot of people were still living in caves or rock shelters," said Professor Anthony Harding, president of the European Association of Archeologists.

"Even if we assume these people have the date wrong by several millennia, and they are actually nearer in date to the Egyptian pyramids, the idea that people in Bosnia at that time were building pyramids of any sort, let alone enormous ones that dwarf even the Great Pyramid at Giza, is pure fantasy."


SUN AND MOON

Osmanagic calls the two hills forming a gate into the Visoko valley the Sun and Moon Pyramids, named after pyramids he saw in Central America. He named a smaller hill the Dragon Pyramid.

"Visocica hill has almost three perfect triangle sides, each pointing towards cardinal points," said Osmanagic, who often wears an Indiana Jones-style trilby hat.

"This and its pyramid shape were enough for me. Nature simply could not build such perfect objects."

Last year, during a dig at the base of Visocica hill -- Osmanagic's Sun Pyramid -- geologists on his team said they found polished sandstone slabs, which may have formed the pyramid's floor. They found another building material, also not native to the area, which they think was used for the stairs.

In the second week of digging, they found stone blocks that Osmanagic said were pyramid walls. Over the next few months, he aims to unearth what he believes are stone stairs and explore 2.4 miles of tunnels that he says connect the hills.

Pyramid-shaped structures were built by many ancient peoples and used as temples, tombs or royal monuments. Some of the best preserved are Egypt's pyramids, built around 4,500 years ago. Step pyramids exist in Mexico and modern-day Iran and Iraq.

Greece and Egypt have said they will send experts to the Bosnian site in the coming months, but closer to home there are fears the ad-hoc dig could destroy the remains of a medieval Bosnian town at the top of Visocica hill.

"This is the equivalent of letting me, an archeologist, perform surgery," said Enver Imamovic, professor of history and former director of the Sarajevo-based Regional Museum.


VALLEY OF PYRAMIDS

Osmanagic plans to open the "Bosnian Valley of Pyramids" as an archeological park in 2008. His project is supported by Visoko council and has raised hopes that the area could become a major tourist attraction in a country slowly winning back visitors after a devastating war in the 1990s.

"We should absolutely allow the research here," said Senad Hodovic, the director of the Visoko Historic Heritage museum.

"This isn't about whether there are pyramids or not ... But it's important to create a climate for research, also of the medieval town of Visoki, which has never been explored."

Nearby mine and rescue associations have offered their services for the exploration of the tunnels. Universities in Sarajevo and Tuzla have pledged their expertise and firms in Visoko are donating products and services.

The volunteer diggers are mainly unemployed men from Visoko.

Osmanagic believes the site was chosen in the belief that it was a focal point of energies, like Giza in Egypt. That, he says, could explain the local claim that no one was killed in the three-pyramid area during the 1992-95 war.

"The pyramid saved them," he said.

For now, Osmanagic is financing the dig himself. To continue his research this year, he will need some 200,000 Bosnian marka ($125,550), which he hopes to get from Bosnian authorities.

"The history of civilization has to be rewritten," he said. "Bosnia will become a giant on the world archeological map."

 

[samoth]

Only $125,550 to continue research? Man, I picked the wrong field to go into, lol.

Well, I suppose the tools used aren't all that complex, comparability speaking...

But still, a grant for that much is petty cash for major universities...

 

[the-short-one]

Only $125,550 to continue research? Man, I picked the wrong field to go into, lol.

Well, I suppose the tools used aren't all that complex, comparability speaking...

But still, a grant for that much is petty cash for major universities...

I bet a private investor will pick that up. It would make a great write-off.

 

[foreigngirl]

I bet there is no pyramid over there over there. I Read even at "Archeology" magazine that a lot of the Bosnian people have a problem with him digging there, cause there is other old artiphacts from like Roman time that he can get destroyed

Some in the academic establishment have spoken out. They maintain that the kind of project Osmanagic is running is far worse than just misleading the gullible public. Following a report about Osmanagic in the London Times, Anthony Harding, president European Association of Archaeologists, wrote the editors, "The situation of professional heritage management in Bosnia-Herzegovina is, since the Bosnian war, in a poor state, with a tiny number of people trying to do what they can to protect their rich heritage from looting and unmonitored or unauthorised development. It adds insult to injury when rich outsiders can come in and spend large sums pursuing their absurd theories (the construction of a colossal pyramid so large that it dwarfs even those of Egypt or Mesoamerica? 12,000 years ago?), in ways that most other countries would never countenance, instead of devoting their cash to the preservation of the endangered genuine sites and monuments in which Bosnia-Herzegovina abounds."

Others fear that Osmanagic's excavations will damage real sites (the hill he calls the "Pyramid of the Sun" is said to have medieval, Roman, and Illyrian remains on it). In one of the few critical accounts of the Bosnian pyramid story, which appeared in the Art Newspaper, the University of Sarejevo's Enver Imamovic, a former director of the National Museum in Sarjevo, is quoted as saying, "This is the equivalent of letting me, an archaeologist, perform surgery in hospitals."

There is public outcry within Bosnia, and an online petition that seeks to shut down Osmanagic's project. But he apparently has backers within the federal government and the Sarejevo city government. Whether he is allowed to continue or not is unresolved for now, and his website makes no mention of any controversy. And even when the mainstream media catch up and realize that the "Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun" is no such thing, it will have entered the annals of fantastic archaeology and will have a multitude of believers and defenders.

http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/osmanagic/