The Bosnian Pyramid mystery

Myths and reputations in the firing line over bizarre Balkan claims

It's a strange theory, and only gets more fantastic when you think on it. Long before the Ancient Egyptians erected their ‘Wonders of the World’, or the Aztecs tried their hand at temples in Tenochtitlan – perhaps even as far back as when woolly mammoths were the local wildlife – deep in what is now Bosnia, Stone Age man was laying the foundations for the largest pyramid ever to be discovered on earth.

At 722 feet high, this supposed ‘Pyramid of the Sun’ is taller than Canary Wharf, and one third higher than the Great Pyramid at Giza. It may even have been constructed by the predecessors of the Illyrians, an ancient group of Balkan tribes whose civilisation spanned Classical antiquity.

This is what Bosnian-born Semir Osmanagich would have us believe. The sixty-year old calls himself 'the Bosnian Indiana Jones', and has instigated a campaign to excavate and prove the existence of a pyramidal complex that, if found true, would thrill even the most die-hard Temple of Doom fans.

Digging has begun in an attempt to prove the existence of not just one but five pyramids in the area, with the Pyramid of the Moon, Pyramid of the Dragon, Pyramid of the Earth and the Pyramid of Love apparently connected to the Pyramid of the Sun by an extensive network of tunnels. Osmanagich was apparently tipped off to the existence of these tunnels by old Bosnian folk stories of children disappearing at the top of one hill and magically reappearing again at the top of another.

In a 55-page document shown to WideWorld detailing the science behind the story, Osmanagich cryptically describes the tunnels as ‘discovered but yet to be proven’. One 300-metre stretch of tunnel has been found and excavated, however unfortunately for him this tunnel is 3 kilometres away from the Pyramid of the Sun itself and has been widely derided as a disused mine shaft.

Osmanagich maintains however that the evidence so far discovered supports his claims, and he is now advertising for up to 800 volunteers to attend a summer school next year to help with excavations.

Following the announcement of this ‘discovery’ a few years ago, reports of the pyramid hit newsstands all over the world and prompted thousands to descend on Bosnia to investigate for themselves.  Bosnian citizens have embraced the pyramid, and have inevitably begun to cash in on the influx of foreign visitors. Tourists wanting to see the Pyramid for themselves can now stay nearby in the renamed ‘Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Motel’. While they snap photos of the digs they can sport a Bosnian pyramid T-Shirt (reasonably priced at just £7.50), and can come back after a long day to a cup of tea served in a Bosnian Pyramid mug.

For Osmanagich himself, however, this is not a profit-making stunt. Much of the funding for the digs comes out of his own pocket, and the rest from donations to the Pyramid of the Sun Foundation.

The response from the archaeological community has been frosty. Anthony Harding, Anniversary Chair in Archaeology at the University of Exeter and previous President of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), has visited the site in Bosnia and said that it would be impossible to say for sure what lies on the site without a full survey taking place. He said that such a survey was unlikely to happen, however, as “most serious archaeologists, and as far as I know all European professional archaeologists, refuse to have anything to do with Osmanagich.”

Indeed the EAA is so concerned that they have issued a statement condemning Osmanagich and his work. In an open letter to the Bosnian government, the pyramid is labelled ‘a cruel hoax on an unsuspecting public’ which ‘has no place in the world of genuine science’. Not pulling punches, the statement continues to call the excavations ‘a waste of scarce resources that would be much better used in protecting [Bosnia’s] genuine archaeological heritage’.

According to these damning accounts, the Bosnian Indiana Jones is at best deluded and at worst a malicious prankster. But could he perhaps be on to something? After all, when scientists first called the Earth spherical they were laughed out of town.

Photographs from the site certainly appear convincing. The hill itself is undeniably pyramidal in shape – or at least on two sides of it, which as its detractors point out are incidentally the only two sides the hill is ever photographed from. The dig has unearthed what look like giant concrete blocks along the base of the hill, and a terrace structure. The idea of pyramids in Europe is also not far-fetched in itself; pyramids have been discovered in Greece, Italy and even France.

Osmanagich can also offer ‘proof’ that the pyramid exists. He has commissioned thermal satellite images which show the hills on the site to have similar properties to known pyramids. Another piece of proof we are offered is that during the 1950s and 1960s, the Bosnian government arranged for trees to be planted on the pyramid. The trees only managed to grow, however, on the bottom half of the pyramid. Osmanagich explains this by saying that the tree roots couldn’t break through the cement blocks used to build the pyramid. He cites Biology Professor Sulejman Redzic of University of Sarajevo as advising that the same roots would have been able to break through natural conglomerate material.

If Temples of the Sun and Moon are all starting to sound a bit Dr Who to you, things only get stranger. Dr Osmanagich received his PhD in Mayan Studies from the University of Sarajevo, and his views on the ancient Mayan civilisation are just as unorthodox. In his book he writes:

“The Mayan hieroglyphics tell us that their ancestors came from the Pleiades... first arriving at Atlantis where they created an advanced civilization.” Osmanagic’s critics have been quick to seize upon this apparent theory that the Mayans descended from aliens as an example that he is not to be relied upon. Another obstacle is that he has no formal training as an archaeologist.

However, Osmanagic seems undeterred by what seems almost universal scepticism from the international community.  Plans for more excavations are in place, and he is confident that his detractors will soon have to make a dramatic U-Turn. Far from backing down he declares: ‘My discovery will change human history’. We'll have to let the science decide - and time to tell.