Pyramid in Bosnia -- Huge Hoax or Colossal Find?

[Lithos]

He's been called a Balkan Indiana Jones. Others label him a dreamer, or worse, a pyramid buff with loony ideas.

Despite his critics (and he has many) Semir "Sam" Osmanagic believes he's discovered the find of a lifetime—a series of ancient pyramids in the heart of Bosnia.

If the Bosnian-American businessman is correct, the structures would be the first known step pyramids in Europe.

--more--

[Xeric]

1. He's a nut

"It is my theory that the Maya should be considered watchmakers of the cosmos whose mission it is to adjust the Earthly frequency and bring it into accordance with the vibrations of our Sun... Their ancestors, the civilizations of Atlantis and Lemuria, erected the first temples on energy potent points of the Planet. Their most important function was to serve as a gateway to other worlds and dimensions."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semir_Osmanagi%C4%87

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. His being a nut is irrelevant. What about his alleged discovery?

Even nutters with bizarre ideas (and anyone who takes Atlantis and Lemuria seriously are nutters by definition) can make meaningful finds.

[bigmonkey]

2. Not enough data yet.

But, no harm in looking. I've always chafed at folks who want to shut things down on the strength of dogma or currently dominant theory. If he has the funds, and the workers, let him look.

From what I've seen so far, I'm unconvinced but open minded (I hope!)

[bobbieinok]

3. wasn't Schlemann considered a nut for a long time???????

http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Schliemann.html

[On the Road]

4. It Really Throws a Wrench into Prehistory

Small tribes do not create enormous pyramids. Even large governments would need an enormous degree of control over their population to force them to provide the labor and materials.

In middle eastern civilizations using irrigation, the local government could turn off the water if a farmer didn't donate labor to the monarch. In Egypt, the fertile regions next to the nile are so slim that military control is relatively easy. In wooded areas, any ruler trying to extort labor from his subjects is less likely to be successful. The inhabitants just melt back into the woods and survive on their own.

I would be fascinated if the pyramid were real. Osmanagic should be given a chance to prove his theories. But a pyramid in Bosnia that long ago violates everything we know about the society. At least IMO.

[semillama]

5. I lean towards a sham.

None of the photos I've seen suggest a pyramid. But I'm really concerned about his methods. Is he doing any mapping? Are his excavations controlled? Does he have a lab set up for any artifact analysis? Seems pretty unlikely from what I know so far. The big concern is that we already know that the hill/mound/"pyramid" is already an archaeology site - it was the site of a capital, and there were likely other uses as well. Also, there is no comparison of the hill to the local landform and geology - are 700' tall hills common?

It's pretty fishy if you ask me. I would put money down on this just being a hill, albeit one that folks have tunneled into and built on top of.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. Hoax.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

Some nut with a pyramid shaped hill is not extraordinary evidence.

[Orrex]

8. But what if it really really really looks like a pyramid?

And what if he wears one of those King Tut head-dresses when he makes his case? Or maybe an Anubis mask?


Clearly you have no idea of how modern archaeology functions.

[Meldread]

9. My view:

If he has the funds, let him dig and see what comes up. Until then, don't bother me with the nonsense. If he finds something, then that's great if he finds it's just a huge hill - then well... too bad all that money was wasted.

[semillama]

10. but should he be allowed to destroy other archaeological sites

in the process? From what I've heard, that's a major concern here. It looks like he's just stripping soil down to rock. I'd really love to look at his research design and methodology. If his methodology is sound, then I have no problem with his excavation. But if he is destroying parts of other archaeological sites to get at this supposed pyramid (similar to what Schliemann did at Hissarlik), then there is a problem and someone needs to call a halt.

For the record, I am an archaeologist by trade. I also think that my dream job would be to scientifically investigate all these supposedly anomalous sites - it sounds like a lot of fun and always interesting.

[Meldread]

11. You mean he can do that?

I would have thought there would be stipulations imposed by the government, stipulations that cover things just like that. I mean, you can't just go into a country and begin major excavation without some type of permit, right?

I would agree with what you say, and it just seems like there would be some type of guidelines imposed before digging around in the dirt.

I know very little about archaeology though, and I haven't been paying much attention to this case. It seems interesting, but I am waiting for more concrete evidence. For all I know the guy might have just showed up with a bunch of shovels, handed them to some locals, and told them to start digging.

[semillama]

12. In the US, if it's on private property, pretty much do what you want.

I don't know what the laws are in Bosnia, though. What's frustrating is the lack of info from the media on how he goes about his excavations.

One thing that always seems to be true about these huge monumental sites that supposedly will rewrite history is the total lack of a corresponding artifact assemblage. Does anyone really believe that a society complex enough to organize labor and build monumental architecture also didn't produce any trash?

[semillama]

13. Here's a good blog on it, leaning towards non-cultural origin

http://www.wunderkabinett.co.uk/damndata/index.php?/archives/280-Pyramid-I-see-no-pyramid-here.html

He points out that this guy went about it all backwards: Decided he had a pyramid, wrote a book about it, and then dug it up.

I'm really thinking that this is all much ado about nothing.