A great deal of interest has been generated by the announcement of the discovery of a 12,000 year old Pyramid in Bosnia by Sam Osmanagic. Many people have felt that this the arrival of this Pyramid would change our view of history, and indeed it would. However things are not always what they would seem to be, and certainly are never quite what we would want them to be. In this case the controversy that has been created over the Bosnian Pyramid has boiled over into a furious debate in the international media and press, it has become a cause celeb for many and a source of pride or anger, depending on the interest involved, for others. This year I drove to Bosnia to discover for myself what it was that made this project so contentious.....

 

a view of the hill pyramid from the town

 

An Analysis of the authenticity of the Bosnian Pyramids

 

Author's introduction

 

During the last ten years I have worked in the field of archaeomythology - this is the interpretation of modern archaeological discoveries through the lense of ancient legends. I have always found that unless the mythology is backed up by archaeological evidence it remains an obscure myth and often if the archaeology is unsupported by the legends it remains incomprehensible to us. Only when the legends and the facts come together can we have any meaningful understanding of our past. My scientific training is a great help in this area as I have a degree in geology and many years experience working as an archaeologist and have undertaken and written reports for several surveys.

 

As an author of several books about sacred geometrical alignments, the reported discovery of this pyramid and its subsequent alignments was of great interest to me and would have had a significant impact on my work. The controversy surrounding the discovery has made it difficult for me to reach any definite conclusions and, as there has been little in the way of hard scientific evidence presented by Osmanagig, I undertook to investigate the phenomenon first hand.

 

 

In August of 2006 I travelled to Visoko to undertake a small survey of the hill and to conduct an analysis of the archaeological material that had been uncovered. I undertook this survey with good intentions and in the hope that the hill was indeed a major archaeological discovery.

 

In this paper I will present the findings of this investigation.

 

 

 

Overview

 

In the Autumn of 2005 Semir Osmanagic investigated a abnormal landscape phenomena in the hills above the small town of Visoko near Sarajevo in Bosnia. He noted a pseudo geometrical alignment for slope of the hill and that two of the sides of the hill faced the cardinal points of the compass being aligned with magnetic south. From certain viewpoints the hill resembled a pyramid shape. In the first months of 2006 a aerial geo-survey was conducted which appeared to confirm that the shape of the hill was due to a rock formation under the covering layer of soil and vegetation. In the spring of 2006 a series of exploratory excavations were undertaken by volunteers exposing these rocks. Osmanagic concluded that these were man-made and that the hill was terra-formed by human intervention to create a large pyramid. Since then the site has been extended to include several other 'hills' which Semir Osmanagic and his team have declared to be part of a complex of sacred terra-formed hills creating a geometrical landscape.

 

Semir has dated the pyramids to 12,000 BC.

 

Osmanagic initiated a body called the 'Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation' to oversee the archaeological work and to coordinate the development of a archaeological park in the area. The BPSF has a board of directors and is the official body presenting and promoting the discovery with sole responsibility for presenting any scientific or official documentation of evidence accumulated in the excavations and other field work. The BPSF also governs official access to the site by other scientific institutions or individuals.

 

The P.R. work undertaken so far includes articles by major media companies such as National Geographic and by media companies such as the BBC and CNN.

 

The official publications have so far has been limited to the original Remote Sensing Analysis Survey reports.

 

The official photo from the website of the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun

 

Evidence

 

The form of the hill

 

The conclusions of the report by the geologist Nadza Nuki? state that:

 

"The shape of Visocica Hill is consistent with that of a pyramid, having four identical sides, with the exception of the front side which accesses a plateau. Nature does not make correct geometrical shapes like this and the rocks could not have been formed in this pattern by natural forces"

 

The shape of Visocica Hill is actually only consistent with that of a pyramid on two of its faces and is comparable with many of the hills in this region. Their formation is made from alluvial bedding plains of breccia, mudstone and sandstone that have been tilted and deformed by geological tectonic movement to form parallel bedding plains on an angle of about 30 degrees. Subsequent erosional activity has exposed the surface of these plains forming south facing discontinuities with north facing cuttings across the layering. The process can be seen in all the hills in the region and is the result of natural and normal geological activity.

 

 

During the geological epoch, millions of years ago, when the sediments were deposited periods of low energy deposition formed mud and claystone layers and are interspersed with periods of high energy deposition when sandstone and breccia was deposited. The different layers are clearly accented and represent a prolonged depositional era over many thousands of years. Only those southern facing faces of the layers have been cleaned. Where an attempt has been made to find similar 'blocks' on the north side and the west side of the hill the excavations have only revealed the geological cuts through the stratum layers created by water and ice erosion during the Miocene period. Its present shape is a consequence of erosion processes in post-Miocene era

 

The report also states that::

 

"Superficial digging has confirmed that the contours of the blocks have specific geometrical shapes. By cleaning these blocks we can see that all these blocks are layered on each other with each block set slightly indented to the one below."

 

The layering of the natural sediments is consistent with this conclusion and can be seen in examples of sedimentary deposits from many places around the planet that have a similar depositional history.

 

Those areas that have been excavated expose the surface of these layers and superficially they can resemble an artificial construction. One such excavation on the 'Pyramid of the Moon' that has been presented as an example of a pavement covering the hill follows the layering of a particular stratum of sandstone and has been 'constructed' by the archaeological team by clearing 0.75 of a metre of mudstone and sandstone layers from its surface. The exposed layer is continuous with a larger sequence both under and on top of it. Should, as is declared by Osmanagig, this particular stratum of sandstone be artificial it is clear by the sediments on top of it that must be many millions of years old. Just why this particular single layer of sediment was chosen to be presented to the public as an example of an artificial pavement constructed by humans has not been made clear.

 

The bedding planes and the breccia from 'the pyramid'

 

The conclusion that is can be reached from a survey of the form of the hill is that the underlying rock formations are natural deformed bedding plains of alluvial depositional material that have been cut by erosion processes to create the morphology of the landscape consistent to the stratified layers.

 

An example of breccia from the side of a hill near to the pyramid

 

 

 

The composition of the material alleged to be an artificial surface.

 

The initial reports state that the stone surface was made from pre-cut stone that had been transported to the hill to clad it:

 

"We can therefore conclude that all these blocks have been cut into the required dimensions to create this structure."

 

My initial investigation showed that the composition of the sediment that was said to form the surface was not consistent with material that had been cut and transported to the area.

 

The eroded surface of the breccia segments that had been cleaned by the excavation team showed that weathering had followed the natural layering of the rock to produce a flat upper surface whilst the under-surface was indigenous to the sediments and formed no clean break with the material under the layer of breccia.

 

Subsequent reports have modified this claim to state that the material was a form of concrete that had been 'poured' in situ to form the layering of the surface. A short analysis of the material shows that the alleged blocks are irregular in size and shape and that the fissures and cracks are caused by erosion subsequent to the depositional episode that created them. Further the blocks have at some point in their history undergone a plastic stress that has resulted in fissures through the breccia. These fissures cut through the matrix of the breccia and also through the actual secondary erosional rocks that make up the breccia. They have then been filed by calcite in a high temperature and pressure environment consistent with geological activity. Such calcite filled fissures could not occurred if the breccia had been 'poured' as a concrete in recent historical times.

 

The conclusion is that the breccia was deposited in a sedimentary environment that was subsequently buried deep in the earth. The plastic deformation of the bedding planes then resulted in stress fissures that cut through the matrix and the conglomerates within it forming fissures that were then filled with calcite. This is part of a natural geological formation, made of clastic sediments. Clastic sediments are broken fragments of pre-existing rocks that have been transported, redeposited and cemented together. Subsequent erosion then produced secondary cracking of the layers as they were water eroded into the morphology of the regions hills and valleys.

 

Clastic bedding rocks from 'the pyramid'

 

Cuttings and quarries in the hills nearby also confirm the presence of just this type of deposit. It is not unique to Visocica Hill.

 

Lastly I took some pieces of this platform back with me and studied them a little more closely -they were pieces of breccia, conglomerate and sandstone deposited in an alluvial regime. Such deposits also occur near to where I live and there was little to choose between them. They too can have a remarkable resemblance to an artificial terrace.

 

Terrace layers of natural stone. From 'the pyramid'.

 

 

 

The Dating.

 

The date of this 'pyramid' is reported to be 12,000 BC as that, declared Osmanagig, is the depth of the soil at 2cm for 500 years. Exactly why this rate of depositional history has been chosen has not been made clear nor is there any attempt at a normal stratigraphy to back this dating up. Under more formal circumstances stratographic layers would be dated using a range of techniques from comparative analysis of pottery to carbon and other radio isotopic elements. None of the carbon baring remnants found in this soil above the so called platform have been dated (or if they have it has been quietly dropped). The negligence shown by ignoring any dating methods can only make Sam Osmanagig estimate of the age of the 'pyramid' appear very suspect and being that the only evidence for the age of this 'pyramid' has been the word of Sam himself I would doubt that many archaeologists would accept this as a truth. I would suggest therefore an age of around 20 million years for one of the sandstone platforms that has been exposed by Sam and his team. This is because there are at least that many ancient deposits of mud and sandstone above it. I would suggest as well an age of around 40,000 years for the deposition of the clastic layers he has so painstakingly uncovered. Either way 12,000 years ago, when the pyramid was alleged to have been terra-formed, the hill and the so called 'artifacts' would have looked much the same as they do now.

 

 

 

 

 

The Geometrical Alignments

 

The reports issued by Osmanagig state that the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun is part of a deliberate and exact alignment with other alleged pyramids. The alignment is given to be an exact equilateral triangle. On plotting the pyramids on a detailed map it can be seen that this alignment is not exact and forms only a rough approximate triangle. Further the third point of this 'triangle' (the so called 'Pyramid of the temple of love') is a poorly defined hill that does not exhibit any pyramid features and does not merit even a brief discussion on Sam's website.

 

 

 

The Archaeology

 

There is a constant current within the official webpages of the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation to present archaeological artifact found in the area as a surprising or unexpected. This is a rather bad way to sensationalise the project. Whilst it is always important to investigate these finds it is not good science to link them with the purported builders of the pyramids. Here is an example of such shabby practice.

 

"Local Bosnian people (village Podvisok) who are living below the Bosnian Pyramid of Sun reported a new findings. While they were doing work on their local road they discovered a stone blocks.

 

These stones are precut and different from previously found blocks because on some of these blocks we have inscriptions (signs).

 

This finding is reported to Semir Osmanagic.

 

Osmanagic says 'when we start excavations we expect to find more hidden secrets of the Visocica Hill."

 

The Hill itself has in fact been a dwelling place for thousands of years. The loose federation of Illerian tribes had a stronghold on the hill until the 4th Century BC. The Romans built a fort or a staging post there and out of its remains the 11th Century King of Bosnia built his small capital. During this time the road along the valley was an artery of commerce and many fortifications, defences and villages grew up and were destroyed as the surges of history swept over the area. It is not at all surprising to find their remains, building materials, blocks - cut or otherwise. What is surprising is the scant regard that has been paid to this history by Osmanagic. He seems to consider that these important pieces of Bosnian history are mere secondary shows and that they get in the way of the creation of the Pyramid - his pyramid. If this is the case then it is in no doubt that much of this ancient history will be lost of damaged by his efforts to bend all the finds to shape his designs.

 

Much has been said by Osmanagic about the tunnels that he has discovered running from the hill top where the old medieval capital stood. However since most large castles had escape tunnels to allow water, supplies or people to be smuggled in or out of the castle, it seems obvious that this tunnel has nothing to do with a 12,000 year old history. (Such a tunnel was used in the 1992 siege of Sarajevo).

 

However there have been few displays of any artifact that have been found and even the complete skeleton that was found in one of the excavation places seems to have 'disappeared'. Probably because these artifacts point to a date contemperous with the standard and accepted archaeology of the area.

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

There is not a shred of evidence presented by Sam Osmanagic to the effect that the pyramid exists. What is presented is miss-presented in a deliberate attempt to defraud the public. An example of this are the photographs of the platform shown on the website. These photo's do not include the wall of sediments that have been scraped from their surface, sediments that are self-evident on a visit and sediments that make it impossible to define the platform as manmade. As there is no physical evidence there is also no circumstantial evidence. The alignments and the pictures of the shape of the pyramid also are false and misleading. As to the dating, Sam has hidden all the evidence that could date the digs and excavations as they do not conform to his idea. I have no hesitation I saying that the pyramid in Bosnia is a deliberate and large scale hoax and that Sam Osmanagic is responsible for misleading a great number of idealistic and committed people who are giving him their time (an money) to proof that history is not always what it seems to be. In doing this he is spoiling the reputations of those of us who work in the field of archaeological alignments and ancient monuments. In this I can only denounce him as a fraud.

 

Given that the board of directors of the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation is entirely made up of businessmen and tourist experts and given that the 'five year plan' of the foundation is to open a thriving tourist park, it is of little doubt that the commercial interests of this project come before the discovery of any truth. It is also self evident from the copyright and the legal status that this foundation is seeking to monopolise and control any monies made from sales of merchandise. In this environment the voice of the scientist is drowned by the clamour of the money racketeers. Whilst this is good for the local economy in the short term, it is bound to end in disaster as the money spent on developing such a hoax could easily have opened a more lasting legacy, such as a museum and an archaeological exploration of the areas true history, of which the region is rich. Instead of a sustainable and informative addition to world history, opening the door to one of the most interesting periods of time, we will see a deserted, derided and obsolete heritage park devoted to a misbegotten pyramid upon which millions of marks will have been lavished.

Natural rock type from the pyramid