14 DAY TRIAL // According to many archeologists, the Bosnian 'pyramid' cannot be a pyramid and cannot exist. They say that the pyramid looking hill near the town of Visoko is just that: a pyramid looking hill. But the story is so fabulous that even highly respectable news agencies such as ABC, BBC, CBS, NBC, etc. (except CNN, apparently) rushed to cover it or to get it from Associated Press - see images below. (Note: if you haven't realized it yet, this 'photo' of the pyramid is engineered.)
The stories infuriated the archeologists' community. "These reports are irresponsible on the part of journalists," said Curtis Runnels, a specialist in the prehistory of Greece and the Balkans at Boston University. "These claims are completely unsupported with any kind of factual evidence, such as artifacts or photographs of the alleged architectures. They have not been confirmed by archaeologists who have the training and competence to evaluate them. The person making the claims [Semir Osmanagic] appears to have no training in archaeology and has not presented his finds in a way that would allow them to be scrutinized by trained experts. This is simply sensationalism and grandstanding and the journalists who have reported on these claims, without first fact-checking the stories with professional archaeologists, should be ashamed of themselves. People who believe these stories, especially when they are presented without evidence, are fools."
Or "piramidiots" - as the crazed fascination with pyramids has been dubbed.
Anthony Harding, president of The European Association of Archaeologists, wrote to the editors of London Times (that also reported the 'discovery'): "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 unauthorized 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."
In Bosnia, Enver Imamovic from the University of Sarajevo and a former director of the National Museum in Sarajevo has reacted against the ongoing digging operations in Visoko: "This is the equivalent of letting me, an archaeologist, perform surgery in hospitals." It is feared that Osmanagic's excavations will damage real sites because the hill he calls the "Pyramid of the Sun" may have medieval, Roman, and Illyrian remains on it.
The main reason why archeologists are not buying the story is that the construction of a large structure as early as 12 000 years ago (as Osmanagic claims) seems totally implausible. Runnels explains: "Between 27,000 and 12,000 years ago, the Balkans were locked in the last Glacial maximum, a period of very cold and dry climate with glaciers in some of the mountain ranges. The only occupants were Upper Paleolithic hunters and gatherers who left behind open-air camp sites and traces of occupation in caves. These remains consist of simple stone tools, hearths, and remains of animals and plants that were consumed for food. These people did not have the tools or skills to engage in the construction of monumental architecture."
