The Bosnian Pyramid; Hoax or National Treasure?
The central mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina are home to a handful of peaks that are the subject of fierce debate and nationalistic pride. Called the “Bosnian Pyramids,” the landforms are found near Visoko, a town located 20 miles from Sarajevo, with a population of 41,000.
Semir Osmanagich is the Bosnian native, author, and amateur archaeologist who, while on a 2005 book tour, noticed the pyramidal mountains surrounding Visoko. Despite being covered with native forest and vegetation, these peaks had four precise sides that met at a point at their summits — some were more identifiable as others, but Osmanagich believes that all were produced by humans. The largest, named the “Pyramid of the Sun” by Somanagich, has ruins at the summit believed to be associated with medieval kings.
By comparing the forms to known pyramids, including those in Egypt, China, and Central America, Osmanagich discovered that the Bosnian structures shared characteristics with those on other continents, including a northern orientation, construction materials created or altered by tool users, and inner chambers. The Bosnian pyramids’ northern orientation is more precise than the Egyptian Giza pyramids’ alignment.
At the Pyramid of the Sun, investigators discovered aggregate blocks under a meter of soil — rectangular and roughly six-sided, the blocks appeared to be made from a type of concrete. Researchers determined that the pyramid concrete was superior (less than one percent water absorption) to modern aggregates (plus or minus three percent water absorption).
Physicists and electrical engineers measured an electrical “beam” emitted from the top of the Sun Pyramid — a 13-foot wide field of electromagnetic energy at 28 kHz, not commonly found in nature. With miles of underground tunnels, multiple chambers, and flowing water, Osmanagich believes the formations were designed to produce specific types of energy. Similar theories have developed in regard to pyramids on other continents — researchers believe that chambers within the Great Pyramid of Giza were designed to conduct and store electromagnetic energy.
Ancient and Modern Habitation
Bosnia and Herzegovina, part of the Balkan peninsula, is home to rich evidence of Paleolithic and later cultures. Archaeologists have identified strata, or layers dating back to 12,000 B.C.E., including Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron ages. Rome claimed the region, then called “Illyricum,” in roughly 168 B.C.E., renaming the area “Dalmatia.” Archaeological digs have yielded Celtic ceramics, Roman glass, and burial jewelry from a variety of cultures as well as Roman roads and fortresses.
Like the ancient “cradle of civilization” in present-day Iran and Iraq, the Balkan peninsula has a complex history of continual ethnic struggle and invasion. The Mesopotamian region is also home to ancient pyramidal structures linked to Sumerian and Babylonian cultures, called “ziggerauts.”
Evidence and documentation show the area was raided by Germanic tribes, Slavs, Huns, Ostrogoths by the 12th century. Fifteenth century Ottoman invaders introduced Islamic religion and controlled the area for 400 years. After several 19th century uprisings, the Ottomans surrendered the region to the Austrian-Hungarian empire, and was eventually renamed “Yugoslavia” in 1929.
During WWII, the Nazis unleashed genocide against Bosnian muslims. In 1992, the Serbian ethnic group carried out another genocide against Bosnian muslims. The conflict included Croatian forces, and resulted in present-day political and territorial structures.
Hoax or Bosnian National Treasure?
Despite so much compelling evidence that the pyramidal structures are indeed man-made, archaeological academia have declared Osmanagich’s findings a hoax, declaring the pyramidal formations to be a “pseudo-archaeological explanation for natural formations” by the European Association of Archaeology.
At the same time, Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens have embraced the newly-imagined pyramids as national treasures. As reported in Smithsonian Magazine, “Bosnian officials — including a prime minister and two presidents — have embraced them. [The] Sarajevo-based news media and hundreds of thousands of ordinary Bosnians [are] drawn to the promise of a glorious past and more prosperous future for their battered country.”
Pyramid of the sun, Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Semir Osmanagich discusses the Bosnian Pyramids in this episode of Open Minds, watch the full video
About the Author
An Ancient Psychedelic Brew & Metal Found in an Elongated Skull
Did ancient Peruvian leaders use hallucinogens to keep their followers in line? And do an ancient elongated skull show evidence of an advanced metal surgical implant or is it just a hoax?
Archaeologists studying the Wari people in the southern Peruvian town of Quilcapampa have found hallucinogenic “vilca” seeds in a recent dig. Writing in the journal Antiquity, the researchers point out they found 16 vilca seeds in an ancient alcoholic drink called “Chicha de Molle,” in an area believed to be used for feasting.
The Wari people lived in this area from about 500 to 1,000 A.D. Their reverence for the psychotropic vilca seed has been found in images at other Wari sites, this is the first find of the actual seeds. What is particularly interesting to the archaeologists is the role of ancient hallucinogens and their influence on social interactions.
The vilca seeds would have come from tropical woodlands on the eastern side of the Andes, a complex trade network would have to be in place to even get them. And adding the vilca seeds with the alcoholic drink would increase the intensity of a psychedelic trip.
That trip would be seen as a journey to the spirit world, and Wari leaderships’ control over the substance led to control over their followers who wanted it. Researchers argue in their paper, “[T]he vilca-infused brew brought people together in a shared psychotropic experience while ensuring the privileged position of Wari leaders within the social hierarchy as the providers of the hallucinogen.”
Work continues at the dig site at Quilcapampa, and researchers plan to test where the ancient vilca seeds came from – so they can figure out the rest of the ancient trade routes.
