Saturday, April 29, 2006

Saturday Trivia (Bosnian Pyramids - UPDATED)

Bosnian Pyramids
Not really trivia, but not very relevant to Egyptology either, so in the absence of any trivia this week, I've put the latest news re the Bosnian pyramids (three of them now, suggested by satellite photographs) in the trivia slot. The following links offer some insights into the story. Egyptian archaeologists are expected to travel out to inspect the discoveries in the coming weeks.

http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20060428-033129-5264r.htm
"Experts may be skeptical but an archaeologist's claims he has found Europe's first pyramid began attracting tourists to a town near Sarajevo. The town of Visoko is home to Europe's only pyramid, or at least that is what a Bosnian amateur archaeologist would like us believe, London's Independent wrote Friday. Whether the 45-year-old Semir Osmanagic is right or not, he has certainly started a craze. The man now known as the Balkan Indiana Jones said he believes there are pyramids under two nearby hills as well."

http://tinyurl.com/m62g6 (CBC)
"Scientists in the Bosnian city of Visoko have begun excavating a site that is believed to hold Europe's first known pyramids. The pyramids have not been uncovered yet, but satellite images of the area show three pyramid-shaped hills about 650 metres high. They have been named the Pyramids of the Sun, the Moon and the Dragon and are believed to be 2,000 years old. Early excavations show what appears to be a network of tunnels several kilometres long that connect the pyramids."

http://tinyurl.com/m62g6 (Yahoo! video)
Video footage of the Bosnian pyramid with excavator explaining the theory and the excavation plan - go to the above page and scroll down to the Video heading, on the bottom right.

UPDATED (the other side of the fence):
http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/osmanagic/index.html
"Frenzied reporting of supposed pyramids in the Balkans ignores the truth and embraces the fantastic. The world's oldest and largest pyramid found in Bosnia? It sounds incredible. The story has swept the media, from the Associated Press and the BBC, from papers and websites in the U.S. to those in India and Australia. Too bad that it is not a credible story at all. In fact, it is impossible. Who is the "archaeologist" who has taken the media for a ride? Why did the media not check the story more carefully? ARCHAEOLOGY will address these questions in depth in our next issue, July/August, but for now let's at least put the lie to the claims emanating from Visoko, the town 20 miles northwest of Sarajevo where the 'Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun' is located."

See the above articles for more.

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