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World's Largest Pyramid Discovered in Bosnia? 501

Posted by CmdrTaco from the thats-where-the-aliens-really-landed dept.
kieran writes "Archaeologists have apparently begun to unearth a massive pyramid which had been masquerading as a hill in the Bosnian town of Visoko. At an estimated 722ft in height, it is expected to be 1/3 taller than Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza."
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World's Largest Pyramid Discovered in Bosnia? More

World's Largest Pyramid Discovered in Bosnia?

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  • This 'pyramid' was actually discovered in October of last year, but all news was suppressed due to 'security concerns'...concerns that would appear to have merit, given Condoleezza Rice's bizzare change in appearance [splendoroftruth.com] and behavior [msn.com] after she visited the site on a U.S. fact-finding mission.

    Dubya kree!

    • Condoleezza Rice's bizzare change in appearance

      Oh really, did she get those teeth fixed? I can't believe a women so smart hasn't heard of braces! Mod me offtopic, see if I care. It needed to be said!!!

    • It just doesnt smack of a pyramid. They probably just tiled a hill or built many cobbled streets all over a hill. The Egypt pyramids sharply break the horizon, testament to the enormous amount of work required to move so much material there. If I were to build a pyramid in ancient Bosnia, I'd just tile a hill and present a huge bill to the king.

  • Location via Google Maps (Score:5, Informative)

    by byteCoder ( 205266 ) * on Monday May 01, 2006 @11:46AM (#15237424) Homepage
    There's not much resolution from this satellite image, but here's the pyramid's location [google.com] using Google maps.

  • Color me dubious. (Score:5, Informative)

    by Whiney Mac Fanboy ( 963289 ) * <whineymacfanboy@gmail.com> on Monday May 01, 2006 @11:47AM (#15237427) Homepage Journal
    I'm a little dubious here - the lead of this project, Semir Osmanagic says (from abc) [abc.net.au] he sees astonishing similarities between the structures and Mexican pyramids dating back to about 200 AD, which also come in pairs, one believed to represent the Sun and the other the Moon.

    How can he know that with so little excavated? And his foundation has the rather fortean-timesish name of "Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation"

    There's a far better (and longer) article at the art newspaper [theartnewspaper.com].

    You can also the have a look at the photos of the hill (scroll down) in this bosnian forum [sarajevo-x.com] (yup, looks like a pyramid).

    • Re:Color me dubious. (Score:5, Informative)

      by permaculture ( 567540 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @11:58AM (#15237524) Homepage Journal
      Sorry fellas, he's just another nutjob:

      http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/osmanag ic/ [archaeology.org]
      "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."

      Read on about his wacky book, and it becomes clear the media's not doing their job. AGAIN!

      • Re:Color me dubious. (Score:5, Funny)

        by qwijibo ( 101731 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:18PM (#15237705)
        Given adequate funding, anyone could unearth a pyramid. They're everywhere, just covered with dirt and rocks. The biggest curiousity is how the rocks covering the pyramid bonded with the rocks that make up the pyramid. The bonds are so strong that unearthing the pyramid almost seems like you have to carve it out of the mountain. This phenomena can't currently be explained by archaeologists.

        While that archaeology web site makes some interesting arguments, they're completely ignoring the possibility that aliens constructed the pyramid. This theory, made popular by the film Alien Vs Predator, has not been discredited by serious researchers. They simply dismiss the theory without so much as communicating with the aliens to get their perspective. It's simply not fair that the crack pot viewpoint is completely disregarded by the so called legitimate research community. It's discrimination and it's wrong. =)

      • Duhhh (Score:3, Funny)

        by donutello ( 88309 )
        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 monumen

      • Re:Color me dubious. (Score:4, Insightful)

        by TheViewFromTheGround ( 607422 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:28PM (#15237804) Homepage

        Kind of amazing to realize how much skillful PR matters in getting media attention. Dude found a pointy hill and is calling it a pyramid, but he knows how to get reporters interested. It probably doesn't help that Americans love all that new-age Atlantis Secrets of the Pyramids BS.

        A question for whoever knows. I don't know anything about geology, but I do know physics. How probable is the formation of pointy hill from geological perspective? I wouldn't suspect they are a geologocial impossibility but would need a couple of fortuitous conditions to form instead of the usual rounded hill, like a radial mudslide at the top or a pointy rock formation beneath the soil near the top -- something that would change the typical pattern of erosion. I'd wager there are even technical terms for pointy hills and round hills.

      • Re:Color me dubious. (Score:5, Funny)

        by Matimus ( 598096 ) <mccredie&gmail,com> on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:29PM (#15237813)
        You forgot this choice quote:

        A couple of brief passages will convey the gist of Osmanagic's beliefs:

        Ordinary watchmakers repair our watches and put them into accordance with Earthly time. 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. Once the Earth begins to vibrate in harmony with the Sun, information will be able to travel in both directions without limitation. And then we will be able to understand why all ancient peoples worshipped the Sun and dedicated their rituals to this. The Sun is the source of all life on this planet and the source of all information and knowledge. ...And with a frequency in harmony, the Earth will, via the Sun, be connected with the center of our Galaxy. These facts become exceptionally important when we realize that we are rapidly approaching December 2012, a date which the Maya have marked as the time of arrival of the Galactic Energy Cluster which will enlighten us.

      • "In fact, it is impossible."

        Now there's a red flag if I ever saw one. Maybe there's more to this story than the archaeological establishment wants to acknowledge.

      • Cautiously optimistic (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Scrameustache ( 459504 ) * on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:30PM (#15237824) Homepage Journal
        http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/osmanag ic/
        "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?

        They said the same thing about the guy that found the lost city of Troy.

        Let the nutjob dig up the site some, then we'll know. I'm really not happy about "real" archeologist simply declaring that something is impossible.

        The train was declared impossible.
        Meteorites were declared impossible.
        Heliocentrism was declared impossible.
        Heavier than air aeronefs were declared impossible.

        The experts keep using that word, I do not think it means what they think it means.
        • I like how you take the skepticism of a few experts, posit that all experts believed that, and promptly conclude that all experts cannot be trusted on anything.

          I would also like to conclude with a quote from the archaeologist concerned, from http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/osmanag ic/index.html [archaeology.org]:

          "Ordinary watchmakers repair our watches and put them into accordance with Earthly time. It is my theory that the Maya should be considered watchmakers of the cosmos whose mission it is to adjust the Earth

        • Let's not forget that most of the really great discoveries are found by amateurs and nutjobs. The experts cannot be everywhere.

          The skepticism in the archaeological community is understandable, but there are being a little overbearing. All their models depend on having civilizations that create monuments, not monuments being evidence for civilizations. One need only examine the work of Shockley in regard to the Sphinx to see how aggressive the pros can get when their models are challenged.

          Now, the really

      • Re:Color me dubious. (Score:3, Interesting)

        by jafac ( 1449 )
        He may be a nutjob.

        I certainly find the notion of commonality with Mesoamerican "pyramids" somewhat ridiculous - since the Mesoamerican "pyramids" were not really pyramids (both geometrically, and in the egyptian sense). The Mesoamerican structures were not used for burials. They were used as platforms for temples, and had a completely different method of construction and religious significance.

        I would think that this Bosnian "pyramid" (not geometrically a pyramid - the top is flat) more likely has more i
    • How can he know that with so little excavated?

      Seismic imaging

  • Wrong facts! (Score:4, Funny)

    by dada21 ( 163177 ) <adam.dada@gmail.com> on Monday May 01, 2006 @11:47AM (#15237433) Homepage Journal
    The world's largest pyramid is soon to be discovered. I believe the link to this pyramid is here [socialsecurity.gov].

    Whoops.

  • Another Book for Graham Hancock? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by eldavojohn ( 898314 ) * <eldavojohn@noSpAM.gmail.com> on Monday May 01, 2006 @11:48AM (#15237444) Journal
    I once read Fingerprints of the Gods [amazon.com] by Graham Hancock [wikipedia.org] which explored in depth the theory that ancient civilizations are linked by a possible master race. It is a very loose theory in that I ended the book more confused than anything and doubting not only Hancock but also the conventional history I learned in school. Whether that's good or bad, I can't really say.

    What I can say is that even if they were half baked theories they certainly were outside the box.

    In it, the position and building of massive structures (like pyramids) are very important to his theories. He linked the Egyptian and Incan/Pima cultures via structures and similarities in creation stories (the latter being quite weak). The worst part is that at the end he alludes to a possible alien influence in the matter of building these massive structures (because we can't understand what technology they used).

    With this (possibly) even larger structure, I'm certain that this will give him more ammo for another book.

    If you're interested in things like this, it's a good read. You can take pieces of it like the famous Pirie Ries maps [wikipedia.org] that were coverd by Charles Hapgood [wikipedia.org]. A similar theory is the also famous 1421 Theory [wikipedia.org]. Be warned that many of these theories are unverifiable and can amount to simply someone's imagination running wild. They rely on events thousands of years old--a time darker than the the dark ages.

    Be caution that most of the links below Hancock's Wikipedia page are just rebuttles disproving him as much of his work is a bit hard to swallow.

    • Re:Another Book for Graham Hancock? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Blakey Rat ( 99501 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @11:51AM (#15237465)
      We know how they built pyramids. Huge dirt ramps and lots of slave labor.
      • Egyptologists are pretty certain the Pyramids werent built using slave labour, but using Egypts entire labour effort as a massive public works project to honour the leadership.

      • Not Slaves (Score:5, Interesting)

        by neoshroom ( 324937 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:44PM (#15237977)
        Actually, a lot of recent evidence suggests that the pyramids where not built by slaves, but rather by paid workers. See below:

        http://www.harvard-magazine.com/on-line/070391.htm l [harvard-magazine.com]

        __
        Elephant Essays [elephantessays.com] - Custom Research Papers

        • Re:Not Slaves (Score:3, Informative)

          by Dunkirk ( 238653 )
          Thanks for pointing to the article. I had heard this before, but had not read about it in depth.

          What's interesting to me, as a Bible-believing Christian, is how one academic can make his career on a hypothesis such as this. He's basically spent his entire life in the pursuit of undermining the thought that "slaves" built the pyramids. In support of this, the only two pieces of evidence that I can read from this article are 1) that some graffiti inside the pyramids referred to, perhaps, "holy" people that le
          • Yes, a thousand years of common understanding is definitely a reliable source of information. What have I been thinking, trusing empiricism and the modern sciences all these years? Clearly, I've been suffering from a brain fever, and need a good leeching to remove the black humours from my system.

            I spent far too much money on education, when all I needed was the five thousand years of common understanding gathering dust on my bookshelf. I mean, if you can't trust that the first woman was grown from the

        • Re:Not Slaves (Score:3, Funny)

          by deacon ( 40533 )
          They must have called them grad students.
      • RIMMER: Of course aliens have visited Earth. Look at the pyramids! How else could the Egyptians have moved such massive stones?

        LISTER: They had whips, Rimmer! Massive, massive whips!

        (Side note: Agreed with the reply above that the pyramid labourers were likely paid)

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
      Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Leaps of faith (Score:5, Insightful)

      by SmallFurryCreature ( 593017 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:40PM (#15237918) Journal
      I sorta like those Discovery and National Geographic programs that explore things from the past. Like the recent Judas Gospel. Fascinating stuff.

      What I however find most amusing are on the one hand the leaps of faith were assumption after assumption is made only to then conclude the end result to be fact. In this case it is assumed the document was found in a certain part of egypt. They then use the fact that the document is in a certain style/era to then claim that because they found another cave with artifacts in that style/era that it could very well be the cave.

      WTF? First off, just because the document was from an era/style DOES NOT mean it has to have spend all the time in a cave of the era/style. It could have been picked up before an buried somewhere else. Second of all just because some cave contains stuff from the same era that does not mean that the object must have come from that region.

      Oh look. A pair of mickey mouse ears. They must have come from florida!

      Eh? No? They could have come not only from one of the other disney parks but they in fact never have come from a park at all.

      Then there is the other side. The entire program is about how there are more gospels then there are known today. It is shown that a mere human decided wich gospels would be included in the new testament.

      It is even clearly shown that very simple political and marketting reasons lay behind the choice.

      So then what do people think about the Judas gospel. Well it is funny but the "real" gospels are somehow still more real and have something holy about them.

      WTF? Just goes to show that facts and believes have nothing to do with each other.

      But I suppose that if you have to answer the question why and how did the egyptians build the pyramids the answer "bored, lots and lots of people with no tv to watch" just doesn't cut it. Better to get some fantasy going. Star people! Yeah, never mind that amazing as the pyramids are they seem kinda primitive for a star faring civilization.

      I just go with the old prove for the fact that we have been visited by intelligent aliens in the past. They ain't been back. Smart move.

  • 8th wonder then? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by ZSpade ( 812879 )
    You know it strikes me that if things this big can escape our detection on a daily basis, just what else are we missing that may lie right in front of us. I mean this is of utterly rediculous proportions and yet it escaped both our vision, and our history? I think this must be added to the list of world wonders, word wonders how we missed it!
    • Considering its covered in TREES, the fact we never noticed isnt suprising. It looks like a big blob of earth.

      However, i agree about not being noticed in our history.. THAT is the odd part.. Something that large should have got at least a passing mention.
      • I guess it also means that there have never been any topographic or stratigraphic maps of the area made before. If there have been, I'd be interested to see their interpretation of it.
    • You know it strikes me that if things this big can escape our detection on a daily basis, just what else are we missing that may lie right in front of us...? ...rediculous...word wonders...
      Dictionaries?

  • Maybe Finally (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Maybe they will finally find my Stargate so i can leave this silly little corrupt planet WOOT!

  • But does it have a stargate? (Score:3, Funny)

    by madnuke ( 948229 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @11:54AM (#15237489)
    We have finally found the ancient outpost! Or it could be that Pyrimid from Aliens VS Predator....

  • News for the gullible, stuff from last year. (Score:5, Informative)

    by pla ( 258480 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @11:56AM (#15237509) Journal
    Always right on top of things, eh, editors?

    First: The Bosnian "pyramid" (a roughly four-sided hill where they've found nothing but a mound of dirt so far) hit the news last year, in Early November IIRC.

    Second, the fellow cho claims it a pyramid ranks right up there with Uri Gellar as far as credibility goes, according to Archaology [archaeology.org] last week.


    So +5 for topical, but minus a million for reporting on entirely the wrong end of the issue. They didn't just discover it, they just debunked the discovery.
    • What, you've never seen a bent spoon before? I have one in my own kitchen, which just further proves the almighty power of Mr. Gellar.
    • Okay, seriously, that article in Archaeology is crap. Basically, here's what it says:

      1. If he's right about the time period, it's impossible.

      2. He's a loon.

      His personal views, of course, have nothing to do with the veracity of the story. And it's perfectly reasonable to assume that his wild-assed guess of 12,000 B.C.E. is totally wrong, while he's 100% correct about the pyramid's existance. Nothing in that article casts any doubt whatsoever on the pyramid itself -- only on the researcher. Ad hom

      • Re:News for the gullible, stuff from last year. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by pla ( 258480 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:29PM (#15237815) Journal
        They found cut and polished stone blocks.

        You live in the US, correct?

        We Americans have a somewhat different view of what it means to find traces of a civilization than do Europeans.

        In the US, if you go out and dig in your backyard and find something man-made and more than a few hundred years old, you've most likely really found something of archaeological interest.

        In Europe, you can set up a dig just about anywhere and find crumbled bricks, broken pottery, or some other traces of very very old human civilization.

        Hell, for another recent news item to make my point, the UK Times Online [timesonline.co.uk] reports that archaeologists just found an almost perfectly preserved Roman city in Spain - Which the Spanish felt so impressed by, they promptly turned it into a parking lot.



        And it's perfectly reasonable to assume that his wild-assed guess of 12,000 B.C.E. is totally wrong, while he's 100% correct about the pyramid's existance.

        I agree that ad hominem doesn't disprove the existance of a pyramid in Bosnia. But when the town loony raves about aliens landing in his back yard, you don't call NASA to disprove him.

        • It was not only well-preserved... (Score:5, Insightful)

          by jd ( 1658 ) <imipak@ y a hoo.com> on Monday May 01, 2006 @01:47PM (#15238673) Homepage Journal
          ...but it was also one of the largest ever found and one of the most significant cities in the Roman empire, according to the article. Personally, I am of the opinion that since we only have one history and whatever is lost can NEVER be replaced, any destruction of our heritage should be treated as a crime of extreme seriousness. Ok, they need a car park. Let the archaeologists gather ALL the data, excavate ALL the ruins, build a complete virtual model and salvage what they can. THEN build your friggin' car park.


          (Mass transit is infinitely superior to cars, anyway, and any "socialist" worthy of the title should know this. Wiping out a key piece of history is also about as anti-social as you can get. Besides which, the city can't take up that much space. Build the car park UNDER it. Spain does have mining equiptment, right? It's not totally deprived of technology, however bereft of wits it might be. Then you can have the ruins AND the car park.)

          • I am of the opinion that since we only have one history and whatever is lost can NEVER be replaced, any destruction of our heritage should be treated as a crime of extreme seriousness

            My son was always trying to get out of cleaning up his room, too.

    • From the link:

      Others fear that Osmanagic's excavations will damage real sites (the hill he calls the "Pyramid of the Sun" is said to have medieval, Roman, and Illyrian remains on it). In one of the few critical accounts of the Bosnian pyramid story, which appeared in the Art Newspaper, the University of Sarejevo's Enver Imamovic, a former director of the National Museum in Sarjevo, is quoted as saying, "This is the equivalent of letting me, an archaeologist, perform surgery in hospitals."

      Oh well, I supp

    • Re:News for the gullible, stuff from last year. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by AaronLawrence ( 600990 ) * on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:12PM (#15237653)
      Second, the fellow cho claims it a pyramid ranks right up there with Uri Gellar as far as credibility goes, according to Archaology last week.
      That's all very well, but that Archaeology article spends all it's time slamming the person, not discussing his claims, and reads a lot like a personal attack. The guy may be a loon, but that doesn't mean we should dismiss this automatically.

      The pyramid announcement does seem very premature and is probably something else (or a fake) but I'd like to see some discussion of what he's found, which is not in that article.

  • The guy is a loon... (Score:3, Informative)

    by mark0 ( 750639 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @11:57AM (#15237515)
    ... and if you have any doubt, take a look at this [archaeology.org].

  • this story was proven false already (Score:4, Informative)

    by spacerodent ( 790183 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @11:58AM (#15237528)
    this story is utterly false and the dude who discovered it is a crazy. Here is a link with handy details. http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/osmanag ic/ [archaeology.org]
  • That proves it.

    ( yes its a joke )

  • Not very hidden. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Pedrito ( 94783 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @11:59AM (#15237532)
    I'm not going to point to a particular site, but if you do a google image search on the words: bosnia pyramid

    You'll find pictures of it. I'm kind of surprised nobody has considered the possibility before. If you see some pictures that give you a better 3D view of it, it very clearly has 4 slopes at 90 degree angles.

    Very cool find, though.

  • European pyramid (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:00PM (#15237544)
    This is why Europe is, even today, a world leader in pyramids. You can outsource all the pyramid building you want to the israelites, but when you employ cheap slave labor, you get 1/3 less cubits.

    U send me pyramid 4 ur outsourced job plz.
  • I hope that this doesn't turn out to be linked to some religion or other. All we need is another whacko group claiming to have the only true religion, and proof of its veracity in this pyramid. I truly do hope that this is built by, or inspired by alien visitors, perhaps stranded travellers or something. As long as its anything but more religious hype/tripe/your-fav-bad-thing-here.

    • Re:I hope that this doesn't turn out to be (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Distinguished Hero ( 618385 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:17PM (#15237695) Homepage
      I hope that this doesn't turn out to be linked to some religion or other. All we need is another whacko group claiming to have the only true religion, and proof of its veracity in this pyramid. I truly do hope that this is built by, or inspired by alien visitors, perhaps stranded travellers or something. As long as its anything but more religious hype/tripe/your-fav-bad-thing-here.

      Because if your first thought upon discovering a pyramid is that it was "built by, or inspired by alien visitors" you are far saner, more rational, and down to earth than those religious "whacko group[s]"...

  • Is that a.. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:03PM (#15237568)
    Is that a pyramid in your hill, or are you just happy to see me?
  • Why didn't someone tell it when the masquerade ball was over?

  • Official website (Score:3, Interesting)

    by najt ( 178981 ) <tomislav@nOsPam.me.com> on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:04PM (#15237586)
    You can find large resolution photos and news on the Official website [bosnianpyramid.com]. Looks like they're still digging.

  • Geraldo (Score:4, Funny)

    by gregarine ( 171102 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:06PM (#15237593) Homepage
    We should probably send Geraldo Rivera [geraldo.com] to investigate. His experience with Al Capone's vault makes him more than qualified.

  • Much Bigger Pyramid found ... (Score:4, Funny)

    by rewinn ( 647614 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:07PM (#15237613) Homepage
    Look to the left side of this photo [vic.com]. Frighteningly symmetrical, is it not? And it blows away the Bosnian pyramid as to size.

  • Despite all the skepticism... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by TheNoxx ( 412624 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:10PM (#15237631) Homepage Journal
    And everyone pointing to the archaeology organization site naming him as a nutjob, guess what folks? It won't be debunked until they've fully excavated the site. Whether or not the man in charge is crazy or not has little bearing on the validity of his claims, particularly when the evidence would be a gigantic fucking pyramid. There isn't anything to debate, it's either there or not.

    Also, I'd say that a majority of the archaelogical society hates new findings that contradict their old theories, and can often go out of their way to ostracize and decredit people that publish or support findings that would invalidate all the time spent writing papers on any particularly well-accepted idea.
    • Bullshit. If the pyramid isn't there, he can just claim it IS there, but it's surrounded by an SEP field.

    • Re:Despite all the skepticism... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by TrevorB ( 57780 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:41PM (#15237940) Homepage
      I understand the sentiment, but this is science: Guilty until proven innocent. Until we see any kind of evidence other than "That mountain is pyramid shaped", this guy is worthy of ridicule in proportion to the size of the claim.

      Consider it a "hazing ritual" that *all* scientists have to go through when they make extraordinary claims that aren't (yet) backed up with extraordinary evidence.

      I'm a bit concerned about your meter for debunking. "Excavating the entire site", when the entire site is a *mountain*. It will never be debunked. This will probably fall into the realm of consipracy theory in a few years, probably when his funding is cut.

      As for hating new findings, I think I'd be pleasantly surprised. I'm not holding my breath though.

      For the record, my wife has a degree in archaeology. I would guess that archaeologists are far more defensive about known theories because there's been a fair number of charlaitians and hucksters in the past.

  • ... that someone will eventually notice natural features that have vaguely pyramidal shapes, ignore those that do not, and write a book that sells well to people who are not good at science.

  • ...Noah's Ark of the Convenant, perched on the pyramid's side, exactly where Nostradamus said it would be.
  • It's gotta be conan's tomb

  • Wait for the Results .... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by minairia ( 608427 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:23PM (#15237756)
    Lots of people are debunking the discovery because the fellow who might have found the supposed pyramid is a wack-job. I think that the "Chariots of the Gods" stuff can be disposed off without, as it were, throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

    From the pictures on the web-sites linked to, it does seem reasonable to assume that there is something there. Geography is rarely THAT regular and it seems like the people digging have found evidence of blocks, construction, tunnels etc. These might be Roman or Ottoman era remains, or they might not.

    History is long and great periods are undocumented or forgotten. It seems absolutely reasonable that the ruins of great civilization could have gone unnoticed in Bosnia especially as this area has seen almost constant and vicious warfare for most of the modern era. I think it is very unfortunate that this discovery has been tarred with pseudo-science before real results have been developed.

  • Nothing to see here, move along.

    Seriously, why must we have to read on every populist or pseudo-science story out there? Are we competing with the New / American Scientist and Fortean Times? This guy is a nutter and his 'research' has been widely criticised and discredited [wikipedia.org].

    Is it too much to ask for the submitters and editors to do a simple Google/Wikipedia search on the articles and maybe include a hint of criticism and doubt when faced with such BS stories.

  • The prophesy of AVP realized (Score:3, Funny)

    by teal_ ( 53392 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:25PM (#15237781)
    Our discovery of this pyramid was orchestrated by the predators to lure us there so that when they revive the alien queen and she starts laying her eggs, there would be hosts for the face-huggers to implant their eggs. Once a few aliens are running around, down will come some teenage predators looking to pass their manhood ritual by trying to survive an alien hunt in the pyramid. It's all been foretold here [imdb.com]. Beware if the predators lose though, they'll blow the whole place up.

  • Crazy people are fun (Score:4, Informative)

    by Vinnie_333 ( 575483 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:27PM (#15237800)
    He's a crackpot. Archeology magazine is pretty much ripping him a new one. link [archaeology.org]

    For an example of his unique theories, here's an excerpt from his book, "The World of the Maya":

    Ordinary watchmakers repair our watches and put them into accordance with Earthly time. 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. Once the Earth begins to vibrate in harmony with the Sun, information will be able to travel in both directions without limitation. And then we will be able to understand why all ancient peoples worshipped the Sun and dedicated their rituals to this. The Sun is the source of all life on this planet and the source of all information and knowledge. ...And with a frequency in harmony, the Earth will, via the Sun, be connected with the center of our Galaxy. These facts become exceptionally important when we realize that we are rapidly approaching December 2012, a date which the Maya have marked as the time of arrival of the Galactic Energy Cluster which will enlighten us.

  • I am surprised any European believes what a Texan claims as evidence.

    (sometimes I am ashamed to be a Texan and as a sixth generation Texan, that is saying a lot.)

  • They mention the controversy elsewhere on MSNBC (Score:4, Interesting)

    by paladinwannabe2 ( 889776 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:29PM (#15237821)
    On this page [msn.com] they mention the controversies surrounding the 'pyramid'.

    April 28, 2006 | 11:40 p.m. ET
    Pyramid problems: Is the tale of the Bosnian pyramid too good to be true? Last week, The Associated Press reported evidence that a 2,120-foot-high hill in central Bosnia-Herzegovina might actually be a buried step pyramid. This week, Archaeology magazine questioned the scientific soundness of the operation and its leader, amateur archaeologist Semir Osmanagic. Archaeology quotes experts who say there's little more to the project than "sensationalism and grandstanding," and worry that it may be damaging legitimate artifacts from medieval, Roman and Illyrian times.

    There's certainly a good deal of kookiness surrounding the story. Osmanagic, for example, links his pyramid theories to Atlantis and the Maya, while an online petition aimed at stopping Osmanagic's dig refers darkly to U.S.-orchestrated conspiracy theories. Stay tuned for further twists in the tale, and feel free to send in your comments after you read Archaeology magazine's report.

  • The reason it stayed hidden so long? (Score:3, Funny)

    by mmell ( 832646 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:38PM (#15237905)
    It is made of the same type of rock and soil as the surrounding countryside, giving the appearance of simply being more earth.

    It's only after they excavate the soil and rock from around it that the true shape and size of the pyramid will be apparent!

  • Satellite Picutures, and and interview with lead (Score:4, Informative)

    by jakupovic ( 258719 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @12:58PM (#15238129)

    I have been following this story since October of last year, there has been a lot of information published and a lot of time spent on either side of 'piramidasa' and 'antipiramidasa' arguing whether the former pyramid believers and later pyramid non-believers are right. Here is a link to a satellite analysis of the region http://piramidasunca.ba/ajaxfiles/epodmeni/eizvjes taji/Geophysical%20Analysis.pdf [piramidasunca.ba]

    At http://www.astreamagazine.com/osmanagic_serie_radi o_frm.html [astreamagazine.com] there are links to an interview with astraea magazine, good listen a direct link at http://www.astreamagazine.com/interviews/osmanagic /osmanagic_high.m3u [astreamagazine.com]

    At http://www.piramidasunca.ba/ [piramidasunca.ba] you can find the official foundation site and more pictures, click on the British flag for english version :).

    Also googling "sarajevo-x piramida" will get you a link to a forum that's been going since last year, with posts mainly in Bosnian with some in English.

  • Why compare to Egypt pyramids? (Score:3, Informative)

    by Peyna ( 14792 ) on Monday May 01, 2006 @01:05PM (#15238205) Homepage
    Why do they always compare to the pyramids in Egypt? While they might be the most famous, they're not the largest. Cholula [wikipedia.org], Teotihuacan [wikipedia.org] and Cahokia [wikipedia.org] are much larger in size and volume than anything in Egypt.

    Do people just have a hard time admitting that the people who inhabited the Americas before Europeans showed up might have actually not be inferior? Perhaps it's just more comfortable to imagine them as haphazard small groups of primitive people running around in the forest than to realize they had just as advanced civilizations and cities as Europe, but mostly difference in appearance. And that their technology, while it took a different path, wasn't necessarily "inferior" at all? /rant

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