APWR Central

I

In November 2005, after the first diggings on the Visocica hill – dubbed the Pyramid of the Sun – the Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation published a report which, among other things, mentions that remains of two human skeletons were found on the hill plateau:

„However, in the second (II) sequence of sandstone plates at the right hand side of the probing well we found two plates one over another at the angle of approximately 25 degrees. Between those two plates there was clay marl and a human skeleton in it. The skeleton was not complete. It consisted of a left leg bones and fractions of a scull placed in the area of pelvis.

All sandstone plates in the III sequence were paved one over another under the same angle as it was done in the II sequence. In the II sequence of plates remains of a human skeleton were found again.

The remains of this skeleton were photographed by an archaeologist and its orientation was defined. Then they were packed and sent to analysis in order to determine how old they were.“

Images of these bones were never published on the official website of the Foundation. An APWR member, however, managed to photograph one of the skeletons on the location, in the period between September and October 2005.

Half a year later, in May 2006, Mr. Semir Osmanagic, director of the Foundation, gave a statement for the National Geographic, which was published in the article titled Pyramid in Bosnia -- Huge Hoax or Colossal Find?:

„Hopefully we can find some organic material, you know, the bones or the wooden fragments, or charcoal . … Then we can tell for sure.“

This statement creates an impression that no organic material or bones had been found during the diggings carried out by the Foundation, which is in direct contradicition with the Foundation's report issued six months prior to the National Geographic article. A whole year after the release of that report, in November 2006, it is still not known:

• where were the remains of skeletons sent for analyses?
• what kinds of analyses were carried out on these remains?
• what are the conclusions of these analyses?

II 

The remains of a medieval settlement on the Visocica hill, registered as a national monument of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the description of the found skeletons seem to support the opinion expressed by the archaeologist, historian and former director of the National Museum of Bosnia-Herzegovina Mr. Enver Imamovic, who publicly warned in the spring of 2006 that Mr. Osmanagic's probes ran into a medieval necropolis on the Visocica hill. Mr. Osmanagic has publicly denied existence of any such burial grounds there.

However, other objects and remains on the Visocica hill plateau indicate that it could be a site of a medieval necropolis and a part of the known medieval settlement – primarily a rectangular tombstone, in Bosnia known as stecak. In this photograph of the plateau taken from the top of the Visocica hill and the remains of the medieval fortress, one can see the exact spots where: A – probe revealed human bones, B – foundation remains of a structure, hidden in vegetation, C – profiled base of a tombstone and D – tombstone (stecak).

Stone grave markers – stecak, pl. stecci – are the most famous and most recognizable feature of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian medieval culture and heritage. It would be a futile attempt, for reasons of sheer quantity, to list here even the most basic bibliography of domestic or foreign authors who researched and wrote about these remarkable and unique monuments. Instead, I will suggest that a reader goes to the Google cache of stecak images and quote from The Late Medieval Balkans, the work of one of the most respected international experts on the history of Balkans, John V.A. Fine:

„Bosnia and Hercegovina (roughly, Hum) are now famous for their enormous medieval gravestones (particularly those from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries) known a stecci. . . . These stones were carved into various shapes such as great sarcophagi (though these were solid blocks having the deceased buried beneath them), standing slabs and great crosses. Though the majority are unmarked, some have carved motifs. These vary from simple geometrical designs (e.g., spirals, rosettes, crosses) to elaborate scenes (e.g., tournaments, hunting scenes, round dances, etc.). Some of their creators were excellent artists.“

However, Mr. Semir Osmanagic, who is neither a historian nor archaeologist, sees the Bosnian medieval heritage differently. He addressed the issue of these medieval tombstones on the Visocica plateau only once, in the August 27th episode of a series „Potraga za piramidom“ („Search for the pyramid“), aired by the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Federal (state) Television each Sunday. In that episode, standing next to the stecak on the Visocica plateau, Osmanagic says:

„This block disperses illusions of domestic historiographers and archaeologists on knowing parts of the Bosnian medieval history. For a long time, it has been registered in catalogues as a stecak. However, it is a typical concrete block with six sides that are clearly set at the angle of 90 degrees, therefore straight sides, and it has nothing in common with the magnificent stecci of the Bosnian history. Further analyses that we got from the Tuzla Construction Institute showed that exactly this kind of blocks were poured on the site and made the pyramid flanks. It is known that the whole north side is built with these blocks. On the other hand, we are here on the west side of the pyramid and here it is obvious that one huge block rolled down from the top of the pyramid and because of its weight became unusable to the local population. They have used the majority of the broken blocks and plates for construction of their houses, for foundations and walls. This block was too heavy for them to roll it to their potential construction sites. Therefore, these several tons here will become one good example to the future generations on how to distinguish illusion from reality. This example shows that the history of Bosnia does not go only six, seven, eight hundred back, but thousands and thousands of years.“

For comparison, here is an image of another stecak in the Visoko valley, only quite some distance from the Visocica hill. It is situated in the village of Arnautovici, close to the remains of another medieval structure, in this case, a church. It appears that this kind of *blocks* are quite frequent at medieval sites.

However, the Visocica plateau stecak is not the only example of Mr. Osmanagic's attempts to *correct illusions* of the Bosnian history. We find it again in his „multivolume works“, in a chapter dealing with stone spheres. Mr. Osmanagic's interpretations of such spheres in Bosnia will be the subject of a separate post; for now it is only interesting to scroll down to this illustration in this chapter, and give the translation of the text beneath the image:

„Stone monolith on the hill near Zlokuce – top of a small astronomic/energetic temple?“

The Meskovic hill (near the village of Zlokuce in the Kakanj municipality, which borders with the Visoko municipality) to which Mr. Osmanagic refers with this image is a well-known medieval necropolis of stecci, registered as such in the Inventory of the Immobile Cultural Monuments in the Territory of the Kakanj Municipality, published in 1983 by the Institute to Protect Cultural Monuments of Bosnia-Herzegovina (predecessor of the present-day Commission to Protect National Monuments).

It appears that Mr. Osmanagic tends to *correct* this particular Bosnian historical and cultural heritage on systematic basis.

III

In the spring of 2006, some twenty leading Bosnian historians and archaeologists directed a public outcry at our government and the Bosnian public to raise awareness of the danger to our cultural and historical heritage posed by active *corrections* by Mr. Osmanagic and his Foundation. Shortly afterwards, a Visoko municipal official suggested in the municipality assembly that all critics of Osmanagic's project should be denied access to research locations and have their degrees revoked.

It is up to the educated reader of this blog to form an opinion on how justified these concerns about Mr. Osmanagic's activities in Bosnia-Herzegovina are.