16 July 2006
The discovery of a pyramid in Visoko, Bosnia, last summer has succeeded in bringing together Bosnians in a way that no politician has been able to since the end of the Yugoslavian war a decade ago. As theories about the pyramid grow, Bosnian pride and passion have been re-ignited and international interest sparked. For the first time in more than a decade, people are talking about Bosnia and not about the war.
Meho Macic first heard about the theory of a pyramid in Bosnia via the Internet, but didn’t think too much about it. It wasn’t until he saw the explorer Semir Osmanagic on television, talking about his theory of a pyramid at Visoko that Macic realised the full extent of the project.
“I saw a black and white picture of Viscocica Hill behind Semir and I was amazed - it looked just like a pyramid,” says Macic. “I was so excited, I couldn’t sleep that night.” The very next morning, he bought the domain, BosnianPyramid.com.
Today, he and many others believe that the pyramid being uncovered in Bosnia is rekindling Bosnian national pride - and could lead to some history books being re-written, too.
“Semir Osmanagic said that the project would bring something positive to Bosnia, which we didn’t really have in the country at the time,” says Macic. “He thought it would bring Bosnians around the world together and that is happening.” You can see this in the numerous chat rooms that have been set up to discuss the pyramid and the latest theories about it. It is also generating an unexpected groundswell of public debate and interest in archaeology itself.
Macic first met Osmanagic at a book signing in Mostar. “There was a book launch in the Cultural Centre and Semir did a presentation of his theories about the pyramid,” says Macic. “I knew by then that this project would be huge and I wanted to be involved and to support it in some way, to do my bit.”
At that stage, there was no website dedicated to the theories about the pyramid which is why Macic created BosnianPyramid.com - in English, so that news would filter through to an English-speaking, international audience.
He has also created links to travel agents for tourists who visit Bosnia and want to see the pyramid site (HiddenBosnia.com) and has developed an online shop that sell pyramid-linked products with Bosnian artist, Adi Mahinic; a percentage of these sales goes to the Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation (APBS). He asks his visitors to support the Foundation’s work with donations.
Otherwise, Macic says that BosnianPyramid.com takes an independent line on its news reporting. He says, “We report whatever is happening as independently as we can. For example, we always report international experts’ views, whether they are in support of the project or not. But I find it interesting that none of the international experts who are against the pyramid have ever undertaken proper investigations at Visocica itself.” Since the discovery of the first pyramid site, Osmanagic has gone on to announce a further four locations of smaller ancient structures – possibly pyramids - in the valley, although these have still to be properly excavated. What made Macic himself decide to support the project? “To be honest, it was just the pictures of the hill at the beginning, it seemed so obvious it was a pyramid,” he says.
“Then the excavations started to uncover massive, manmade blocks at the site and when I saw the entrances to the tunnels in Viscocica Hill as well, I was convinced.” Macic got in touch with Osmanagic, who had returned to his home in Houston, and discussed his theory about the pyramid and the progress of the excavations. He also talked to people in Visoko to find out local, anecdotal stories for his website.
“I first visited Visocica when the miners went into the tunnels inside Vosocica Hill for the first time. Semir had claimed that they were manmade and they wanted to investigate how deep they were and where they went. They also discovered ventilation shafts in the tunnels There was a lot of press interest at this point – there must have been about 100 journalists there that day including from Reuters and Associated Press, and it was later reported by CNN. I saw that the international interest was really growing.”
Many Bosnian people have moved from initial scepticism to full support for the project. “A lot of people dismissed the pyramid theory at first but more and more are starting to believe in it,” says Macic. “There are so many people now getting in touch, emailing BosnianPyramid.com to find out how they can support the project, how they can get involved and help.
“This is the first project in Bosnia where all the nationalities – Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats – have got together and worked on a project without anyone having to arbitrate! It is the first time since the war that Bosnian people have something to believe in – they want to do it and they can do it, the project is happening.”
On any one day there can be up to 500 people – volunteers - working at the site. As well as Bosnians, they are coming from around the world, including the USA, Canada, Denmark, Germany and Australia. “International interest is huge, I have had visitors from 180 countries to the website.”
The website has had nearly 1m hits in the last six months and there can be up to 12,000 visitors a day. As well as news, updates and images, visitors can link to a Google Earth facility to see a 3D model of the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun and a map with all the pyramid locations currently being excavated in the Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids.