If you don't know what the Bosnian Pyramids are, they are the pseudo-scientific theory that there was lost pyramid in Bosnia that dates back to before the last Ice Age funded by a crank (a businessman with no background in archaeology) and people who goes "OMG LOST CIVILIZATION *jizz jizz jizz*". These pseudo-archaeology are common. From archaeologist looking for Sodom and Gomorrah, to Atlantis, to Mormon archaeology, there's always people using archaeology to fulfill pop-fantasy.
But here is where it's bad.A victory for independent science against the narrow vision of academia? Not necessarily.
Looking at the photos on Osmanagic's website on the pyramids in Bosnia, I don't see anything indicating there's a pyramid there. Most of the supposedly worked stone looks like other natural formations I've seen, the so-called "secret tunnels" could be from any era, and the few examples of obviously worked stone could just as easily be medieval. In fact, Byzantine records say there was a town here in the Middle Ages and it has not been found. The Bosnian pyramid team may be destroying a real archaeological site in order to create a fake one.
Some of Osmanagic's actions seem a bit fishy too. He claimed to have assembled a team of experts to work on the site and give him advice, including famous Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass, but many of them said they had never agreed to work on the site. Some of them said Osmanagic never even contacted them.
Let's address a few points. You can't just fucking dig in the hopes of finding something. Past amateur archaeologist did this and they only ended up fucking up the actual site.
Never assume you're going to find a huge as civilization. This isn't the day of Uncharted or Indiana Jones.
The claim has certainly created a tourist industry in the previously sleepy town, and it's sparking interest in Bosnia's past. So where's the harm?
In an article in Science, Bosnian archaeologists lamented that funding and attention were going to the fanciful pyramid theory while the nation's real heritage remains underfunded and underprotected. Some have even reported being threatened for speaking out against the project. The Bosnian Pyramids have become a matter of national pride for a nation still feeling the wounds of the bitter war of the 1990s. Osmanagic has made Bosnia the cradle of civilization, or as he terms it, "supercivilization".
This. These pop-archaeology to amuse conspiracy theorist and History Channel watchers are actually harming real archaeology. It diverts attention from preserving existing archaeological sites.
