Pyramids in Vogue

Semir Osmanagić is perhaps the modern day Schliemann in the archaeological world. A Bosnian ex-pat who moved to America where he made his fortune, he subsequently turned actively to archaeology, where he made his claim to fame by proclaiming the hills surrounding the Bosnian town of Visoko to be pyramids constructed by an advanced civilization several thousand years ago. In an effort to promote a revisionist history of the world – one populated by several advanced civilisations that were subjected to cataclysmic destructions at the end of the last Ice Age in the event of sea-level rise, he has enlisted the media to spread his convictions, he undertaken lecture tours to put foward his views and expound upon the latest results, and employed team of archaeologists and other specialists to legitimate his claims. The parallels with Schliemann are perhaps superficial and only on the surface, but nevertheless uncanny.

Such figures always invite controversy, be it praise or censure, and indeed there is plenty to go around on both sides. Certainly, the writer of this article is unequivocally cynical. I’m one of the suspicious ones. Misrepresentation of the archaeological record can be blatant or go undetected, with considerable consequences, be it on the level of publication or collection of data. This is something Schliemann is particularly well-known for, as has been demonstrated in research of the past 25 years. Even so called great archaeologists, like Arthur Evans, were not above some falsification. Evans deliberately falsified photographs in his Palace of Minos volumes of Middle Minoan strata to make them appear more congenial towards his theories relating to the apogee of Minoan culture during this period.

Is Osmanagić merely a dilettante, eager to acquire intellectual respectability, or is he onto something? Such ad hominem arguments are circular and contibute little towards reaching any kind of understanding. Osmanagić’s activities present an opportunity in examining the nature of archaeological discourse, the genesis and consumption of knowledge through various media, and the role of archaeologists in society. For instance, in the context of the former Yugoslav republics, nationalism has frequently played a role in seeking to create a co-extension between abstract ideals and the material world in order to justify the undertaking of actions. Archaeology and history have often played significant roles in such endeavours, not merely in the Balkans. Osmanagić is not above repeatedly discussing the exceptional nature of Bosnia in the light of his theories, doubtless bolstering claims for his homeland’s significance in the context of human history and enhancing its cultural capital. Such seems to be the enthusiasm regarding the Bosnian pyramids that the Italians are finding their own too.

Schliemann did not in reality find Homer’s Troy. Instead he discovered a period of mercantile and cultural fecundity in the Aegean and Mediterranean. What Osmanagić has discovered remains to be seen. Perhaps the tale of Schliemann should urge us to exercise caution in evaluating Osmanagić’s claims, for the machinations involved in the production of archaeological knowledge are many in their variety, subtlety, and aims.