Le site d'Irna

Hijacking an archaeological heritage

Irna — 2011-05-16T23:25:55Z

Of the many distressing aspects of the Bosnian ‘pyramids' affair, surely, one of the most painful in the eyes of those who cherish and study Bosnian historical and archaeological heritage, must be the way in which the Osmanagic foundation (and its subsidiaries) regularly hijack parts of this heritage in an attempt to ram them willy-nilly into the chimera of the pseudo-pyramids.
Stecci
The first unfortunate ‘victims' of this form of abuse were stecci, medieval tombstones found (…)

- Real archaeology

The fortress that just wouldn't go away…

Irna — 2008-08-11T00:22:35Z

«There's nothing up there at all! Not so much as one stone on top of another! When the Turks burned it to the ground 500 years ago, they left nothing standing.»
These were the words that, whilst giving a presentation about the “pyramids” of Visoko at the end of the summer of 2006, Mr. Semir Osmanagic used to describe the mediaeval town of Visoki, the royal stronghold at the heart of the mediaeval kingdom of Bosnia.
On several occasions during the last three years, in two different (…)

- Real archaeology

Archaeology at Visoko: the real thing

Irna — 2007-09-16T23:52:44Z

Ever since the the "pyramids" affair began, Mr. Osmanagic, his team and his supporters, have never stopped repeating the mantra that, as far as orthodox archaeologists were concerned, the Visoko region would be "terra incognita". This enables supporters of the Foundation to claim 1) that "official" archaeologists are not doing their job; 2) and that, thanks to Mr. Osmanagic, the archaeological riches that the region has to offer will be revealed to the world. This idea is false on two (…)

- Real archaeology

Mr. Osmanagic, protector of the Bosnian national heritage?

Irna — 2007-05-05T01:31:30Z

Is Mr. Osmanagic's Foundation abandoning its pyramid chimeras, and beginning to devote itself to real archaeology and the protection of the Bosnian heritage? That's what one could believe, at least for a moment, when one sees the news published on the 29th of April 2007 (bs) on the Foundation web site. Indeed the Foundation announces a new "multidisciplinary project", with no less than "28 experts from 8 countries" in every kind of science, aiming at "studying, preserving and displaying the (…)

- Real archaeology

A little bit of real archaeology...

Irna — 2007-03-28T22:14:57Z

Excellent news from Bosnia for the European archaeology: a team, led by Ms. Snjezana Vasilj, Professor of Archaeology in Sarajevo and Mostar Universities, has published the discovery of the first Illyrian boats ever found (en) in Hutovo Blato.
Hutovo Blato, located near Capljina, half-way between Mostar and the Adriatic Coast South of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a marshland in the Neretva valley, made a nature park (en) for the sake of its exceptional wetland fauna and flora (en) (it is (…)

- Real archaeology