Underneath the layers of vegetation covering the hills in Visoko, there are layers of concrete making up what is known as the Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids.
One of the Bosnian Pyramids, the Pyramid of the Sun, is approximately one third taller than the ancient Egyptian Great Pyramid. The Pyramid of the Sun is constructed of five thick layers of concrete (sandstone slabs, almost one meter thick for each layer), with each layer containing a fifteen centimeter layer of clay in between. Underneath the concrete and clay, the inner pyramid consists of sandstone blocks.
The concrete blocks covering the hills are being excavated and samples of the concrete have been sent to prestigious labs all over the world to be tested. The tests resulted in several interesting findings about the concrete’s properties.
Under the concrete of the Pyramid of the Sun, the series of large sandstone blocks show various types of rocks (differing pebbles and cobbles), including sandy quartz limestone, when more closely analyzed. It is thought that the concrete is made from material found at a locally deposited post glacial conglomerate. Experts who examined these crystals determined that during the manufacturing process, the materials were heated to above 500 degrees. Studies done at the University of Paris discovered that the concrete material found on the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun was five times stronger than modern day concrete. The concrete was shown to be resistant to 94 Megapascals of pressure, which means it is highly compressed and extremely rigid – concrete of this strength is only available in a few very developed countries at special request. The founder of the French Institute of Polymers, Joseph Davidovits, Ph.D. performed an electronic microscopic analysis on a sample of concrete; he concluded that the chemical composition of the old concrete’s basis is a calcium/potassium geopolymer cement. He found the cement to be five times stronger and five times more water resistant than any concrete able to be made today. Davidovits is an author of over fifty patents in the field of the science of materials, and is considered an expert in the field. He holds a French Medal of Merit and has published ten books about the construction of the Egyptian Pyramids.
The construction material comprising the Pyramid of the Sun is not a normal, natural process. Dr. Aly Barakat, a geologist from Cairo, spent weeks researching all of the environment surrounding the Pyramid of the Sun. He did not find materials similar to the blocks of the Pyramid of the Sun and therefore he concluded his research noting that the pyramid is a natural hill shaped by man and covered with stone blocks. Other scientists, however are continuing to research differing hypotheses.
(Source: bosnianpyramids)
