Bosnian archaeologist Semir Osmanagic has a lofty claim to make.
He says that a spherical rock discovered in a forest near the Bosnian town Zavidovici, could be the oldest creation from stone carved by human hands. While some support and many rubbish his claim the rock itself is turning out to be a puzzle of sorts with its extremely high iron content and a radius between four and five feet.
Fellow researcher Dr Sam Osmanagich seems to be in support of these statements. Well into the 20th century, he claims, these spheres existed in the region. Rumours of hidden gold within these spheres led to their destruction in the 1970s, according to him.
Indiana Jones of Bosnia
Giving prominence to this discovery, Dr Osmanagic has his reasons to believe that this stone sphere dates back to more than 1,500 years ago, and points to the existence of an advanced civilisation which got lost. Known as "the Bosnian Indiana Jones", Dr Osmanagic made headlines back in 2005 when he allegedly claimed that Bosnia's Visoko Valley has a cluster of hills that were the site of ancient pyramids, linked through a network of underground tunnels.
Even though these claims have been a subject of mockery, the Bosnian government has been surprisingly supportive and provided the necessary financial backing to the project of excavations in Zavidovici.
Strong disagreements
The president of the European Association of Archaeologists, Anthony Harding, has rubbished the excavation as "total absurdity". As per a report by The Telegraph, Harding stated that "There is some genuine archaeology on the hill and I'm told it's medieval, possibly Bronze Age or Roman. But the speculation that there could be a 12,000-year-old structure beneath is a complete fantasy and anyone with basic knowledge of archaeology or history should recognise that."
The year of 2016 is witnessing a line-up of critics, once again poking the logic of Dr Osmanagic. Mandy Edwards from the University of Manchester's School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences claimed that the sphere in fact, may not be man-made at all. Describing the process of 'concretion', he says that the sphere could have been formed due to precipitation of natural mineral cement within the spaces between sediment grains.
The origin of the spherical rock is still under doubt. Disagreements aside, it will indeed be fascinating to unravel the mystery of what led to the formation of this boulder; whether man-made efforts or natural causes, yet remains to be seen.
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