Bosnia's Pyramid Scheme

By Kathleen Kingsbury

Visoko, Bosnia, might be home to the Eighth Wonder of the World, or so its residents hope. Researchers last week excavated geometrically cut stones from a hill near the town--apparently the building blocks of the first ancient step pyramid ever found in Europe. Archaeologist Semir Osmanagic estimates the pyramid is 722 ft. high--a third taller than Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza--and was built about 12,000 years ago by an unknown civilization. Other experts are skeptical. "More likely," says UCLA archaeologist Willeke Wendrich, "this is a case of Europeans around 6 A.D. with a bit of Egyptomania." Visoko's people see the pyramid, authentic or not, as a marketing opportunity. Mugs, key chains and slippers, left, are available. One of the most popular products is a T shirt that reads I HAVE A PYRAMID IN MY BACKYARD.