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The Smithsonian Knew. History Is BROKEN - Video học tiếng Anh
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The Smithsonian Knew. History Is BROKEN
The Smithsonian Knew. History Is BROKEN
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0:00
What if everything you were told about human history… was a lie?
0:04
For decades, we’ve been told civilization began just 5,000 years ago. That the Great
0:08
Pyramids of Egypt were humanity’s crowning achievement. But what if the truth is far
0:12
more shocking? What if even bigger pyramids aren’t in Egypt at all?
0:16
I’m Josh, and in this episode of The Infographics Show,
0:18
we’re uncovering why Egypt Isn’t Hiding the World’s Biggest Pyramid… Europe Is.
0:23
You wake up as the sun rises over Bosnia and Herzegovina. You’re a farmer on the outskirts
0:28
of Visoko, where the Fojnica and Bosna rivers meet, not far from the capital of Sarajevo.
0:34
Life is simple, but you take great pride in your homeland.
0:37
Visoko is now a thriving city, but nearby lies the Old Town of Visoki, a medieval village
0:43
crowned by a 14th century castle. Tourists come for the ruins, but you’ve always been
0:48
fascinated by them. They’re a glimpse back to a time when this village was a proud royal haven.
0:53
But it’s not the only thing that fascinates people.
0:55
Visoki is surrounded by a collection of hills, each rising hundreds of feet
0:59
into the sky. Visocica Hill stands out at 720 feet (219 meters), one of the most prominent
1:04
landmarks in the valley. Nearby, smaller hills like Pljesevica rise over 350 feet (107 meters).
1:09
These aren’t just tall.
1:11
They’re… strangely uniform.
1:13
Locals say they look more like pyramids than natural hills. Impossible…right? If
1:18
they really were pyramids, they would be the largest in the world. The Great Pyramid of
1:22
Giza is under 500 feet (152 meters), more than 200 feet (61 meters) shorter than Visocica.
1:26
People have speculated for decades, but no one has confirmed anything.
1:30
You intend to change that. You decide to take the next
1:33
month off from farming. A friend agrees to watch the land while you head into the hills.
1:37
The hills - or pyramids - are buried beneath thick vegetation. Forests climb their slopes, branches
1:43
and roots tangled together. Anyone exploring them would struggle to see anything unusual. From a
1:48
distance, they look completely natural. But maybe that’s the point.
1:51
You grew up reading the works of Semir Osmanagic, a Bosnian businessman, author,
1:56
and archaeology enthusiast. When you dig into his works, you’re swept away to a magical past. Bosnia
2:02
was the cradle of civilization, building massive structures that the world had never seen before.
2:07
Now, that history lies buried under millennia of natural growth, waiting to be discovered.
2:12
Many have tried, all have come back empty-handed.
2:15
You… you are different.
2:17
The area is safe to explore, but it takes caution and resilience
2:21
to make it up the hills and do a thorough exploration.
2:24
As you head out with a hefty collection of supplies in your bags - climbing gear, food,
2:28
and water - you’re greeted with cheers from your village. Many of them are readers of Osmanagic.
2:33
Some have even wilder theories than yours. Could these pyramids hold ancient technology,
2:37
capable of harnessing the energies of the globe? Could they have been built by aliens?
2:41
There’s only one way to find out. Your mother warns you to be careful.
2:45
She worries about where these hills might lead you. Your father shakes his head and calls you a
2:49
fool. But nothing they say is enough to stop you. The pyramids await.
2:53
You’re far from the only person hiking Visocica. Trails wind all the way to the summit, and they’re
2:58
busy most days. Families out for a walk. Tourists carrying cameras. It’s considered one of the
3:03
easier mountain hikes in the region. Over the years, these paths have been searched again and
3:08
again for signs of the rumored pyramids. But every time, people find nothing.
3:13
As you begin your climb, you pass groups enjoying the view and stopping for photos. For a while,
3:17
you follow the same trail as everyone else. But not for long. Soon, you step off the path
3:21
and into the forest. And into the unknown.
3:24
If the mountain was actually a pyramid, it would have to have an opening. And that opening would
3:29
be near the bottom of the pyramid. Logic dictates that. That means you’ll be avoiding
3:33
the well-traveled routes headed to the summit. Instead, you’re concentrating the search on the
3:38
thick, forest-like base of the mountain. It’s a massive amount of ground to cover,
3:42
even on Visocica alone. But this is where you’ve chosen to begin.
3:46
If there really is a pyramid hidden here… why not start with the biggest?
3:50
The vegetation is thick, swallowing the hillside in tangled brush and trees.
3:54
Trail guides have warned you about the wildlife,
3:56
especially the brown bears. You make sure to give anything that moves a wide berth.
4:01
Your goal is simple, but exhausting.
4:03
Check every area that looks like plants hiding an opening. You use your machete
4:07
to strike the hillside, listening for any hollow sound beneath the surface.
4:12
It’s slow, painstaking work. And every time you come up empty,
4:16
your father’s voice echoes in your mind - calling you a fool - but you keep going.
4:21
You slash at the undergrowth…
4:23
And find a void. A dark space.
4:26
A hollow… or an entrance?
4:28
You grab a rock and toss it in. It doesn’t hit the ground. It keeps
4:32
falling. Then an echo returns, deep and cavernous. A chasm… could it really be?
4:37
All the fatigue in your body immediately melts away. Your machete bites through
4:41
the vegetation like fire. Soon, you’re crawling through narrow, muddy passages,
4:45
gravel crunching beneath your hands, dirt rubbing against your skin. Every
4:49
inch forward pulls you deeper into the unknown. Your flashlight bounces
4:52
off the sides of the tunnel. Eventually, the cramped passage opens up into a large chamber.
4:57
Then it hits you…
4:58
You’ve made history.
5:01
You’re in a massive atrium, carved entirely from stone. It must be thousands of years old. The
5:06
walls are covered in intricate designs, remnants of a civilization almost forgotten. At the center,
5:12
massive stone structures point toward the sky, perfectly aligned, impossible to ignore. You
5:17
can’t imagine the work it would have taken to build this… if it was even made by human hands.
5:22
None of this makes sense. At least, not yet.
5:25
You pull out the paint you brought and begin marking your path back from the pyramid,
5:29
leaving a trail for the next explorers. The secrets of this incredible site will be unraveled
5:33
by those with greater knowledge of the region… You’ve uncovered Bosnia’s greatest secret…
5:38
But what really happened in the hills is even stranger.
5:41
Could a story like this actually be true?
5:44
While other people are out digging for pyramids,
5:46
you’re already on the best adventure… watching from the comfort of your screen. Like, share,
5:51
and subscribe… it’s way easier than crawling through mud.
5:54
In recent years, many adventurers have set out from the Bosnian countryside,
5:58
searching for the country’s ancient past. All of them returned empty-handed,
6:02
but the attraction hasn’t faded. Interest in the mysterious pyramids of Bosnia has only grown…
6:07
and the secrets they hold remain untouched. Even the government has gotten in on the act,
6:12
promoting books about the theory. Their efforts have drawn more and more people into the idea that
6:16
Bosnia and Herzegovina might be home to one of the greatest hidden wonders of the Ancient World.
6:21
It all started with one man.
6:23
Semir Osmanagic grew up in the Bosnia and Herzegovina region of Yugoslavia. But as the
6:28
1992 war broke out, he departed for Texas where he made his fortune in metal manufacturing. Now
6:33
the founder of his own company, he returned home and put his wealth towards rebuilding
6:37
his shattered country post-independence. One of his big ideas was designing an archaeological
6:42
park that would bring in tourism. Osmanagic was a huge fan of pyramids, and he founded
6:48
the Bosnian Pyramids of the Sun foundation to make people aware of these archaeological icons.
6:53
There was just one problem.
6:56
No one was sure if they were pyramids.
6:58
In 2005, Osmanagic made his first visit to Visocica and its nearby fortress. The symmetrical,
7:05
pyramid-like shape of the mountain was incredibly clear to him. He soon published
7:08
a book claiming that the hill - and the smaller ones surrounding the city - were all part of an
7:13
ancient pyramid network that was connected by an elaborate tunnel structure. The country was
7:18
still recovering from the chaos of the breakup of Yugoslavia and the brutal wars that followed.
7:23
This wild revelation brought hope and excitement to the population.
7:26
And the scientists followed.
7:28
Early skeptics were quick to point out that Osmanagic had no scientific or archaeological
7:33
background. He was, at best, an extremely dedicated enthusiast. They argued his connection
7:38
to the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences was little more than a pay-to-play arrangement.
7:43
But that didn’t stop the claims from gaining momentum in a hurry. The possibility of an
7:47
ancient pyramid hiding under the mountains was enough to bring in local geologists.
7:51
They quickly began digging up core samples to see if it was truly a hill… or something more.
7:57
And then they found something… A mystery that has refused to die.
8:02
On the surface, the makeup of the hill was mundane. It was primarily composed
8:06
of sedimentary rock, natural clay, and sandstone. But some of the cracked
8:10
sandstone plates raised speculation that they could have been part of construction
8:15
material. It wasn’t long before the scientific community was debating the site, and most of
8:19
them quickly came down against Osmanagic’s claims. A year after his initial theory and
8:24
his book, 21 scientists and historians condemned the theory as a likely hoax.
8:29
But that did nothing to quiet the claims.
8:31
According to most geologists, the hills are what are known as flatirons, land formations shaped
8:37
over millennia by natural forces. Their steep slopes and sharp angles make them resistant to
8:42
erosion. Flatirons typically have wide bases and triangular shapes,
8:45
giving them an appearance similar to pyramids. They’re found all over the world,
8:49
from Ethiopia to Colorado, often clustered together as obvious mountain ranges.
8:54
To believers like Osmanagic, the Bosnian hills are different.
8:57
They claim the hills stand alone. They are separate from each other,
9:01
rising individually and forming shapes that almost demand to be called pyramids.
9:05
And some people have an investment in keeping the debate going.
9:09
Osmanagic has been roundly condemned by these scientists as being interested in nothing but
9:14
financially promoting the area. And if that was the case, he’s not working hard
9:18
to dispel it. He renamed the hills, giving the two biggest the names “Pyramid of the
9:23
Sun” and “Pyramid of the Moon”. The others are named after “Love”, “Earth”, and “The Dragon”.
9:28
The Bosnian government has been all in on this.
9:31
Bosnia and Herzegovina has come a long way since the brutal wars of the 1990s,
9:35
but the country is still struggling. The country’s GDP is just over $10,000 per
9:40
capita as of 2026 according to the IMF. That puts it around 109th worldwide and towards
9:45
the low end of Europe’s countries. Many Balkan countries are in a similar state,
9:49
and a new tourist attraction would be very welcome. As a result, the
9:53
government regularly promotes Osmanagic’s lore, and schoolchildren are frequently taken on field
9:58
trips to see the pyramids for themselves. And that might be having an impact.
10:02
But not one that Osmanagic wanted.
10:04
From the start, Osmanagic claimed that his project was a massive success. Before 2006,
10:10
the hills were little more than a scenic vista for hiking. But a year later, they were reportedly
10:15
attracting 200,000 tourists. Osmanagic was seeking investments from around the world to build up
10:20
a massive park detailing the supposed history of the area. While tourism today isn’t what it
10:26
used to be, there is still a brisk business for souvenir sellers around the mountains.
10:30
But this might all be coming at a cost.
10:32
Today, the mountains have been heavily affected by tourism, with heavy traffic
10:36
wearing down many of the paths. One mountain has even been reshaped by the frequent excavations,
10:41
making it look more like a stepped pyramid. This only increases the theories that this is what it
10:46
originally looked like thousands of years ago. Archaeologists continue to raise concerns about
10:50
the environmental and historical impact. There are also fears about potential damage to the castle
10:56
ruins nearby. These worries have led to urgent pleas for the government to shut the project down.
11:01
But the man behind it all isn’t slowing down.
11:04
One of the most controversial parts of Osmanagic’s quest - as well as the one that intrigues many
11:09
people the most - is that his claims only get wilder with time. If these truly were pyramids,
11:15
then there’s one big question here: who built them, and why? He points to the Ravne Tunnels,
11:21
a structure near the base of the hill complex, and claims that they’re the remnants of the ancient
11:25
tunnel network. As for the date, he claims to have found fossilized leaves that have
11:30
been there since 34,000 years ago, far beyond anything that historians believe was possible.
11:35
And if that sounds outlandish, wait till you hear what the pyramids were supposedly made for.
11:41
The pyramids reach toward the sky, and Osmanagic believes they were designed
11:44
to create ‘Standing Waves’, a type of cosmic energy. According to him,
11:49
this energy could enable faster-than-light travel or even allow communication across the stars.
11:55
And if that sounds like something humans would never be able to do, you’re right.
11:59
Osmanagic has promoted the idea that the pyramids
12:01
were built by visitors from the stars, known as “Ancient Astronauts”. He also
12:06
believes that they were responsible for seeding human beings on Earth.
12:09
It might sound ridiculous, but that won’t stop it.
12:12
You only have to look at the American Southwest to see just how much the idea of aliens,
12:16
or ancient history far beyond human existence, fascinates people. Much like towns like Roswell
12:22
have turned into tourist attractions, the same seems to be the destiny of Visocica Hill and
12:26
its fellow mountains. As the archaeologists shake their heads and the geologists appeal to reason,
12:31
Osmanagic may have tapped into something more powerful than reason.
12:35
It’s the power of imagination that insists there must be something out there.
12:39
Maybe it’s already here. You've seen how imagination
12:43
can turn hills into legends… but what about feats humans supposedly couldn’t achieve? To find out,
12:48
watch ‘Was it Impossible for Humans to Build The Pyramids?’ Or click on this video instead.
