The Bosnian archaeologist is known as the ‘Indiana Jones’ of his country.

The rock would demonstrate the existence of a lost advanced civilization dating back more than 1,500 years. | Source: Reuters

This discovery has sparked controversy among archaeologists. | Source: Reuters

Semir Osmanagic is known as “the Bosnian Indiana Jones.” | Source: Reuters

A giant round rock was discovered in a forest near the Bosnian town of Zavidovici. The sphere has a radius close to 1.5 meters and an “extremely high” iron content.

Bosnian archaeologist Semir Osmanagic, who discovered the rock, pointed out that it could have been made by the hand of man and would demonstrate the existence of a lost advanced civilization dating back more than 1,500 years.

His colleague Sam Osmanagich noted that the region where the rock was found used to have more of these spheres. However, many were destroyed in the 1970s, due to rumors that there was gold hidden inside.

Semir Osmanagic is not new to the world of archaeology. His name hit the headlines in 2005 when he claimed that a group of hills in Bosnia’s Visoko Valley was the site of ancient pyramids linked to a network of underground tunnels.

From that moment on he was known as “the Bosnian Indiana Jones.” Although his statements were mocked by his colleagues, his country’s government gave him financial support to carry out excavations in the region.

The president of the European ᴀssociation of Archaeologists, Anthony Harding, described the excavation at Visoko as “total absurdity”.

“There is some genuine archeology on the hill and I am told it is medieval, possibly Bronze Age or Roman, but speculation that there could be a 12,000 year old structure underneath is complete fantasy and anyone with knowledge basics of archeology or history would notice,” he said.

His latest discovery, that of the giant ball, has once again sparked controversy among archaeologists.

Mandy Edwards, from the University of Manchester’s School of Earth, Atmospheric Studies and Environmental Sciences, told MailOnline that the rock could not have been man-made. As she explained, the rock was formed by the “precipitation of natural mineral cement into the spaces between sediment grains, a process known as concretion.”