Tunnels to the Sun: Exploring the Mysterious Ravne Tunnels in Bosnia

In 2005, Dr. Semir Osmanagich discovered the Bosnian pyramids in the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a small town called Visoko. He found five pyramids which he called the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun, Moon, Dragon, Love, and the Temple of Mother Earth.

In addition, he found a tunnel, called Ravne, which is 2.5 kilometers (1.55 miles) from the Bosnian Sun pyramid. When the Ravne tunnel network was first discovered, people called it a cave as it looked like a hole in a hill. However, this would later become one of the most mysterious tunnels in the world.

The entrance to the Ravne tunnels in 2006. Credit: Amer Smailbegovic.

Materials in the Ravne Tunnels

When the Ravne tunnels were first discovered, one could only enter for some meters. The tunnel was filled with a loose material which had a brownish color and was very soft. This is called the “filling material.” The walls of the tunnels were made of conglomerate and it seemed like someone dug through this conglomerate many years ago. The conglomerate has a different color and texture than the filling material.

Many that are against the Bosnian pyramid project claim that the foundation Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun, is making these tunnels themselves. However, this is not true, as one can clearly see by studying the different materials. If the foundation was digging the tunnels, then only one material would be found – and that material would be the conglomerate. However, the foundation is following the filling material and excavating it. There are two different materials in the Ravne tunnels

Two of the main tunnels. The filling material is in the middle, while the walls, which are the conglomerate, are on the sides. Picture taken in 2011. Author provided.

Not only that, but there are also dry walls in the tunnels which block the different side tunnels halfway. Almost every place that there is dry wall there is also a side tunnel with filling material which only leaves some centimeters of empty space at the top. There are several side tunnels with different dry walls that are found in the underground site. In summary, there is evidence that some cultures or civilizations were involved in the creation of the Ravne tunnels – they are not naturally made.

A typical side tunnel in Ravne. In front you have the dry wall. Behind there is the filling material and on the sides are the walls, which are the conglomerate. Author provided.

A Gold Mine of the Middle Ages?

There are many hypotheses regarding the Ravne tunnels and its purpose. Several people argue that the tunnels were mines and probably from the Middle Ages. The most common hypothesis is that these were gold mines.

This hypothesis can be easily proven wrong; one just has to study the different materials discovered in the tunnels. To this day, no gold, silver, glass etc. have been found in Ravne. In fact, the Ravne tunnels have almost no materials that were important in the Middle Ages.

Some people also state that these were more modern mines. However, in more recent times, people were mining for coal, and again, there is no coal to be found in Ravne. The materials that are found in Ravne are often conglomerate, sandstone, clay, quartz crystal etc.

People in the Middle Ages did not use their time and efforts to mine for these materials. Furthermore, if this was a gold mine from the Middle Ages, there would have been some historical records about it, but none have been found. Plus, gold would probably have been found in Ravne at some point during excavations, but to this day no gold has been located in the tunnels.

A Mysterious Oil Lamp

In 2012, volunteers made a discovery in one of the tunnel sections in Ravne. It appeared to be an oil lamp from the 17th century. The oil lamp was on top of the filling material and on one side of the tunnel.

This shows that someone entered the Ravne tunnels not so long ago. In my opinion, those who entered the tunnels did not enter from the entrance that was discovered by Dr. Osmanagich in 2006 because that entrance had some halfway closed tunnels. One may say than that the Ravne tunnels have multiple entrances which are connected to each other. One of these tunnels, which could be a new entrance, is the Ravne 2 tunnel, which was discovered in 2015.

The Ravne 2 tunnel. Author provided.

Nevertheless, the question remains: what did people do in the tunnels? Many would say that the lamp is evidence for the gold mine theory, but as I have already argued, these were not some kind of gold mines or mines from recent times. In my opinion, those who left the oil lamp were probably exploring the tunnels.

In fact, after the Middle Ages people were often exploring sites in the hopes of finding treasure. So, someone could have found the other entrance to the tunnels and excavated the filling material, went in some meters, and not found any good materials for their time. He/she could have later filled in the tunnels with the same filling material that was in the tunnels, probably to hide the fact that someone entered the tunnels in the first place.

While doing all this, the person forgot about the oil lamp. He/she perhaps did this in secrecy, because they did not want rumors to be spread. If this was a secret, then the individual would get everything if he/she found something good, and there would be no competition with other explorers.

Later, this entrance could have been eroded and destroyed and therefore no one has found that entrance again so far. All this makes sense, because in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries people were often looking for treasures, mostly because they wanted to get rich. Often rumors would have been spread that there was gold at ancient places, and individuals would go there, sometimes destroying artifacts, in the hopes of finding gold.

A good example of this is the stone spheres of Costa Rica, where many spheres were destroyed because rumors spread that there were gold and other treasures inside them. Therefore, the section where the oil lamp was discovered could have been an exploration tunnel from more recent times.

The oil lamp that was discovered in Ravne in 2012. Author provided.

Oxygen Tunnels

If there are multiple entrances that are leading to the Ravne tunnels, which I am sure that there are, it would make sense that the creators made various side tunnels. Perhaps they made different sections of the tunnels as well. Each and every entrance has their own section of tunnels. If the tunnels are going to the Bosnian Sun pyramid, then there are probably also different entrances and sections in the Ravne tunnels.

Now, some side tunnels are very small for humans to enter, even if one excavates the filling material. Some of the side tunnels could be some kind of oxygen tunnels. No matter how deep one goes, one will have excellent breathing conditions. If one goes to a mine, then this would not be true. This could indicate that there are many oxygen tunnels in Ravne and removing the filling material would only make the oxygen stronger.

These oxygen tunnels could lead outside by making small holes in a hill. When there are many tunnels like this, then there would be great airflow and an increase in oxygen. Furthermore, in all of the side tunnels, there is an empty space on the top, for a few centimeters. Maybe the tunnels’ creators made this so that the oxygen flow would not be destroyed. However, this hypothesis still needs much more research.

One of the side tunnels in Ravne. Here you have a fine example of the conglomerate, which are the walls, and the filling material in the middle. Author provided.

Rabbit Holes and Dry Walls

One of the most interesting tunnels is the tunnel that leads to the K5 megalith, which was discovered in 2013. At one point, there are six side tunnels, separated by a few meters. This also disproves the mine hypothesis because there is no way that someone would mine six tunnels that are going in the same direction.

Ravne tunnels map from 2013. The six tunnels are in the middle of the marked circle. Author provided.

Some of these six side tunnels could have been oxygen tunnels and they could also lead to new entrances. If there is a new entrance, then these tunnels could have been new sections of tunnels, leading to the tunnels we are excavating today. This suggests that no matter where you excavate, you will find even more tunnels.

The megalith K5. Author provided.

A fine example of halfway open tunnels in Ravne are the tunnels that are called the ‘’Rabbit Hole.’’ These tunnels were mostly explored in 2014, and it seems like they are a network. Now, many people argue that the tunnels are natural, perhaps made by water.

However, the ‘’Rabbit Hole’’ shows that there is human-intervention involved because nature does not shape tunnels that are half-circular and with the same size for many meters. In addition to half-open tunnels, there are also different side tunnels in the same section. The purpose of the ‘’Rabbit Hole’’ tunnel is unknown. Are these the oxygen-tunnels? Or tunnels that are leading to another entrance? There is no doubt that ‘’Rabbit Hole’’ tunnels need a lot more research.

The ‘’Rabbit Hole’’ tunnel. Notice the circular formation. Author provided.

Dry walls are often present when a side tunnel occurs. The reason why the tunnels’ creators made these dry walls is a difficult question to answer. Perhaps they wanted to separate the different tunnels with these dry walls and prevent the filling material from falling into another section of tunnels. This would be logical, if they really wanted to separate the tunnels into different parts. In order to conclude anything, the dry walls need more research as well.

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One of the dry walls in Ravne. Behind the dry wall is a new tunnel. Author provided.

Purpose of the Raven Tunnels

So the question arises once again. What were the Ravne tunnels used for? In my opinion, the Ravne tunnels were ancient mines. The first civilization who built the pyramids came and dug the conglomerate, making these tunnels, and using this material for the concrete blocks on the Bosnian Sun pyramid.

However, there is not enough conglomerate in Ravne to build or shape a structure which is 220 meters (721.79 ft.) in height. Therefore, they probably went to other places near Ravne, to take more conglomerate for the Sun pyramid. If one studies the blocks on the Bosnian Sun pyramid, one can see that they consist of clay and conglomerate.

Some blocks that can be found on the Bosnian Sun pyramid. Author provided.

The Visoko area has a lot of clay, and the most common theory is that the pyramid’s builders took this clay and combined it with the Ravne conglomerate to make the concrete blocks for the Sun pyramid. This makes a direct link between the Sun pyramid and Ravne. In addition, while collecting this conglomerate, they made a tunnel that is going to the Sun pyramid, perhaps because they wanted to connect the Sun pyramid and other places underground. More and more evidence is being found that indicates that it was for energetic purposes too.

The Bosnian Sun pyramid. Author provided.

Later on, another civilization or culture came and filled all these tunnels with the filling material. They placed the dry walls to prevent the filling material from going to other sections and so the tunnels have their original form (just a hypothesis). Why they filled in these tunnels, is still unknown. The oil lamp proves that someone entered these tunnels later on, but did not find anything interesting and therefore left the tunnels.

Summing it Up

Presented here is a look into the Ravne tunnels and some hypotheses about them. In addition, I have looked into the different materials that can be found in the Ravne tunnels. The tunnels could have been some kind of ancient mines, but not gold mines or a mine in recent times.

In addition, one can see that the tunnels are not natural, but have a lot of human-intervention. One also knows that whoever was involved in the tunnels also had good knowledge about oxygen and how to construct tunnels in the best way.

In addition, I have also argued that there are multiple entrances to the tunnels. There is much more about the Ravne tunnels, than what is written in this article, but this is a possible understanding of the tunnels, which is very important to continue research on the site. There is no doubt that the tunnels still need more research and excavations to conclude anything. Therefore, there is a very exciting future in the Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids.