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The Sun Daily A team of Malaysian archaeologists has been asked to undertake fresh excavations at the ancient "Pyramid of the Sun" in Bosnia, believed to be the largest man made pyramid in the world. 
The team from USM's Centre for Global Archaeological Research (CGAR) recently returned after conducting a preliminary survey of the gigantic 220m high structure, which resembles a triangular symmetrical mountain overlooking the Visoko valley.CGAR director, Assoc Prof Dr Mokhtar Saidin, described the pyramid, known for its awesome size and geometric shape, as one the world's biggest mysteries. "The Bosnian authorities have asked us to provide our expertise and training in excavation to help determine further the exact nature of the place," he said today. The centre is now preparing three more excursions to the site, known as Visocica Hill, beginning July 7, July 31 and Sept 19 respectively. The excavation project at the foot of the pyramid's northern side is being led by CGAR associate professor Dr Stephen Chia, and will involve CGAR staff and archaeology students of USM. The team's main work consists of measuring, recording, drawing and labelling the area. They will also prepare a 3-dimensional reconstruction of the section of the pyramid and publish a scientific paper. Meanwhile, CGAR archaeologists recently also uncovered a new site related to the Bujang Valley historical area in Kedah, which features ancient furnaces once used for smelting of iron. The exact age of the new site, located in Jeniang, Kedah, about 30km away from the main archaeological centre in Sungai Batu, is still being ascertained, Mokhtar said. "The seven furnaces, equipped with nozzles for flames, in this area indicate that the Bujang valley civilisation was spread over a much larger area than previously believed," he said. New estimates now show that the settlement, whose earliest record dates back to about 1,900 years ago, covered an area of about 1,000 sq km, mostly around the Gunung Jerai mountain, and not just 400 sq km as previously believed. "Villagers near the Jeniang site have told us that they have seen some other similar structures, and so we hope to expand our discoveries in this area," he said. Bujang Valley was one of several Indianised kingdoms in Southeast Asia, and existed long before neighbouring empires such as Majapahit (1200 AD) and Sri Vijaya (700 AD). Its disappearance remains a mystery till today.
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