Noah's Ark or Bosnian Pyramids?

Ok, I've been letting this Bosnian Pyramid thing slide because Hot Cup of Joe and Science & Politics have already commented and provided additional de-bunking links. It's clearly not professional archaeology. Although apparently that doesn't matter as the media seems to ascribe a high degree of credibility to the term "amatuer", at least when it comes to archaeology. From the NY Times article cited above:

Mr. Osmanagic, an amateur archaeologist, is convinced that he has discovered a huge ancient pyramid that will rewrite the history of Europe

There can be no such thing as an "amateur" archaeologist, anymore than there can be amateur surgeons or amateur nuclear physicists. Granted, they won't kill people if they screw up, but the magnitude of their mistakes is just as distructive to the discipline and the resource. We have strict laws against "amateurs" excavating archaeological sites and with good reason: invaluable data are invariably lost if professionals aren't directing the process. Osmanagic may simply be digging nothing but dirt in his quest. But there may also be valuable archaeological sites in his way. If he's destroying legitimate archaeological resources in the process of searching for a fantasy pyramid, then he should be jailed for the wanton destruction of antiquities.

Mark Rose at Archaeology has another discussion of this issue, and a quote by Curtis Runnels, a specialist in the prehistory of Greece and the Balkans at Boston University, beautifully sums up what's wrong with whole Bosnian Pyramid thing:

"These reports are irresponsible on the part of journalists," he says. "These claims are completely unsupported with any kind of factual evidence, such as artifacts or photographs of the alleged architectures. They have not been confirmed by archaeologists who have the training and competence to evaluate them. The person making the claims appears to have no training in archaeology and has not presented his finds in a way that would allow them to be scrutinized by trained experts. This is simply sensationalism and grandstanding and the journalists who have reported on these claims, without first fact-checking the stories with professional archaeologists, should be ashamed of themselves. People who believe these stories, especially when they are presented without evidence, are fools."

Same applies to the search for Noah's Ark...or Carl Baugh's footprints...or Intelligent Design.