That mysterious metallic monolith that was spotted in the desert in Utah in mid-November has now disappeared, and another which looks terribly like it has suddenly appeared in Romania, some 9500kms away. Seems normal, and also fine.
The Utah monolith, which wasn’t claimed by any one specific party after it was discovered by local land management rangers on November 18, disappeared this week just as mysteriously as it appeared, and now another monolith that looks eerily like the Utah one has appeared in northern Romania.
The Daily Mail reported that the new structure was found on November 26 in the city of Piatra Neamt, on the Batca Doamnei Hill, with one side of it facing Mount Ceahlau, known to locals as the ‘Holy Mountain’. Much like the Utah monolith, Romanian authorities have no idea how it got there.
I swear to God if this is some kind of PR stunt I’m going to be profoundly unsurprised but very cross about it.
People have been quick to notice that the Romania monolith is not as much of a flat reflective piece as the Utah version, instead covered in rolling spirals – probably from the buffing process, but also maybe a message from aliens?
Wait… so the mysterious monolith disappears in Utah, next day comes up in ROMANIA?!?!?! pic.twitter.com/gQ09twTJDk
— Miguel Lozada (@MLozada) December 1, 2020
A seemingly random bloke named Spencer Owen (not the British YouTuber) was apparently one of the last people to see the Utah monolith before it disappeared with only its top triangle left behind, and literally had to take to his Instagram to confirm that he did not actually remove it himself. Sounds like something that the monolith thief would say, but okay.
Nobody is quite sure what the fuck these recurring structures are about (though some people have accused the one in Romania as being a copycat and actually unrelated to the Utah one) but there’s been plenty of theories about its origins and purpose.
Utah’s monolith has visible screws and seams, Romania’s looks like a sad art project with awful welding skills and some sort of texture clearly made with a sander typically seen on every apartment door in Bushwick. Aliens, please improve your buffering technique. Score 👽👽⚪⚪⚪ pic.twitter.com/SloeLr4YQJ
— Claudia Rojas (@Panterita) November 30, 2020
Some believe that it’s a viral marketing campaign to promote 2001: A Space Odyssey for some reason. But if that’s true then why have people only found evidence of it on Google’s satellite maps dating back to 2016 and not right back to the 60s when the film came out?
Others believe it might have been a prop leftover from the filming of Westworld, the HBO sci-fi series that filmed in the Moab desert area around the same time, which also feels plausible.
Even more people have theorised that it’s an artwork or homage to the late minimalist sculptor John McCraken, who was known for creating monolithic pieces similar to those in 2001.
Whether it was put in some time between 2015 and 2016, or was literally carved into the rock back in the 1950s is still up for debate (though I’d say it’d be the first one).
As a 2001: A Space Odyssey fanatic, I’m fascinated by the monolith they uncovered in Utah. Theory is it was planted in the 40’s or 50’s by some unknown artist as a homage to the monolithic art of John McCracken. He cut out the rock & embedded it where no one would see it. Right. pic.twitter.com/zmyzWQkJll
— Quillan Sprague (@QuillanSprague) November 25, 2020
Whatever these sudden arrivals of reflective things are, we can all agree they have nothing on the Fawkner Monolith that was found in Melbourne’s northern suburbs on Microsoft Flight Simulator.
In Microsoft Flight Simulator a bizarrely eldritch, impossibly narrow skyscraper pierces the skies of Melbourne’s North like a suburban Australian version of Half-Life 2’s Citadel, and I am -all for it- pic.twitter.com/6AH4xgIAWg
— Alexander Muscat linktr.ee/alexandermuscat (@alexandermuscat) August 19, 2020
Nothing but respect for my Monolithic President.
