Where Did the Utah Monolith Come From?
Submitted by Andy_B on Friday, 04 December 2020 Page Views: 289
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Photo: Another mysterious monolith in the grounds of Hammersmith Hospital, London. You might be greeted with new bonus offers from online casinos. The likes of blackjack, poker and roulette have all become popular options on both desktop and mobile devices.
But back to the mysterious monolith. An online community of investigators has sprung up, positing all kinds of explanations for the monolith’s existence. Some say it’s an alien capsule put there by extra-terrestrials, others suggest it has been inspired by the cult classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey. More still believe it’s an avant-garde art piece like the one in our photo, right, by William Pye.
A remarkable discovery
News of the monolith’s existence first came to light when a helicopter containing wildlife officials were scouring the area for bighorn sheep. The pilot, Bret Hutchings, knew that he and his passengers had struck upon something special when a biologist on board spotted the enigmatic column.“He was like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, turn around, turn around!'. And I was like, 'What?'. And he's like, 'There's this thing back there - we've got to go look at it!” said Mr Hutchings, adding that it’s “been about the strangest thing that I've come across out there in all my years of flying.”
The discovery is all the more remarkable given that later analysis of satellite imagery revealed that the monolith has been in position for five years. Until now, it had been undetected due to its remote location and the fact that no-one has claimed credit for placing it there or alerted any of the authorities as to its existence.
Alien invasion or avant-garde art piece?
Since the news was made public, a variety of different theories have been suggested as to how the monolith came to be planted in the middle of the desert. Many commentators have put forward the idea that it could have been the work of an extra-terrestrial architect, although most of those have been in jest.Others have likened the structure to the strange black monoliths that featured prominently in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 cinematic classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey. As a result, some have speculated it could have been placed there by a super fan of the film with deep pockets and a penchant for the peculiar.
The most plausible theory, however, is that it’s simply the work of an avant-garde artist who favours intrigue over acclaim. Comparisons have been made to the work of the late minimalist John McCracken, although he died in 2011 and his estate have since confirmed it is nothing to do with him.
The plot thickens
To confuse things even further, the monolith vanished almost as abruptly as it appeared. While Utah authorities did try to keep the exact location of the structure a secret in order to deter people from attempting to visit it (and getting hopelessly lost in the process), some brave souls did manage to track the monolith down.However, the column was only in place for just over a week after its discovery. By the time intrepid explorers arrived at the spot where it had once stood on the evening of Friday 27th November, it had already disappeared. The police have confirmed they will not be investigating its current whereabouts.
And just when you thought things couldn’t get any stranger, another metal pillar was discovered in Romania the day before the Utah monolith disappeared. A shiny triangular monolith was discovered in the northern Romanian city of Piatra Neamt on Thursday 26th November, leaving experts and speculators alike scratching their heads in confusion. Where did these monoliths come from? Your guess is as good as ours.
