Fifth mysterious monolith discovered in the Netherlands

‘It was just as if it was placed from above,’ finder says

A monolith stands on a Stadium Park hillside in Atascadero in California

(AP)

Yet another metal monolith has been discovered – this time in a Dutch nature reserve, overlooking an icy puddle.

The structures have stolen headlines around the world since one was first discovered in the Utah desert by state officials as they counted sheep from a helicopter.

While the initial statue was removed by “an unknown party” just days later on 28 November, apparent copycats then appeared on a Californian mountaintop, and a hillside in Romania.

But these did not last long either. 

The Romanian statue disappeared mysteriously overnight after four days, while the Californian monolith quickly fell foul of an enraged group of Christian conspiracy theorists, who drove for five hours to tear it down and replace it with a cross, in order to “tell the alien overlords they are not welcome”.

But in recent days the mystery has continued, with at least two more of the statues having been discovered by walkers – on an Isle of Wight beach and in a Netherlands nature reserve.

And, while officials are yet to confirm its existence, reports emerged on Monday of a golden monolith appearing in Colombia.

In the Netherlands, local media reported that there were no footprints leading up to the steel object, and it is unclear how the statue arrived in the Kiekenberg reserve, near the town of Oudehorne.

The broadcaster Omrop Fryslân speculated that the statue may have been there for some time, as ice had formed around it.

“It was a big shiny metal thing,” Thijs de Jong told the broadcaster. “I walked up to it, but there was nothing to be seen around the monolith. It was just as if it was placed from above. It certainly took two or more people to place it there.”

While it cannot yet be said who is responsible for each of the monoliths, the Most Famous Artist collective in Sante Fe has claimed credit for the two statues found in the US, and is selling three replicas for $45,000 (£34,000) each.

Meanwhile, fans of Arthur C Clarke’s Space Odyssey series and Stanley Kubrick’s on-screen depiction have noted their resemblance to monolith-like structures around which the extraterrestrial plot centres.

Furthermore, De Telegraaf noted that some have suggested the discovery in the Netherlands could have been a prop left behind from the filming of Westworld, which was shot nearby.

Religious philosopher and UFO expert, Taede Smedes, was quoted as saying by the paper that he and his associates believe it likely to be a marketing stunt or an art project.

Read more: Why are mysterious monuments appearing across the globe?

“It may of course be the case that there are copycats who want to participate in the success [of the first statue],” Mr Smedes said. “Or there is someone behind with a lot of money and we hear next week that this is an announcement for a new movie or something from McDonalds.”