New monolith: This time it’s in Britain’s Isle of Wright

Imitation structures sprang up in a Romanian forest and on a Californian mountaintop, but both disappeared as quickly as they arrived. Meanwhile, reports flooded in about a similar structure in the Netherlands this weekend.

The most recent ethereal offering was spotted on Compton Beach on the southwest coast of the Isle of the Wight on Sunday afternoon.

“My wife and I were walking our dog … on our favourite beach … and saw the monolith,” local resident Lee Peckham told CNN.

“We hadn’t heard about it at all but clearly others had as there were lots of people coming down to look at it,” he said.

A monolith stands on a Stadium Park hillside in Atascadero, California, on December 2. Credit: Kaytlyn Leslie/The Tribune of San Luis Obispo/AP

But just like with the other mysterious structures, residents aren’t quite sure where it came from.

“I don’t know how it got there and I’m not sure the locals have any good theories either! It’s more just quizzical amusement,” he told CNN.

A spokesman for the National Trust, which owns the section of the beach where the monolith was erected, told CNN that the organization did not know who put it up.

“We were unaware of the monolith’s presence until this morning, but we’ve now visited Compton Beach and it seems secure on a wooden plinth and is made from mirrored sections of plastic or perspex material,” the spokesman said in an email.

A mysterious monolith was placed in a red-rock in San Juan County southeastern Utah, before disappearing. Credit: Terrance Siemon/AP

“We are still assessing it so we have no immediate plans to remove it but of course we need to monitor over the next few days to ensure the beach remains safe and does not become overcrowded,” he added.

It is still unclear who is behind the erecting of the globetrotting silver pillars — but a Santa Fe-based art collective, The Most Famous Artist, had advertised a 10-foot structure for sale on its website for $45,000, now marked as sold.

CNN has emailed The Most Famous Artist to clarify if they were responsible for the Isle of Wight’s monolith.