'Utah Monolith' Removed under Cover of Night While Similar Structure Appears in Romania

The monolith found in southeastern Utah, which stands between 10 and 12 feet tall. (Utah Department of Public Safety) — The monolith found in southeastern Utah, which stands between 10 and 12 feet tall. *(Utah Department of Public Safety)*

Updated 12/3/20

Photographer Ross Bernards recently shared a series of images taken on November 27th to Instagram, one of which shows a group of men removing what has become known as the ‘Utah Monolith’ from its resting place in a slot canyon in southeastern Utah.

The photo, taken at around 8:40 pm, features four men dismantling the monolith before carting away its remains.

The anonymous men removing the monolith. (Ross Bernards / Instagram) — The anonymous men removing the monolith. *(Ross Bernards / Instagram)*

According to Bernards,

If you’re interested in what exactly happened to the monolith keep reading because I was literally there. On Friday, three friends and myself drove the six hours down to the middle of nowhere in Utah and got to the “trailhead” around 7 pm after passing a sea of cars on our way in.
We passed one group as we hiked towards the mysterious monolith, while another group was there when we arrived, and they left pretty quick after we got there. For the next hour and 40 minutes we had the place to ourselves.
I had just finished taking some photos of the monolith under the moonlight and was taking a break, thinking about settings I needed to change for my last battery of drone flight when we heard some voices coming up the canyon. We were contemplating packing up our things as they walked up, so they could enjoy it for themselves like we did. At this point I looked down at my watch and it was 8:40 pm.
Four guys rounded the corner and two of them walked forward. They gave a couple of pushes on the monolith and one of them said “You better have got your pictures.” He then gave it a big push, and it went over, leaning to one side. He yelled back to his other friends that they didn’t need the tools. The other guy with him at the monolith then said “this is why you don’t leave trash in the desert.” Then all four of them came up and pushed it almost to the ground on one side, before they decided [to] push it back the other when it then popped out and landed on the ground with a loud bang. They quickly broke it apart and as they were carrying [it] to the wheelbarrow that they had brought one of them looked back at us all and said “Leave no trace.” That was at 8:48 [pm].
If you’re asking why we didn’t stop them well, they were right to take it out. We stayed the night and the next day hiked to a hilltop overlooking the area where we saw at least 70 different cars (and a plane) in and out. Cars parking everywhere in the delicate desert landscape. Nobody following a path or each other. We could literally see people trying to approach it from every direction to try and reach it, permanently altering the untouched landscape. Mother Nature is an artist, it’s best to leave the art in the wild to her.

The structure’s baseplate was left behind by the men.

An image of the indentation left by the object and its baseplate, shared by the Utah Bureau of Land Management on November 28th. (BLM / ADJohnson) — An image of the indentation left by the object and its baseplate, shared by the Utah Bureau of Land Management on November 28th. *(BLM / ADJohnson)*

The following day, the Utah Bureau of Land Management released a statement confirming that the monolith had been removed by “an unknown party.”

"We have received credible reports that the illegally installed structure, referred to as the 'monolith' has been removed from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands by an unknown party," the statement read. "The BLM did not remove the structure which is considered private property. We do not investigate crimes involving private property which are handled by the local sheriff’s office. The structure has received international and national attention and we received reports that a person or group removed it on the evening of [November] 27."

The ‘Utah Monolith’ first received widespread attention after the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) Aero Bureau revealed they'd discovered it on November 18th while working with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to "conduct a count of big horn sheep in a portion of southeastern Utah.” Although, Google Earth image results show that it’s been present in that location since at least August 2015.

According to the DPS, while conducting the mission, crew members "spotted an unusual object and landed nearby to investigate further," finding a "metal monolith installed in the ground in a remote area of red rock."

There appeared to be no obvious indication of who might have put the monolith there, said the crew.

The DPS did not disclose the location of the monolith, "since it is in a very remote area and if individuals were to attempt to visit the area, there is a significant possibility they may become stranded and require rescue."

However, once the story went viral, it didn't take long for amateur internet sleuths to determine its position.

Since that time, a number of hypotheses have been offered by interested parties on the internet to explain the monolith’s presence—including, of course, it having been planted there by extraterrestrials, similarly to the monolith present in the science fiction classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Given the mundane materials used in its construction, other speculations regarding the monolith as an art installation seem more likely, although so far the person or persons responsible remain unidentified.

The popularity of the mystery behind the monolith led to increasing numbers of people searching the desert for it, something which proved destructive to the otherwise untouched wilderness in that area.

“We recognize the incredible interest the ‘monolith’ has generated world-wide. Many people have been enjoying the mystery and view it as a welcome distraction from the 2020 news cycle,” Monticello Field Manager Amber Denton Johnson said. “Even so, it was installed without authorization on public lands and the site is in a remote area without services for the large number of people who now want to see it. Whenever you visit public lands please follow Leave No Trace principles and Federal and local laws and guidance.”

Along with the statement by Johnson, Utah BLM shared photographs of tire tracks and litter that had been left in the desert soil.

The destruction of the crust of desert soil can have devastating effects on the ecosystem, since it is essential for fixing nitrogen, a critical plant nutrient, and preventing erosion which can contribute to dust storms.

With BLM saying that they didn’t remove the monolith, it becomes increasingly likely that it was taken by private citizens concerned about the local ecosystem’s welfare.

The same day that the Utah Monolith was taken, another, similar monolith was reported in Romania.

The monolith recently found in Romania. (Bâtca Doamnei, Neamț) — The monolith recently found in Romania. *(Bâtca Doamnei, Neamț)*

According to a local news outlet, the monolith was found "on the plateau of Bâtca Doamnei near the archeological site of the old Dacian fortress Petrodava."

It is a "metal structure," about 10 to 13 feet high, is stuck in the ground, and "looks empty inside." Like the Utah Monolith, this one has a “triangular prism shape,” and those responsible for erecting it have yet to be identified.

The Romanian Monolith “disappeared overnight as quietly as it was erected last week,” journalist Robert Iosub, from the Ziar Piatra Neamt newspaper, said on December 1st. “Now all that remains is just a small hole covered by rocky soil.”

Another monolith closely resembling the previous two was discovered the next morning, December 2nd, at the top of Atascadero’s Pine Mountain in California.

The newly erected monolith in California. (The Atascadero News) — The newly erected monolith in California. *(The Atascadero News)*

This latest structure has the same triangular prism shape as the others, and is 10 feet tall and 18 inches wide. It appears to have been welded together at the corners with rivets, similarly to the object found in Utah. Its top does not show any signs of welding and appears to be hollow, as is potentially the bottom.

Unlike its predecessors, the Atascadero Monolith is not set deeply into the ground, and could be knocked over with a firm push—its estimated weight being only about 200 pounds.

These developments would seem to indicate a growing trend in placing the monoliths around areas that are just out of the way enough to operate within in secret, but not so remote that they aren’t found quickly. It is currently unknown if there is any communication between the parties placing the monoliths, all of whom remain unidentified.

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