The mysterious metal column found standing inexplicably in a remote part of Utah’s desert last month was knocked down and dismantled by a group of men who considered it “trash,” according to a photographer who documented the object’s demise.
As images of the object gleaming amid dusty red rocks spread online, many noted a vague resemblance to the so-called “monoliths” in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, prompting strained jokes about a possibly extraterrestrial origin.
But photographer Ross Bernards posted images to Instagram on Monday of what he said were the object’s final moments that show there is nothing especially alien about the technology behind the sculpture: it appeared to be sheets of metal riveted to a hollow wooden scaffold.
The object soon fell with a loud bang, and the men made quick work of breaking it apart and carting it off in wheelbarrows, Bernards wrote.
“Leave no trace,” one of the men told Bernards and his friends.
The US Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the desert where the object was found, said last week it was not investigating because it considered the object private property, and so a matter for the local sheriff.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s office did not respond to questions on Tuesday, but said in a statement earlier this week it “did not have the proper resources to devote much time” to the object’s arrival or disappearance.
This article was first published in Asia One . All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
