Mysterious monolith appears near ancient site in Turkey

ŞANLIURFA

A mysterious metallic monolith has turned up in Turkey’s southeastern province of Şanlıurfa.

The three-meter-high metal slab, resembling mysterious monoliths that have been popping up in several locations around the world, has now appeared near Göbeklitepe, a 12,000-year-old temple which recently became a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Security forces were called to the scene as curious locals sought to get a look at the monolith, which resembles a mysterious object which appeared in a desert in Utah in the U.S. and Romania last year, but then vanished.

Gendarmerie troops cordoned off the area, an empty land, and brought in experts from the local culture and tourism authorities.

Experts said the inscription on the slab, which was only 45 centimeters wide, was in the ancient Göktürk alphabet and meant “Look at the sky if you want to see the Moon.”

Fuat Demirdil, the owner of the land, told reporters that he noticed a metal block stuck in the ground when he came to his field and informed gendarmerie units.

Explaining that they were very anxious as the people of the neighborhood, Demirdil wanted the metal block to be removed from his land and to determine by whom it was brought to the area.

An investigation is underway to find out who installed the metal slab in the middle of the empty land.

Speaking to the reporters, Şanlıurfa Governor Abdullah Erdin said that the experts’ investigation continues.

“There is no information I can give you right now. The experts who are competent are doing their examination. An explanation will be made about what the object is in a short time,” Erdin said.

Similar alien-looking pillars were spotted in a Utah desert in the U.S. and later in Romania about three months ago.

They both disappeared after generating much excitement internationally among science-fiction fans, hearkening to Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film, “2001: A Space Odyssey,” based on a novel by Arthur C. Clarke.

In the Kubrick movie, an alien monolith is a recurring symbol that appears to play a role in the development of human evolution.

The origin of other monoliths remains unknown while rumors on social media claim they might be part of a marketing campaign for a show on a streaming service.