A second mysterious Romanian monolith, very similar to the one recently uncovered in Utah, has now vanished without a trace.
According to the Daily Mail, the enigmatic structure (which resembles the alien monolith found in the classic sci-fi movie 2001: A Space Odyssey) was discovered perched on BatcaDoamnei Hill in the city of Piatra Neamt, situated in Romania's Neamt County over the weekend.
But according to Reuters, the shiny 10-foot-high metal Romanian monolith has now disappeared from its original resting place without explanation.
Georgiana Mosu, a spokeswoman for Piatra Neamt police, told Reuters that officers are conducting an inquiry into the illegally-installed structure, and believe it to be wholly terrestrial in origin due to the quality of its craftsmanship.
Meanwhile, per The Mail, Neamt Culture and Heritage official Rocsana Josanu commented on the strange structure before it disappeared, stating:
"We have started looking into the strange appearance of the monolith. It is on private property, but we still don't know who the monolith's owner is yet. It is in a protected area on an archaeological site."
"Before installing something there, they needed permission from our institution, one that must then be approved by the Ministry of Culture."
The first so-called monolith, a four-meter (12ft) high metal block, went viral on social media last week, with a number of Twitter users speculating on its "true" origins.
Commenting on the Utah-based structure, a Utah Bureau of Land Management spokesperson stated:
Some vloggers even filmed themselves visiting the first monolith before it vanished:"Although we can't comment on active investigations, the Bureau of Land Management would like to remind public land visitors that using, occupying, or developing the public lands or their resources without a required authorization is illegal, no matter what planet you are from."
The spokesperson added: "The exact location of the installation is not being disclosed 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."
The Bureau later revealed that the monolith had disappeared from the site in a statement posted on Facebook, writing:
"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."
They added: "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."
