A monolith has mysteriously appeared in Britain – just days after similar ones were spotted in the US and Romania.
The unusual mirrored structure was discovered on the Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England.
Resident Alexia Fishwick said she “was dumbstruck” when she came across it during a beach walk on Sunday and described it as “really quite magical”.
A monolith found in Utah last month created wild speculation on social media and apparent copycats.
Many observers have presumed they were art installations left by sculptors.
The metal edifice in Utah was found planted in the ground before it disappeared just days later.
Two other shining metal towers later appeared in Romania and southern California.
Ms Fishwick said: “I’d read about the one in Utah and then Romania, so I knew the significance. Many people took no notice of it.”
She said people first thought she had photoshopped the images when she put them online.
The National Trust said it believed it owned the site where the structure had been placed.
A spokesman said: “Once we have had time to investigate, we will decide the best course of action.
“We were unaware that this monolith was going to be placed on the beach. Our rangers on the island are visiting the site to investigate.”
The latest structure, on Compton Beach on the west side of the Isle of Wight, is described as about 7.5ft (2.2m) high by 2ft (0.6m) wide.
An anonymous collective called The Most Famous Artist has taken credit for the monoliths in Utah and California.
It posted an image of the Utah monolith on Instagram, with a 45,000 US dollar (£34,000) price tag.
However, when asked about the Isle of Wight structure, it said: “The monolith is out of my control at this point. Godspeed to all the aliens working hard around the globe to propagate the myth.”