The Isle of Wight's very own monolith - which made headlines around the world - is now up for grabs on an online auction site.
The 'as seen on tv' structure, which first appeared at Compton Bay last week just days after similar structures were spotted in the U.S. and Romania, was spotted on popular auction site eBay yesterday (Friday).
The listing for the item, which describes it as 'used', contains pictures of the monolith at its previous home at Compton Bay, along with photos of it disassembled in the back of a van - with social media speculation that it had been stolen.
According to the eBay seller, however, all is not as it seems.
The description of the listing reads:
"This is not stolen I will explain how I came to obtain this.
"I live on the isle of wight and was returning home from a job we were going to pass Compton car park on route home so we thought we would take a look at the famous monolith, unfortunately, the monolith was in a sorry state and being loaded onto the back of a national trust pick up truck, I made an offer to purchase the monolith direct from the national trust staff in the form of a cash donation.
"The monolith is in a very sorry state there are cracks and chips to the glass and the timber plinth that the item sat on is missing but could easily be rebuilt.
"Aside from said plinth it could easily be rebuilt and would be an awesome piece to own, you 100% will not find another one this is the real deal Isle of Wight monolith..."
The listing for the monolith - which, when first sighted, prompted usually quiet car parks in the West Wight to be filled with Islanders aiming to get a photo with the mysterious column - has currently reached bidding of £205.00.
Previously, it was revealed that the monolith was the creation of Ryde resident, Tom Dunford, who stepped forward to claim responsibility for its manufacture.
Speaking to Isle of Wight Radio he said:
"I'm just absolutely fascinated by engineering, or space or design or anything futuristic. So when I saw the one pop up in Utah it definitely drew my attention. And then when I saw the one in Romania, I received a text from my friend who said 'you're definitely the one who can do this'.
"I pondered on the idea but didn't really take it too seriously at the time. And then it was literally like a light bulb moment.
"I walked back to the office on Friday afternoon (December 4), and there was a sheet of perspex mirror that we had left over in stock by the office door and I thought this is perfect - I'm going to be the next monolith man."
He said the structure took around two and a half hours to build. A wooden subframe was used, before it was cladded in mirror.
Tom said:
"It probably took longer getting my fingerprints off the mirror than it did actually building it."
We've approached the National Trust for a comment.
WATCH: Isle of Wight's Monolith Mystery Revealed...
Isle Of Wight's Monolith Mystery Revealed🔊 Sound on 🔊 It made headlines worldwide - now the mystery of the Isle of Wight's monolith has been revealed...
Posted by Isle of Wight Radio on Tuesday, December 8, 2020
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