A villager from Xiangyang, Hubei Province found a strangely-shaped monolith which resembles some kind of sci-fi movie UFO. Thinking it might be valuable in some way, he has even allegedly turned down offers as high as 100, 000 yuan (14,300 US dollars) to purchase it.

Xia Changjun, who lives in a nearby village, discovered the unusual object in April this year. At first the stone was half-buried under the soil. He found the shape of the stone rather peculiar, so he purchased it from the forest protection authorities in the area.

The oval stone weights over 6 tons, and is divided into three layers. The bottom layer consists of many stone pillars of various size and shape,and supports the entire structure. The three layers are all linked by the unusual stone pillars.

Wang Qingxiang, a Chinese archeologist who specializes in Hubei's local history, said the stone pillar could be some kind of ancient altar, if not formed naturally. Xia said he transported the stone block home with a crane. (Photo source: CFP)