Antarctic pyramid-shaped structure under ice sheets sparks curiosity

Theorists can spin this discovery as anything they want, though expert geologists believe it is just a mountain.

 ANTARCTICA – a  raw, pristine, natural, protected and cherished environment. (photo credit: BARBARA ANGELAKIS)
ANTARCTICA – a raw, pristine, natural, protected and cherished environment.
(photo credit: BARBARA ANGELAKIS)

Satellite images recently uncovered a new pyramid-like structure in Antarctica, sending conspiracy theorists into a spiral, The Mirror reported. Uncovered under sheets of ice in the entirely icy continent, social media users have gone into a frenzy trying to find an answer.

This discovery has led many to wonder what might have created this pyramid-shaped mass. It may not be part of a mountain itself, but the images emerging of the pyramid depict the southern region of Antarctica's Ellsworth Mountain range.

The structure reportedly has similar measurements at its base to the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. This has provided fuel needed for conspiracy theorists to concoct theories of how the structure got to Antarctica, and whether it was a natural structure or something stranger than that.

According to the Daily Mail, one theorist tweeted, "Wait how they moved the pyramids from Egypt to Antarctica?" Another social media user wrote: "This structure belongs to the civilization which existed before the flood. Around 10,000 years ago Antarctica was warm." Some users have blamed aliens or the Illuminati, and have even suggested a different world existing in Antarctica before it became frosty.

Is the structure natural or man-made?

In a likely turn of events, one geologist uncovered that the structure is indeed a mountain. The Mirror reported that geologist Dr. Mitch D'Arcy stated the discovery. "The pyramid-shaped structures are located in the Ellsworth Mountains, which is a range more than 400 km long, so it's no surprise there are rocky peaks cropping out above the ice. The peaks are clearly composed of rock, and it's a coincidence that this particular peak has that shape.

"It's not a complicated shape, so it's not a special coincidence either. By definition, it is a nunatak, which is simply a peak of rock sticking out above a glacier or an ice sheet. This one has the shape of a pyramid, but that doesn't make it a human construction."