This picture was taken this summer in the south of France, in case it’s relevant. The area was on the side of a mountain (near a village) and had olive trees all around. Any idea?

In the grass, a dome-shaped object made out of metal strips, which are arranged radially so that they partially overlap. It’s large in circumference, but not tall. There’s a big “cross” of metal on top of it which seems to hold the thing together.

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[–] 36 points 9 hours ago (6 children)

The top of cereal silo or a water windmill pulled apart by winds.

Nice photo and find.

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  • [–] 13 points 9 hours ago (5 children)

    too much metal for a windmill, it's probably roof of some silo or other round building like a water tank (or tower).

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  • [–] 8 points 9 hours ago* (3 children)

    I concur, it does look like a silo lid, but the scale suggests it’s rather smaller than that, around 1m diameter?

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  • [–] 6 points 9 hours ago (1 child)

    Is it? It's really hard to see how far down that is, I was thinking something like 2.5m diameter at least, which sounds like it could be a brickwork silo? I dunno, I'm not a siloologist at all, just going off things I've seen standing around.

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 8 hours ago*

    I couldn’t get close to measure it since it was down below the “trail” I was walking on, but from what I remember it was big but not very big, maybe about as large as the space between my feet when I stand with my legs spread wide? I’m not very sure, but when I look for pictures of grain silos, they seem way bigger. (Yes, I needed to google “grain silo”, I’m a city girl.)

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  • [–] 9 points 9 hours ago (3 children)
  • [–] 7 points 8 hours ago (5 children)

    My takeaway from this thread is that no one has seen or at least remembers the hit TV show Lost

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 8 hours ago (4 children)

    You’re right, I’ve never seen Lost. Was there something like that in it?

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  • [–] 3 points 8 hours ago (3 children)

    There was a mysterious underground bunker or silo or something within which someone needed to enter a code every so often. It was a pretty big plot point and served to bring a lot of tension to the series, because what would happen if you didn't enter the numbers on schedule?

    SpoilerIt kept the monsters away or something. I don't fully remember, I watched it a long time ago.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 hours ago

    I believe it kept some magnetic disturbance in abeyance. I think it was the same thing that caused a bunch of them to go timeskipping for a while.

    I mean, eventually. In reality it was just more of Abrams magic box bullshit that didnt really mean anything and only served to be spooky-scary oooOOOOooo

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  • [–] 6 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)
    [–] 9 points 9 hours ago (8 children)

    Because the supports are exposed it's probably not the top of something, but an old satellite dish.

    Not like, from a satellite in space. But just a couple decades ago if you wanted satellite TV you needed a dish that huge. Most likely just dumped off the cliff, it's not designed to be oriented like that so it falls apart quickly

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  • [–] 2 points 9 hours ago (5 children)

    This satellite dishes were mesh, not sheet metal.

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  • [–] 3 points 8 hours ago (4 children)

    Heres a random forum with a picture:

    https://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/o-t-lounge/how-many-of-you-45-year-old-baws-remember-old-school-tv-antennas/117396033/

    Second post with picture, trying to link it directly somehow goes to a reddit post.

    But yes, eventually tech was good enough they could do it with mesh. Before that they were solid metal.

    Like I said, this look like an old one.

    But you should really try asking questions instead of just confidentally being wrong and waiting to be corrected. I tend to block people like that pretty quickly, and so do other people who take the time to explain things.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 hours ago* (2 children)

    I’ll take the L on that one, but I’d rather be wrong and corrected than be right and an asshole about it.

    I’ve still never seen a satellite dish made of strips of sheet metal like this, so I don’t think that’s what this is.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 hours ago*

    but I’d rather be wrong and corrected than be right and an asshole about it.

    Buddy...

    How many times have you insulted me, and how many times have I insulted you?

    You're wrong, and upset about it. Someone telling you that you're wrong is not an insult. And responding to it with insults is t a good look for anyone...

    I’ve still never seen a satellite dish made of strips of sheet metal like this, so I don’t think that’s what this is.

    No idea why you still think things you haven't seen can't exist, or why you think anyone cares that your uninformed opinion hasn't changed.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 hours ago (1 child)

    I was also thinking that this is probably the bottom side of what ever it was. I wonder if there are satellite dishes like this that come flat packed and you need to assemble it.

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  • [–] 1 point 7 hours ago

    I wonder if there are satellite dishes like this that come flat packed and you need to assemble it.

    Pretty much only explanation. The strips aren't as good as solid, but if the tech that allowed mesh existed they wouldn't have to try to maximize surface area still and could use mesh panels.

    It's one of those weird products that as soon as it solved a problem (shipping a complete fish to remote area) the real problem (needs a solid dish) got solved.

    So they probably weren't popular for long, but also might not have had a reason to replace the physical dish for decades.

    Even when people stopped using dishes in general, they tended to just sit there. Which also makes "dumped off a cliff" a likely explanation.

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  • [–] 4 points 8 hours ago

    Looks like a roof of a grain silo but it seems to be inverted. Also, doesn't look like it was ever watertight so I suspect it's probably something else.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 hours ago

    How big is it? It’s really hard to tell from this photo.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 hours ago

    Looks like the aviary in Jurassic park 3, where the pterodactyls escaped from... Be careful

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  • [–] 4 points 3 hours ago

    Missile Silo Mission UNLOCKED

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  • [+] 1 point 9 hours ago
    [–] 1 point 7 hours ago

    Old smashed windmill with aluminum blades? Looks like there's a rust tower thing next to it????? Idk

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