The corners of the internet dedicated to unexplained mysteries are currently debating the origin of a strange object spotted on Google Maps.

Buried in the ice fields of Antarctica, the strange black object appears to be emitting a beam of light from one side.

It was discovered by Graham Maple, who runs a YouTube channel called “Conspiracy Despot”. He believes that it’s a marker of some sort – pointing towards something interesting.

In a clip posted online, he says: “It appears to be in a remote location, I cannot see anything in the surrounding area of interest.

“This is a dark object which appears to be acting as a spotlight or reflecting sunlight onto the mountainside.

“One thing I did notice is that there appears to be something on the mountain – it looks like a miniature model of a city.

“There’s definitely something of interest for whoever put this here.

“It’s clearly some sort of technology that is being used to reflect sunlight onto a point of interest.

“There doesn’t appear to be any other bases in the area so I’m dumbfounded who put this here.”

Because of its desolation, Antarctica has often drawn in conspiracy theorists who spot strange items or shapes in the ice.

A picture of a snow trail was shared by UFO spotters Secureteam10 on YouTube, sparking a debate about whether it was an alien landing.

One commenter wrote: “Looks like it crashed into the mountain, then whatever it was drove away from the crash site?”

Far more people believe there is a more mundane explanation, however.