Conservationist's underwater sculpture in Thailand falsely shared as 'centuries-old'

"Divers have discovered a fascinating mystery deep in the depths of Koh Tao 'Turtle Island', Thailand: an intricately carved rock face buried at the bottom of the ocean," reads part of the Malay-language caption of a collage shared on a Facebook page with more than 91,000 followers on March 9, 2025.

The images show divers examining human faces that appear to have been carved into a sculpture on the sea floor.

"Archaeologists suggest these carvings might be centuries-old, and are possibly associated with an ancient civilisation's rituals or offerings to the sea," the caption goes on to say.

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on March 12, 2025

The collage was also shared alongside the same Malay-language claim elsewhere on Facebook, as well as in similar posts from users listed as based in Indonesia, the United States and the Philippines.

The underwater sculpture, however, is not centuries-old or indicative of an ancient civilisation, as the posts claim.

A reverse image search on Google followed by a keyword search found similar photos in a blog article written by Spencer Arnold, who describes himself as a reef conservation instructor and sculptor (archived link).

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Screenshot comparison of the collage circulating in the false posts (left) and similar images published in Arnold's blog (right)

Arnold's blog, published on May 20, 2015, says the sculpture is his first and took him four months to construct before it was placed "5m under the ocean's surface".

"Now all it needs to be complete is time. As corals to encrust over it, it will become incorporated into the natural reef and each of the concrete faces will slowly become obscured and forgotten," reads the blog.

"The sculpture is meant to call attention to our planet's dying reef ecosystems," reads an article about the sculpture on his website, which includes photos of the sculpture and Arnold's other works (archived link).