The Associated Press

VERSAILLES, Ky. - The owner of a turreted castle that was heavily damaged by fire this week says he will consider rebuilding the central Kentucky landmark.

Investigators have not determined the cause of the Monday night blaze.

Dan Hayden, a spokesman for the Kentucky Department of Emergency Management, said officials do not think lightning sparked the fire. They have not ruled out arson as the cause.

Miami lawyer and real-estate investor Thomas Post, who bought the castle in November for nearly $1.8 million, said he has not yet toured the gutted property.

"We are in the process of reviewing the possibilities of rebuilding" with architects, engineers, contractors and attorneys, Post said in a written statement.

The castle's outer wall went unscathed, but a two-story house inside the wall was destroyed and inner turrets were damaged.

The structure had been under renovation with hopes it would be functional within three months, said Mary Ellen Slone, a spokeswoman for Post. He had intended to hold charity fund-raisers at the property, which he named the Castle Farm of Thomas R. Post.

Construction began on the castle in 1969 after an eccentric real-estate developer named Rex Martin and his wife returned from Europe. The Martins divorced in 1975, while it was still under construction, and never moved in.