Georgia Guidestones - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Georgia Guidestones is a granite monument in Elbert County, Georgia, in the United States. A message clearly conveying a set of ten guidelines is inscribed on the structure in eight modern languages, and a shorter message is inscribed at the top of the structure in four ancient language scripts: Babylonian, Classical Greek, Sanskrit, and Egyptian hieroglyphs.

The structure is sometimes referred to as an "American Stonehenge".[1] The monument is 19 feet 3 inches (5.87 m) tall, made from six granite slabs weighing 237,746 pounds (107,840 kg) in all.[2] One slab stands in the center, with four arranged around it. A capstone lies on top of the five slabs, which are astronomically aligned. An additional stone tablet, which is set in the ground a short distance to the west of the structure, provides some notes on the history and purpose of the Guidestones.

In June 1979, an unknown person or persons under the pseudonym R. C. Christian hired Elberton Granite Finishing Company to build the structure.[2]

In 2008, the stones were defaced with polyurethane paint and graffiti with slogans such as "Death to the new world order".[3]Wired magazine called the defacement "the first serious act of vandalism in the Guidestones' history".[2]

InscriptionsEdit

A message consisting of a set of ten guidelines or principles is engraved on the Georgia Guidestones in eight different languages, one language on each face of the four large upright stones. Moving clockwise around the structure from due north, these languages are: English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian.

1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
2. Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity.
3. Unite humanity with a living new language.
4. Rule passion — faith — tradition — and all things with tempered reason.
5. Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
6. Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
7. Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
8. Balance personal rights with social duties.
9. Prize truth — beauty — love — seeking harmony with the infinite.
10. Be not a cancer on the earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature.

Into the top of the English stone a notch was carved, which was there from at least 2009. In September 2014 this notch was filled with a small stone which reads "20" and "14" on both visible sides. It's unclear who placed this nor what it means.[4][dubious– discuss]

Explanatory tabletEdit

A few feet to the west of the monument, an additional granite ledger has been set level with the ground. This tablet identifies the structure and the languages used on it, lists various facts about the size, weight and astronomical features of the stones, the date it was installed and the sponsors of the project. It also speaks of a time capsule buried under the tablet, but fields on the stone reserved for filling in the dates on which the capsule was buried and is to be opened have not been inscribed, and it is not clear whether the time capsule was ever put in place. Each side of the tablet is perpendicular to one of the cardinal directions, and is inscribed so that the northern edge is the top of the inscription. At the center of each tablet edge is a small circle, each containing a letter representing the appropriate compass direction (N, S, E, W).

The complete text of the explanatory tablet is detailed below. The tablet is somewhat inconsistent with respect to punctuation and also misspells "pseudonym". The original spelling, punctuation and line breaks in the text have been preserved in the transcription which follows. At the top center of the tablet is written:

The Georgia GuidestonesCenter cluster erected March 22, 1980

Immediately below this is the outline of a square, inside which is written:

Let these be guidestones to an Age of Reason

Around the edges of the square are written the names of four ancient languages, one per edge. Starting from the top and proceeding clockwise, they are: Babylonian (in cuneiform script), Classical Greek, Sanskrit, and Ancient Egyptian (in hieroglyphics).

On the left side of the tablet is the following column of text:

Astronomic Features1. channel through stoneindicates celestial pole.2. horizontal slot indicatesannual travel of sun.3. sunbeam through capstonemarks noontime throughoutthe year

Author: R.C. Christian(a pseudonyn) [sic]

Sponsors: A small groupof Americans who seekthe Age of Reason

Time CapsulePlaced six feet below this spotOnTo Be Opened on

The words appear as shown under the time capsule heading; no dates are engraved.

Physical dataEdit

On the right side of the tablet is the following column of text (metric conversions added):

PHYSICAL DATA

Guidestone languagesEdit

Below the two columns of text is written the caption "GUIDESTONE LANGUAGES", with a diagram of the granite slab layout beneath it. The names of eight modern languages are inscribed along the long edges of the projecting rectangles, one per edge. Starting from due north and moving clockwise around so that the upper edge of the northeast rectangle is listed first, they are English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian. At the bottom center of the tablet is the following text:

Additional information available at Elberton Granite Museum & ExhibitCollege AvenueElberton, Georgia

Astronomical featuresEdit

The four outer stones are oriented to mark the limits of the 18.6 year lunar declination cycle.[5] The center column features a hole through which the North Star can be seen regardless of time, as well as a slot that is aligned with the Sun's solstices and equinoxes. A 7/8" aperture in the capstone allows a ray of sun to pass through at noon each day, shining a beam on the center stone indicating the day of the year.[2]

The Georgia Guidestones are located on a hilltop in Elbert County, Georgia, approximately 90 miles (140 km) east of Atlanta, 45 miles (72 km) from Athens, and 9 miles (14 km) north of the center of Elberton.[6] The stones are standing on a rise a short distance to the east of Georgia Highway 77 (Hartwell Highway), and are visible from that road. Small signs beside the highway indicate the turnoff for the Guidestones, which is identified by a street sign as "Guidestones Rd." It is located on the highest point in Elbert County.

OwnershipEdit

Elbert County owns the Georgia Guidestones site. According to the Georgia Mountain Travel Association's detailed history: "The Georgia Guidestones are located on the farm of Mildred and Wayne Mullenix..."[5] The Elbert County land registration system shows what appears to be the Guidestones as County land purchased on October 1, 1979.[7][8]

The monument was unveiled in March 1980, in front of 100 people.[9] Another account specifies March 22, 1980 and says 400 people attended.[2]

Documentary seriesEdit

The Georgia Guidestones are featured extensively in the Travel Channel episode "Mysteries at the Museum: Monumental Mysteries Special" featuring Don Wildman.[10] They are featured prominently in the conspiracy web series Guidestones. The guidestones were featured in the Brad Meltzer's Decoded episode "Apocalypse in Georgia" and in 2013, a documentary titled, The Georgia Guidestones Movie, received screenings in Georgia, South Carolina, and Oregon. The monument is also featured in the "New World Order" episode of the History Channel series America Unearthed.

ReceptionEdit

Yoko Ono and others have praised the inscribed messages as "a stirring call to rational thinking", while Wired.com stated that unspecified opponents have labeled them as the "Ten Commandments of the Antichrist".[2]

The Guidestones have become a subject of interest for conspiracy theorists. One of them, an activist named Mark Dice, demanded that the Guidestones "be smashed into a million pieces, and then the rubble used for a construction project",[11] claiming that the Guidestones are of "a deep Satanic origin", and that R. C. Christian belongs to "a Luciferian secret society" related to the New World Order.[2] At the unveiling of the monument, a local minister proclaimed that he believed the monument was "for sun worshipers, for cult worship and for devil worship".[9]

Computer analyst Van Smith said the monument's dimensions predicted the height of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world which opened in Dubai over thirty years after the Georgia Guidestones were designed. Smith said the builders of the Guidestones were likely aware of the Burj Khalifa project which he compared to the biblical Tower of Babel.[12]

As a counter to many conspiracy theories is a theory that the guidelines are only stating the basic concepts required in the future to restart a devastated civilization after surviving some Cold War ideologically caused disaster that was expected to occur in the late 20th century. If so, then some of the more controversial guidelines as seen from viewpoint of our present peaceful[dubious– discuss] conditions, would likely in a post disaster recovering future, seem less ominous, more practical, and could help prevent future ideologically caused disasters by following their terse concepts.[13][14]

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