Georgia Guidestones
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox monument The Georgia Guidestones was a granite monument that stood in Elbert County, Georgia, United States, from 1980 to 2022. It was Template:Convert tall and made from six granite slabs weighing a total of Template:Convert.<ref name="Sullivan 2009">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The structure was sometimes referred to as an "American Stonehenge".<ref name="NGE">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name=":6">Template:Cite news</ref> The monument's creators believed that there was going to be an upcoming social, nuclear, or economic calamity and they wanted the monument to serve as a guide for humanity in the world which would exist after it.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite news</ref> Controversial from its time of construction, it ultimately became the subject of conspiracy theories which alleged that it was actually connected to Satanism,<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref> as opposed to Christianity as its creator claimed.<ref name="NGE" /><ref name=":0" />
On the morning of July 6, 2022, the guidestones were heavily damaged in a bombing from a vandal,<ref name="NGE"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the debris and guidestones were removed by the local government later that day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In late July, Elberton Mayor Daniel Graves announced plans to rebuild the monument.<ref name="RebuildingGraves" /> In August, the Elbert County Board of Commissioners voted to donate the remains of the monument to the Elberton Granite Association, and return the Template:Convert of land on which the monument was erected to its previous owner.<ref name="auto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
History
Construction
In June 1979, a man using the pseudonym Robert C. Christian approached the Elberton Granite Finishing Company on behalf of "a small group of loyal Americans", and commissioned the structure. Christian explained that the stones would function as a compass, calendar, and clock, and should be capable of "withstanding catastrophic events".<ref name="Sullivan 2009"/> The man reportedly used the pseudonym as a reference to the Christian religion.<ref name="NGE"/><ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> Christian said that he wanted to build a granite monument that would rival the British Neolithic monument Stonehenge, which he drew inspiration from after paying it a visit.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref> However, he said that while it was impressive, Stonehenge had no message to communicate.<ref name=":1" />
Joe Fendley of Elberton Granite believed that Christian was "a nut", and attempted to discourage him by providing a price quote for the commission which was several times higher than any project which the company had previously undertaken, explaining that the construction of the guidestones would require additional tools and consultants. To Fendley's surprise, Christian accepted the quote.<ref name="Sullivan 2009"/>
When arranging payment, Christian claimed that he represented a group which had been planning to construct the guidestones for 20 years and wanted to remain anonymous.<ref name="Sullivan 2009"/> Christian said he had chosen Elbert County because of its abundance of local granite, the rural nature of its landscape, its mild climate, and family ties to the region.<ref name="NGE"/><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":7">Template:Cite news</ref> The total cost of the project was not revealed, but it was over US$100,000 (Template:Inflation).<ref name=":8" />
Christian delivered a scale model of the guidestones and ten pages of specifications.<ref name="Sullivan 2009"/> The Template:Convert site was purchased by Christian from a local farm owner.<ref name=":9">Template:Cite news</ref> The owner and his children were given lifetime cattle grazing rights on the guidestones site.<ref name="Sullivan 2009"/> The monument was located off Georgia State Route 77 around Template:Convert north of the city of Elberton.<ref name="Rhodes2015">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Hauck2002">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="McDonald2016">Template:Cite book</ref>
On March 22, 1980, the monument was unveiled by congressman Doug Barnard before an audience of between 200 and 300 people.<ref name="NGE"/><ref name=":1" /> At the unveiling, the Master of Ceremonies read a message to the gathered audience:
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In order to avoid debate, we the sponsors of the Georgia Guidestones have a simple message for human beings, now and for the future. We believe our precepts are sound, and they must stand on their own merits.{{#if:|
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Christian later transferred ownership of the land and the guidestones to Elbert County.<ref name=":9" /> In 1981, barbed wire fencing was erected around the monument to keep cattle out, as they had been using it for a scratching post.<ref name=":8" />
A man who identified himself as Robert Christian published a book titled Common Sense Renewed (1986), which described the ideology of the guidestones. The author wrote:
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I am the originator of the Georgia Guidestones and the sole author of its inscriptions. I have had the assistance of a number of other American citizens in bringing the monument into being. We have no mysterious purposes or ulterior motives. We seek common sense pathways to a peaceful world, without bias for particular creeds or philosophies.{{#if:|
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Fendley believed that the monument would become a regional tourist attraction.<ref name=":3" /> In 2022, 20,000 annual visitors were reported.<ref name=":5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Dark Clouds Over Elberton: The True Story of the Georgia Guidestones (2015) is a documentary film purporting to expose the true identity of Robert Christian.<ref>Template:YouTube</ref> The makers of the documentary claimed to have investigated and interviewed a banker who was involved in the financial arrangements for the construction of the monument.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Reaction
In 2008, the stones were defaced with aerosol paint and graffiti with slogans such as "Death to the New World Order".<ref name="BBC News 2022">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Wired magazine called the defacement "the first serious act of vandalism in the guidestones' history".<ref name="Sullivan 2009"/> In September 2014, an employee of the Elbert County maintenance department contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation when the stones were vandalized with graffiti including the phrase: "I Am Isis, goddess of love."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After the acts of vandalism, security cameras were installed on the site.<ref name=":5" />
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Kandiss Taylor, a candidate in the 2022 Georgia Republican gubernatorial primary, called the Guidestones "Satanic" in a campaign ad; her campaign platform called for the monument to be removed.<ref name="NGE"/><ref name=":2" />
Destruction
On July 6, 2022, an explosive device was detonated at the site, destroying the Swahili/Hindi language slab and causing significant damage to the capstone. Nearby residents reportedly heard and felt explosions at around 4:00 a.m.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> CCTV footage recorded a vehicle leaving the scene and police investigated the incident.<ref name=":5" /> The remaining stones were dismantled by authorities for safety reasons later in the day with a backhoe, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Elberton Star reported that digging showed no evidence that there was ever a time capsule located beneath the Georgia Guidestones.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Aftermath
The Elbert County Sheriff's Office investigated the bombing, with assistance from the GBI.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On the evening of the bombing, the GBI released a video showing both the explosion, and a vehicle of interest leaving the scene shortly before.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> No motive has been publicly shared, and no suspects publicly identified.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On July 14, 2022, and again on July 25, 2022, the GBI gave an update, with no significant progress on the case being made since the bombing.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Prosecutors suggested that as the guidestones were maintained by the county, they were considered a public building, thus their destruction would carry a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In late July 2022, Elberton Mayor Daniel Graves said the town planned to rebuild the monument exactly as it was, adding "We're just getting geared up and excited about rebuilding them. It's going to happen. It may take us six months to a year to do it, but we are going to do it."<ref name="RebuildingGraves">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On August 8, 2022, the Elberton city council voted to begin legal proceedings to return the five acres of land the monument had been built on to its previous owner, a local farm. The city council announced that the remains of the monument, which had been moved to a third-party location for safety reasons, would be given to the Elberton Granite Association. Both the Elberton Granite Association and the Elberton city council expressed doubt that the guidestones would be rebuilt, but expressed hope that one day it could happen.<ref name="auto"/>
Description
Inscriptions
A message consisting of a set of ten guidelines or principles was 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 were English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Traditional Chinese, and Russian.<ref name=":0" /> The languages were chosen because they represented most of humanity, except for Hebrew, which was chosen because of its connections to Judaism and Christianity.<ref name=":0" />
According to the monument's sponsors, the inscriptions are meant to guide humanity to conserve nature after a nuclear war, which the creators thought was an imminent threat.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The inscriptions dealt with four main themes: "governance and the establishment of a world government, population and reproduction control, the environment and humankind's relationship to nature, and spirituality."<ref name="NGE" />
The inscriptions read:<ref name="NGE" /><ref name="BBC News 2022" />
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Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
Guide reproduction wisely – improving fitness and diversity.
Unite humanity with a living new language.
Rule passion – faith – tradition – and all things with tempered reason.
Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
Balance personal rights with social duties.
Prize truth – beauty – love – seeking harmony with the infinite.
Be not a cancer on the Earth – Leave room for nature – Leave room for nature. {{#if:|
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Explanatory tablet
A few feet to the west of the monument, an additional granite ledger had been set level with the ground. This tablet identified the structure and the languages used on it and listed various facts about the size, weight, and astronomical features of the stones, the date it was installed, and the sponsors of the project. It referred to a time capsule buried under the tablet, but blank spaces on the stone intended for filling in the dates on which the capsule was buried and was to be opened had not been inscribed, so it was uncertain if the time capsule was ever actually put in place. During the removal of the monument in July 2022, county officials dug six feet down underneath this tablet to check for a time capsule, but found nothing.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The text of the explanatory tablet was somewhat inconsistent with respect to punctuation and misspelled the word "pseudonym". The original spelling, punctuation, and line breaks in the text have been preserved in the transcription (letter case is not). At the top center of the tablet was written:
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The Georgia Guidestones
Center cluster erected March 22, 1980 {{#if:|
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Immediately below this was the outline of a square, inside which was written:
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Let these be guidestones to an Age of Reason {{#if:|
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Around the edges of the square were written translations to four ancient languages, one per edge. Starting from the top and proceeding clockwise, they were: Babylonian (in cuneiform script), Classical Greek, Sanskrit and Ancient Egyptian (in hieroglyphs).<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":0" />
On the left side of the tablet was a column of text (metric conversion added):
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Astronomic features
1. Channel through stone
indicates celestial pole
2. Horizontal slot indicates
annual travel of sun
3. Sunbeam through capstone
marks noontime throughout
the yearAuthor: R.C. Christian
(a pseudonyn) Template:SicSponsors: A small group
of Americans who seek
the Age of ReasonTime Capsule
Placed six feet [1.83 m] below this spot
On
To be opened on {{#if:|
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The words appeared as shown under the time capsule heading; no dates were engraved.
Physical data
On the right side of the tablet was a column of text (metric conversions added):
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PHYSICAL DATA
- 1. OVERALL HEIGHT – 19 FEET 3 INCHES [5.87 m].
- 2. TOTAL WEIGHT – 237,746 POUNDS [107,840 kg].
- 3. FOUR MAJOR STONES ARE 16 FEET,
- FOUR INCHES [4.98 m] HIGH, EACH WEIGHING
- AN AVERAGE OF 42,437 POUNDS [19,249 kg].
- 4. CENTER STONE IS 16 FEET, FOUR-
- INCHES [4.98 m] HIGH, WEIGHS 20,957
- POUNDS [9,506 kg].
- 5. CAPSTONE IS 9-FEET, 8-INCHES [2.95 m]
- LONG, 6-FEET, 6-INCHES [1.98 m] WIDE;
- 1-FOOT, 7-INCHES [0.48 m] THICK. WEIGHS
- 24,832 POUNDS [11,264 kg].
- 6. SUPPORT STONES (BASES) 7-FEET,
- 4 INCHES [2.24 m] LONG 2-FEET [0.61 m] WIDE.
- 1 FOOT, 4-INCHES [0.41 m] THICK, EACH
- WEIGHING AN AVERAGE OF 4,875
- POUNDS [2,211 kg].
- 7. SUPPORT STONE (BASE) 4-FEET,
- 2½ INCHES [1.28 m] LONG, 2-FEET, 2-INCHES [0.66 m]
- WIDE, 1-FOOT, 7-INCHES [0.48 m] THICK.
- WEIGHT 2,707 POUNDS [1,228 kg].
- 8. 951 CUBIC FEET [26.9 m³] GRANITE.
- 9. GRANITE QUARRIED FROM PYRAMID
- QUARRIES LOCATED 3 MILES [5 km] WEST
- OF ELBERTON, GEORGIA.
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Guidestone languages
Below the two columns of text were written the caption "GUIDESTONE LANGUAGES", with a diagram of the granite slab layout beneath it. The names of eight modern languages were 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 was listed first, they were English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian. At the bottom center of the tablet was the text:
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Additional information available at Elberton Granite Museum & Exhibit
College Avenue
Elberton, Georgia {{#if:|
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Astronomical features
The four outer stones were oriented to mark the limits of the 18.6 year lunar declination cycle.<ref name=GeorgiaMountains>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The center column featured a hole drilled at an angle from one side to the other, through which the North Star could be seen. The same pillar had a slot carved through it which was aligned with the Sun's solstices and equinoxes. A Template:Fraction-in (22 mm) aperture in the capstone allowed a ray of sun to pass through at noon each day, shining a beam on the center stone indicating the day of the year.<ref name="Sullivan 2009"/> University of Georgia Astronomer Loris Magnani referred to these features as "mediocre at best" and sees them as "an abacus compared to Stonehenge’s computer".<ref name="Discover2013" />
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Hole
-
Slot
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Interpretations
When commissioning the guidestones, Christian described them as a guide for future generations to manage limited resources, potentially in the face of nuclear war.<ref name=":1"/> Yoko Ono said the inscribed messages were "a stirring call to rational thinking".<ref name="Sullivan 2009" /> However, the guidestones' inscriptions have also been accused of promoting eugenics and genocide.<ref name="Sullivan 2009" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Conspiracy theories
The guidestones became a subject of interest for conspiracy theorists.<ref name="NGE"/> Wired stated that unspecified opponents have labeled them the "Ten Commandments of the Antichrist".<ref name="Sullivan 2009" /> Some conservative Christians have called the monument Satanic.<ref name=":2" />
Right-wing activist Mark Dice demanded that the guidestones should "be smashed into a million pieces, and then the rubble should be used for a construction project",<ref name="Jones Elberton">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="Sullivan 2009" /> At the unveiling of the monument, a local minister proclaimed that he believed that the monument was "for sun worshipers, for cult worship and for devil worship".<ref name="Sullivan 2009" /><ref name="Jones Elberton" /><ref name="Moran-2004">Template:Cite book</ref>
Conspiracy theorist Jay Weidner has said that the pseudonym of the man who commissioned the stones – "R. C. Christian" – resembles Rose Cross Christian, or Christian Rosenkreuz, the founder of the Rosicrucian Order.<ref name="Sullivan 2009" /> Others who agree with Weidner point to the Rosicrucian's first manifesto written in 1614, which states “The word R.C. should be their seal, mark and character”. They also see similarities between the writing on the capstone, and the title of (Rosicrucian) Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason.<ref name="Discover2013">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See also
- America's Stonehenge
- List of destroyed heritage of the United States
- Stonehenge replicas and derivatives
- Tablets of Stone
References
Further reading
- McWhirter, Cameron.(2022). "The ‘Stonehenge of America’ Still Has Visitors Asking, ‘What Is This Place?’" Wall Street Journal May 12, 2022.
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite magazine
External links
- The Georgia Guidestones Movie
- The Georgia Guidestone Guidebook – Elberton Granite (1981)
- Template:Usurped
- American Stonehenge: Monumental Instructions for the Post-Apocalypse
- Georgia Guidestones Video and Photos by Travelers LeahAndMark.com
- Template:Skeptoid
- Georgia's Own Doomsday Stonehenge Monument
- Piece of GA Guidestones Recovered After Nearly Four Years
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- 1980 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
- 1980 sculptures
- 2022 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Akkadian inscriptions
- Arabic-language works
- Articles containing video clips
- Buildings and structures demolished in 2022
- Buildings and structures in Elbert County, Georgia
- Chinese-language works
- Codes of conduct
- Conspiracy theories in the United States
- Conspiracy theories involving religion
- Demolished buildings and structures in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Destroyed sculptures
- Egyptian inscriptions
- English-language works
- Granite sculptures in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Greek inscriptions
- Monuments and memorials in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Multilingual texts
- Outdoor sculptures in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Russian language
- Sanskrit inscriptions
- Spanish language in the United States
- Spanish-language works
- Tourist attractions in Elbert County, Georgia
- Vandalized works of art in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Works of unknown authorship
- Hebrew inscriptions