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Georgia Guidestones

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Georgia Guidestones
File:Georgia Guidestones-lowres.jpg
Chinese and Arabic inscriptions of the Georgia Guidestones
Map
LocationElbert County, Georgia, USA
DesignerR. C. Christian (pseudonym)
MaterialGranite
Height19' 3" (5.87 m)
Opening dateMarch 1980

The Georgia Guidestones is a granite monument in Elbert County, Georgia, USA. 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 languages' 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.

History

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

Inscriptions

File:Georgia Guidestones - tavola inglese - english table.jpg
The stone featuring the English version.

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 (see photograph of the face with the English version right). 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.

Explanatory tablet

A few feet to the west of the monument, an additional granite ledger has been set level with the ground (see photograph right). 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.

The complete text of the explanatory tablet is detailed below. The accompanying image shows the overall layout. 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 center of each tablet edge is a small circle, each containing a letter representing the appropriate compass direction (N, S, E, W).

At the top center of the tablet is written:

The Georgia Guidestones
Center 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 Features
1. channel through stone
indicates celestial pole.
2. horizontal slot indicates
annual travel of sun.
3. sunbeam through capstone
marks noontime throughout
the year

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

Sponsors: A small group
of Americans who seek
the Age of Reason

Time Capsule
Placed six feet below this spot
On
To Be Opened on

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

Physical data

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

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.

Guidestone languages

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 & Exhibit
College Avenue
Elberton, Georgia

Astronomical features

The four outer stones are oriented to mark the limits of the 18.6 year lunar declination cycle.[3] 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]

Location

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.[4] 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.

Ownership

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..."[3] The Elbert County land registration system shows what appears to be the Guidestones as County land purchased on October 1, 1979.[5][6]

The monument was unveiled in March 1980, in front of 100 people.[7] Another account specifies March 22, 1980 and says 400 people attended.[2]

The Georgia Guidestones are featured extensively in the Travel Channel episode "Mysteries at the Museum: Monumental Mysteries Special" featuring Don Wildman.[8] They are a prominent feature in Alex Jones' 2007 conspiracy theory film, Endgame, and are featured prominently in the International Emmy nominated 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.

Reception

The stones defaced with polyurethane paint and graffiti

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

In 2008, the stones were defaced with polyurethane paint and graffiti with slogans such as "Death to the new world order".[9] Wired magazine called the defacement "the first serious act of vandalism in the Guidestones' history".[2]

Conspiracy theories

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",[10] 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".[7]

Radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, in his 2008 documentary Endgame: Elite's Blueprint For Global Enslavement, said that "the message of the mysterious Georgia Guidestones, purportedly built by representatives of a secret society called the Rosicrucian Order or Rosicrucians, which call for a global religion, world courts, and for population levels to be maintained at around 500 million, over a 6.5 billion reduction from current levels. The stones imply that humans are a cancer upon the earth and should be culled in order to maintain balance with nature."[11]

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 conspiracy is the theory by others that the guidelines are just simply stating the basic concepts required to restart a civilization after surviving some Cold War ideologically caused disaster expected to occur in the late 20th century. If so, then some of the more controversial guidelines from viewpoint of present conditions, would in the recovering future, seem less ominous and could help prevent future ideologically caused disasters by following their terse concepts.[13][14]

Notes

  1. ^ Roadside America Web site
  2. ^ a b c d e f g American Stonehenge: Monumental Instructions for the Post-Apocalypse by Randall Sullivan. Wired Magazine ISSUE 17.05 (May 2009)
  3. ^ a b Georgia Mountains Web site
  4. ^ Location on Google Maps
  5. ^ Land parcel information
  6. ^ Parcel map
  7. ^ a b Moran (2004); p.193
  8. ^ Monumental Mysteries. Travelchannel.com (2012-07-13). Retrieved on 2013-08-21.
  9. ^ "Defacement of the Guidestones". Photobucket. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
  10. ^ Gary Jones (2005-05-18). "The Georgia Guidestones: tourist attraction or cult message?". The Elberton Star, Georgia.
  11. ^ Endgame: Elite's Blueprint For Global Enslavement Exposed + Why The Dreams Of The Rulers Are Humanity's Worst Nightmare by Paul Joseph Watson, October 25, 2007
  12. ^ Waiting for the end of the world: Georgia's 30-year stone mystery by Matt Smith. CNN (March 22, 2010)
  13. ^ Sullivan, Randall (May 2009). "American Stonehenge: Monumental Instructions for the Post-Apocalypse". Wired. 17 (5). Condé Nast. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
  14. ^ "Apocalypse in Georgia". Brad Meltzer's Decoded, episode 110 (February 3, 2011).

References

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Georgia Guidestones.
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