Georgia Guidestones

The Georgia Guidestones was  a granite monument that stood in Elbert County, Georgia, United States, from 1980 to 2022. It was tall and made from six granite slabs weighing a total of . The structure was sometimes referred to as an "American Stonehenge". 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. Controversial from its time of construction, it ultimately became the subject of conspiracy theories which alleged that it was actually connected to Satanism, as opposed to Christianity as its creator claimed. and the debris and guidestones were removed by the local government later that day. In late July, Elberton Mayor Daniel Graves announced plans to rebuild the monument.

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". 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. However, he said that while it was impressive, Stonehenge had no message to communicate. The total cost of the project was not revealed, but it was over US$100,000 (). The owner and his children were given lifetime cattle grazing rights on the guidestones site.

On March 22, 1980, the monument was unveiled by congressman Doug Barnard before an audience of between 200 and 300 people.

Fendley believed that the monument would become a regional tourist attraction.

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. 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.

Reaction

thumb|right|upright=1.2|The stones defaced with aerosol paint and graffiti.

In 2008, the stones were defaced with aerosol paint and graffiti with slogans such as "Death to the New World Order". Wired magazine called the defacement "the first serious act of vandalism in the guidestones' history". After the acts of vandalism, security cameras were installed on the site. CCTV footage recorded a vehicle leaving the scene and police investigated the incident. The Elberton Star reported that digging showed no evidence that there was ever a time capsule located beneath the Georgia Guidestones.

Aftermath

The Elbert County Sheriff's Office investigated the bombing, with assistance from the GBI. 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. No motive has been publicly shared, and no suspects publicly identified. 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. 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.

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." 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.

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:

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

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). 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 -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.

Conspiracy theories

The guidestones became a subject of interest for conspiracy theorists. 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.

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.

References

External links

The Georgia Guidestones Movie
The Georgia Guidestone Guidebook – Elberton Granite (1981)
American Stonehenge: Monumental Instructions for the Post-Apocalypse
Georgia Guidestones Video and Photos by Travelers LeahAndMark.com
Georgia's Own Doomsday Stonehenge Monument
Piece of GA Guidestones Recovered After Nearly Four Years