The Georgia Guidestones

A mysterious monument for organizing humanity

The Georgia Guidestones, a granite monument 90 miles east of Atlanta containing 10 principles for governing humanity inscribed in eight languages. The source of the guidestones is a mystery.

In the rural Georgia countryside 90 miles east of Atlanta, there stands a mysterious monument known locally as the Georgia Guidestones.

Erected mysteriously in 1980, the guidestones resemble an odd blend of D.C. monument and Stonehenge. Four granite slabs stand on end, almost twenty feet tall. A fifth stands in the center, with a capstone on top.

Carved into each stone are 10 principles or guidelines for organizing — or re-organizing — humankind. The guidelines are inscribed in eight modern languages, one language on each face of the four large upright stones. In clockwise order, the languages are English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian. A shorter message is inscribed at the top of the structure in four ancient language scripts: Sanskrit, Babylonian, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and classical Greek.

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.

The origin of the guidestones is shrouded in mystery. They were commissioned in 1979 by an unknown person or persons using the pseudonym R.M. Christian. The stones were carved and erected by the Elberton Granite Finishing Company.

Since the guidestones were unveiled in 1980, speculation has swirled about who might have built them. Some say it was television mogul Ted Turner, who is from Georgia and whose political and ecological views align closely with the guidestone principles. Others suggest it was noted author and naturalist Edward Abbey. Even Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard has been suggested. Also high on the list is the secret society of Rosicrucians, the founder of which was Christian Rosenkreuz.

Another question is the purpose of the monument. Constructed at the height of the Cold War, the guidestones are considered by many a message to the survivors of a coming nuclear holocaust, a sort of post-apocalyptic Ten Commandments for rebuilding human society in the future.

However, some fundamentalist Christians are deeply suspicious regarding the humanist doctrine implied in the guidestones. Others consider the stones a monument to paganism. At the unveiling, one Christian minister even declared the monument was a tool of the occult meant for devil worship.

Forty-two years after the monument appeared, the mystery continues.

For more information or to visit, visit exploregeorgia.org.