In June of 1979, a well-dressed business man entered the Elberton (Georgia, US) Granite Finishing Company and introduced himself by the admitted pseudonym of R.C. Christian. He proposed to have the granite monument company build a quite sizable (and mysterious) stone monument. He said that no one was to ever know his true identity or that of the group that he was representing. He seemed to have an endless supply of money to fund the project and by the terms of the legal contract all plans had to be destroyed after completion and all information about him withheld from the public.

In 1980, the stones were finished. They carry a tablet in front proclaiming, “Let these be guidestones to an Age of Reason.” Engraved in the stones are ten ‘laws’ meant to represent guidelines for the re-establishment of the planet and society, perhaps after an apocalypse. They are written in eight different languages, English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese and Russian.

The Guiding rules are:

  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 guidestones also serve as an astronomical calendar, and every day at noon the sun shines through a narrow hole in the structure and illuminates the day’s date on an engraving. The names of four ancient languages are inscribed on the edges of the top capstone: Babylonian cuneiform, Classical Greek, Sanskrit, and Egyptian Hieroglyphics. Additionally an instructional tablet at the site speaks of a time capsule buried underneath the surface, though the dates on which the capsule was buried and when it is to be re-opened are missing. Whether this is intentional or the capsule was never buried is unknown.

The Guidestones continue to be a point of controversy. While some of the rules are common sense, and lofty ideals, most people bristle at the ominous sounding commandments to maintain planetary population to less than Five Hundred Million (a 93% reduction from current levels), and to the guideline that proscribes: ‘Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity’. Some believe the Guidestones to be a message of wise prophecy, possibly the work of an eccentric man of science. It seems evident that we’ll never know the truth behind this mysterious monument. Only the engraved tableau hints at the secrets, in which credit is given thus: “Sponsors: A Small Group of Americans Who Seek The Age Of Reason”.

UPDATE:

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. The remaining stones were dismantled by authorities for safety reasons later in the day with a backhoe and no attempts have been initiated to rebuild the controversial site.