But when Christian began to describe the monument he had in mind, Fendley stopped what he was doing. Not only was the man asking for stones larger than any that had been quarried in the county, he also wanted them cut, finished, and assembled into some kind of enormous astronomical instrument.
What in the world would it be for? Fendley asked. Christian explained that the structure he had in mind would serve as a compass, calendar, and clock.
It would also need to be engraved with a set of guides written in eight of the world's major languages. And it had to be capable of withstanding the most catastrophic events, so that the shattered remnants of humanity would be able to use those guides to reestablish a better civilization than the one that was about to destroy itself.
Built to survive the apocalypse, the Georgia Guidestones are not merely instructions for the future—the massive granite slabs also function as a clock, calendar, and compass. The monument sits at the highest point in Elbert County and is oriented to track the sun's east-west migration year-round. On an equinox or solstice, visitors who stand at the west side of the "mail slot" are positioned to see the sun rise on the horizon.
An eye-level hole drilled into the center support stone allows stargazers on the south side to locate Polaris, the North Star. Text: Erik Malinowski; illustration: Steve Sanford. Fendley is now deceased, but shortly after the Guidestones went up, an Atlanta television reporter asked what he was thinking when he first heard Christian's plan.
How am I going get him out? He attempted to discourage the man by quoting him a price several times higher than for any project commissioned there before. The job would require special tools, heavy equipment, and paid consultants, Fendley explained. But Christian merely nodded and asked how long it would take. Fendley didn't rightly know—six months, at least. He wouldn't be able to even consider such an undertaking, he added, until he knew it could be paid for.
When Christian asked whether there was a banker in town he considered trustworthy, Fendley saw his chance to unload the strange man and sent him to look for Wyatt Martin, president of the Granite City Bank. The tall and courtly Martin—the only man in Elberton besides Fendley known to have met R. Christian face-to-face—is now And he was well-spoken, obviously an educated person. Christian was a pseudonym.
He added that his group had been planning this secretly for 20 years and wanted to remain anonymous forever.
Martin led Christian down the street to the town square, where the city had commissioned a towering Bicentennial Memorial Fountain, which included a ring of 13 granite panels, each roughly 2 by 3 feet, signifying the original colonies. When Christian came back to the bank Monday, Martin explained that he could not proceed unless he could verify the man's true identity and "get some assurance you can pay for this thing. He made it clear that he was very serious about secrecy.
Before leaving town, Christian met again with Fendley and presented the contractor with a shoe box containing a wooden model of the monument he wanted, plus 10 or so pages of detailed specifications.
After that, Fendley stopped questioning and started working. Construction of the Guidestones got under way later that summer.
Fendley's company lovingly documented the progress of the work in hundreds of photographs. Jackhammers were used to gouge feet into the rock at Pyramid Quarry, searching for hunks of granite big enough to yield the final stones.
Fendley and his crew held their breath when the first ton slab was lifted to the surface, wondering if their derricks would buckle under the weight. A special burner essentially a narrowly focused rocket motor used to cut and finish large blocks of granite was trucked to Elberton to clean and size the stones, and a pair of master stonecutters was hired to smooth them.
Fendley and Martin helped Christian find a suitable site for the Guidestones in Elbert County: a flat-topped hill rising above the pastures of the Double 7 Farms, with vistas in all directions. In addition to the payment, Christian granted lifetime cattle-grazing rights to Mullinex and his children, and Mullinex's construction company got to lay the foundation for the Guidestones. With the purchase of the land, the Guidestones' future was set. And, like most conspiracy theories, the quest will probably never end.
Did Dinosaurs Build Stonehenge? On the stones are ten instructions : Maintain humanity under ,, 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. Feeling that there is a gap between scientists and the general audience, he started ZME Science -- and the results are what you see today. Home Other Feature Post. Georgia Guidestones — mysterious instructions for the post-apocalypse Prize truth - beauty - love - seeking harmony with the infinite and Be not a cancer on the earth - Leave room for nature - Leave room for nature.
There's a really powerful vibe in here. February 1, Reading Time: 6 mins read. But no matter what the case, these ten commandments should definitely get you thinking: Maintain humanity under ,, 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. The mystery man is dead now. Martin knows this because the man's son got in touch with him recently. Only two people in Elberton met him face-to-face -- Martin and Joe Fendley, the contractor who built the monument.
Fendley, who went on to become the town's mayor, is dead now, too. But Martin, now 79 and living a few towns down the road, said he remains bound by his pledge to keep the secret. Share this on:. Most Popular. Fine art from an iPhone? The best Instagram photos from After IVF shock, mom gives birth to two sets of identical twins. Inside North Korea: Water park, sacred birth site and some minders.
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