MOST of us have heard of the ancient and mysterious stone structure in England called Stonehenge — tall, huge stones that have stood through the test of time over thousands of years and are still being studied for further insight into their origin.

But what we have under question here is the most intriguing and mysterious modern-day stone monument built in our times, located on a hilltop in Elbert County, Georgia, 90 miles east off Atlanta in the US, Georgia Guidestones.

Nicknamed as the ‘American Stonehenge’, the tall granite slabs of stone have engraved on them many languages, instructions and information on the several features of the structure. But the construction itself is steeped in mystery.

Here is how it started and what we know (or do not know), of its builders. In June 1979, a man walked into the office of Elberton Granite Finishing Company. He spoke to the person in charge, of wanting a structure built of huge proportions consisting of large granite slabs.

At first, his interests were not taken seriously, but when he went into the details and size of the structure, the company agreed. The man did not give the name of his sponsors, but just his own name, R.C. Christian, which was also not his real name. The monument was finished according to the requirements and unveiled in March 1980 and was attended by a 100 or more people. Now we come to the real mystery — the purpose of the structure!

It has inscriptions that give guidelines for a “New Age of Reason”. Almost 20 feet high, it is made of six granite slabs that weigh a total of 240,000 pounds. It has ‘10 Commandments’ carved on it which are supposed to be followed for a new ‘Age of Reason’ in which the world will be an ideal place, according to the builders or group of unknown individuals who think they know what the future of mankind holds.

The first ‘commandment’ is the most fascinating or curious, to say the least. The world’s population is to be maintained under 500 million people! Which in easier terms would mean half the population of some of the world’s countries. What is to be done with the rest of the population is anyone’s guess.

Let’s look at all the 10 commandments stated on the monument.

1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.

2. Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and vitality.

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.

The structure is made up of six granite slabs with one in the centre, four around it and one capstone at the top. The slabs are aligned according to astronomical readings. A few feet away, a slab set in the ground gives some information on the purpose and history of the Guidestones: the exact size of the stone slabs, its sponsors (who want to remain anonymous) and also states that a time capsule is buried under it.

But neither the date of the buried (if at all) capsule is given nor when it is to be opened. These are left blank. Strange! The message is engraved in eight different languages on the face of the slabs that are standing upright.

These ten guidelines are in English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese and Russian. In addition, astronomy seems to be of great importance to the builders. A hole in the central column runs diagonally up in such a way that it points directly to the North Star.

The outer slabs around the central stones are set in such a way that they mark the 18.6-year lunar cycles. The capstone has an opening through which the Sun’s rays pass at the exact time of noon each day. The ray shines like a beam on the stone in the centre that shows the day of the year.

The inscriptions on the capstone are in the four most ancient languages known yet such as Egyptian Hieroglyphics, classical Greek, Sanskrit and Babylonian Cuneiform. Now, considering the fact that America is not a very old society and is pretty modern in its thinking, why or what is the need for all this ancient text and alignment to the stars?

Stuff like this was the practice of age-old ancient societies of the Egyptians, Greeks and other civilisations that do not even exist any longer. The same kind of interest in the stars was an essential part of the builders of the pyramids in Egypt. Their fascination with the celestial bodies is still a mystery.

Is this ‘American Stonehenge” an indication of the fact that futuristic and sci-fi thrillers showing most of the world’s population dying out due to disease, natural or unnatural disasters, are trying to tell us something? If there is a time capsule buried underneath, why is the date “to be opened” left blank? And if the date was not to be mentioned, why write the words anyway?

Most confusing to say the least. May the truth be told one day!