Alleged time capsule beneath Georgia Guidestones a bust after bombing forces demolition

ELBERT COUNTY, Ga. - The bombing and subsequent removal of the Georgia Guidestones has drawn international attention. In an age of "creepypasta" and social media rumors, the so-called "American Stonehenge" was a draw for those who enjoyed real-life intrigue or just good old-fashioned craftsmanship. 

All that is left of the once iconic attraction is a patch of exposed Georgia clay and soil in the middle of an open Elbert County clearing. The pieces of the monoliths that made up the monument, weighing more than 230,000-pounds, have been hauled away.

However, with the demolition of the granite monument, one mystery remains.

What was found beneath the Georgia Guidestones?

The silver lining for some this week was the promise of a time capsule that reportedly was buried beneath. A slab on the ground at the structure, which appeared to be unfinished, led many to believe the capsule was "placed six feet below this spot on..." that was "to be opened on..." Neither the date of its placement nor the date it was meant to be opened was completed. That did not stop county officials from doing a quick search.

Officials with the Elbert County Road Department brought in an excavator to dig down the required six feet. Using a tape measure to ensure accuracy, the only thing officials said they found when workers hit the six-foot mark was more dirt.

This, of course, is in sharp contrast to a meme going around on various social media sites, which claim a signed issue of Playboy magazine featuring Burt Reynolds, a Peterbilt emblem, an 8-track of the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack, and several dozen Quaaludes were found in a box. All clever throwbacks to the era the stones were erected, but not anything that was actually found beneath the wreckage.

Who planted the bomb at the Georgia Guidestones?

However, this is not the last mystery surrounding the 42-year-old faux-Neolithic structure. Investigators want to know who planted the bomb that destroyed and destabilized the roadside attraction in the heart of the "The Granite Capital of the World." The Georgia Bureau of Investigation released a series of videos in hopes someone has information about the explosive device or the suspect.

The first video shows a person head toward the stone structure, pause just out of the camera’s view and behind one of the slabs before running away. Two other videos show an explosion a few moments later. Smoke and debris are seen pouring from the base of the monument. The timestamp of the video was about three minutes and thirty seconds after 4 a.m. Wednesday.

A fourth video shows a silver sedan with a sunroof leaving the scene.

The monument had to demolished later that day due to safety concerns.

Are the Georgia Guidestones satanic?

Cameras were placed around the structure after a series of acts of vandalism between 2008 and 2014. Some graffiti defacing the structure read "Death to the New World Order" and "I am Isis, goddess of love." They were incidents that helped play into the overall lore of the site being somehow affiliated with Satanic worship or the occult.

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Kandiss Taylor was among those to assert such claims. During her 2022 primary campaign, Taylor pledged to remove the monument through executive order if she were elected, calling them "Satanic."

Other theories believe the stones contain the "Ten Commandments of the Antichrist" or are a sacred place for sun worshipers. It also raised concerns about the promotion of eugenics, euthanasia, and genocide. There is no evidence to back most theories, although the popular theory the stones were designed to guide future generations following a post-apocalyptic event, such as nuclear war, may have some credence.

What was written on the Georgia Guidestones?

The stones had several languages on them. It is widely believed they were picked because they were the dominant languages for Judo-Christians across the globe. Many likened the stones to a modern-day Rosetta Stone.

The English portion of the inscription reads:

"Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 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.

Balance personal rights with social duties.

Prize truth — beauty — love — seeking harmony with the infinite.

Be not a cancer on the Earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature."

The English slab was at the far north and working around the structure clockwise, those same phrases were reportedly repeated in Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Traditional Chinese, and Russian.

Officials said it was the slab containing Swahili and Hindi that were destroyed in the bombing.

Could the Georgia Guidestones tell time?

Akin to the belief that Stonehenge was created as a solar calendar, the stones actually did hold a few features that were able to indicate the passage of time.

The capstone allowed sunlight to pass through each day at noon, shining to the center to indicate the time of year.

The four outer slabs were also arraigned to track the lunar declination cycle.

A hole was drilled in a portion of it that would align with the North Star and a slit would correspond with the solstices and equinoxes.

Who built the Georgia Guidestones?

However, it is not clear if the answer as to who built the sometimes-controversial structure is in the stars or right here on earth. The man credited with commissioning the stones is Robert C. Christian, although, that is widely regarded to be a pseudonym.

"Christian" approached the Elberton Granite Finishing Company commissioning them to create the structure on behalf of "a small group of loyal Americans" in June 1979, He told them he had been planning this for nearly two decades, but wanted to remain anonymous.

The project sourced local granite and cost more than $100,000, according to reports. A 5-acre site was purchased just east of Ga. Highway 77 about 7 miles north of Elberton, Georgia.

The stones were revealed in a ceremony witnessed by up to 300 people. During it, Rep. Douglas Barnard read the message:

"In order to avoid debate, we the sponsors of the Georgia Guidestones, have a simple message for human beings, now and for the future. We believe our precepts are sound, and they must stand on their own merits."

Christian then transferred the deed to the structure and acreage to Elbert County, who has helped to maintain the structure. It drew in about 20,000 people annually to the area, the local chamber of commerce estimated.

Only one person really knew Christian’s real identity. That was Elberton banker Wyatt Martin. Martin passed away late last year and appears to have taken that secret to his grave.

Several documentary and investigative journalists have long sought after the real identity of Christian, his group, and what the real purpose of it was. However, for now, it remains a mystery.