The lands of Los Lunas are home to a great historical mystery: the Ten Commandments stone, which seems to be thousands of years old!  

The inscription, carved into the face of a large boulder on the side of Hidden Mountain, just west of Los Lunas and about 35 miles south of Albuquerque, is an abridged version of the Ten Commandments, or Decalogue. The language is Hebrew, and the script is the Old Hebrew alphabet, with a few Greek letters mixed in. The stone has been the subject of much scholarly debate since its initial scientific discovery in 1930 by Professor Frank Hibben, an archaeologist at University Of New Mexico known for his writings about Sandia Man. Hibben was led to the site by a guide who claimed to have been familiar with the stone since the 1880s. Local Indians told then-landowner Franz Huning that the stone pre-dated the coming of their ancestors into the area, and local settlers were aware of the stone from the early 1800's, but no one could then read the inscription since the old Hebrew/Phoenician script was then undeciphered.

Check out photos of the Decalogue Stone at:

• http://www.econ.ohio-state.edu/jhm/arch/loslunas.html
• http://www.webcom.com/mhc/archaeology/decalogue-introduction.html

Modern scientists have generally agreed that the inscription is a version of the Ten Commandments, or Decalogue. A direct interlinear translation by Juergen Neuhoff is available online, as is a slightly different translation provided by the Epigraphic Society.

Some scientists have proposed that the stone is a Samaritan mezzuzah dating back to the 4th century, while others claim it dates back to 1000 B.C. , and yet others date it to about 400 B.C., the time of the great diaspora of the "Ten Lost Tribes of Israel." 

So the question is, how did an 80-ton boulder inscribed with the Ten Commandments in ancient Hebrew script come to be sitting in the desert of New Mexico? Were the Ten Lost Tribes wandering "lost" in Los Lunas? Or was there a pre-Colombian Jewish or Samaritan colony located in New Mexico? The question has been discussed in many scholarly publications over the years, but the current answer is: No one know for sure!

What's your thought?

Visit Los Lunas: home to many fine people, and several great mysteries! Come check out Los Lunas, its Decalogue Stone, and everything else Los Lunas has to offer! After all, you, too, could have a new home or real estate investment near this mysterious inscription!

References:

• United Israel World Union: Los Lunas Ten Commandments Inscription
• America B.C.:Ancient Settlers in the New World, by Barry Fell
• Ohio State University: Los Lunas Decalogue Stone

For more information about Los Lunas and its sites and sights, check out my website, send me an email, or give me a call!

Laura Warden, Choices Real Estate, 505-263-0665