The Ten Commandments on a Rock in New Mexico
On a hillside in the New Mexico desert, a boulder is carved with the Ten Commandments, written in an ancient form of Hebrew script.
What was reported
On the side of Hidden Mountain, near Los Lunas in New Mexico, lies a large flat boulder with nine lines of inscription. They've been read as a version of the Ten Commandments, written mostly in an old form of the Hebrew alphabet, with some Greek letters.
The stone was described in the 1930s. Some people have claimed it was carved by ancient Israelites or other travellers who reached America thousands of years ago.
Explanations offered
Most archaeologists believe the carving is modern, perhaps from the 1800s or early 1900s, since the letters look relatively fresh and the text appears to be copied from a published source. Who carved it, and why, is unknown.
- When
- Known since the 1930s
- Where
- Hidden Mountain, Los Lunas, New Mexico, USA
- Witnesses
- Visitors and researchers
- Status
- Probably modern
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
More from New Mexico