A few months ago, while searching for clues of ancient jade works in North America, I discovered a most amazing artifact in a place called Douglas County, Georgia. What I had discovered was a 4,000 year-old jade pipe shaped in the form of a running deer’s head.  This unusual find made me ponder on unimaginable possibilities. The jade itself was a unique specimen of translucent green that had the appearance of Jadeite found in Burma and China. At first I thought that it was impossible for me to find this in North America, and thought that it might just be an anomaly or something left behind by travelers ages ago; however, my innate curiosity moved me toward further exploration to find out why such an artifact would be in such an unexpected location.

Some weeks ago, I traveled to a place outside of Atlanta, Georgia, on an exploration of an ancient archeological site in Douglas County that had been close to where the jadeite artifact had been discovered. Atlanta itself is built on the mounds of ancient prehistoric peoples. I had already arranged permission with the owners of the property to allow me to excavate and examine this ancient site.  I was excited to be in Georgia to explore what might be the remnants of a lost civilization.

The Megaliths are covered by thick jungle and soil

When I first arrived in Georgia, not wanting to waste a precious moment, I drove directly to Douglas County.  On reaching the site I was immediately taken by the enormous size of the area. My research told me that deep in this jungle and deep beneath the red clay dirt of Georgia, ancient mysteries were buried. Unfortunately, a thick jungle of brush, tall trees and brier hid any evidence of signs of ancient inhabitants and their artifacts. I parked my car on the dirt shoulder of the road, eager to begin my journey into this ominous jungle. Prior to arriving at this place I had stopped for a few moments at a small country store to purchase a pair of sturdy gloves.  While I was looking around I saw a number of farm tools, among them a machete.  I had a feeling that this tool  would be needed, so I purchased it along with the gloves. It was a good thing, as before I had gone half a dozen steps off the road, I faced thick unyielding brush and narrow set small saplings that blocked my path.  I hastily retraced my steps to the car to retrieve the gloves and the machete, thankful for having had the foresight to buy them.  Slashing my way through the thick undergrowth I finally came upon an enormous outcropping of huge granite boulders. At first I thought that nature had played a part in arranging these ancient giants stacked so neatly upon each other as they reached towards the sky. After a close examination I discovered that these giant rocks had to have been moved by the hands of an ancient people and not by nature.

I was very tired after the hard work of hacking my way though the brush. I reclined on a huge granite boulder that was protected from the hot afternoon sun's rays by a huge tree. As I rested there I began to contemplate on the possibilities of the past. In my mind there appeared an image of a distant time, of a people with strange customs.  This mental image grew stronger and seemed to demand an interpretation of this forgotten place and its mysteries. I had a swelling desire to search this area and to look for artifacts that would reveal its ancient past and glory.

This desire took complete possession of me.  As I rested on the boulder I shifted my position to lie on my side. I looked down to adjust my jacket and suddenly noticed a most amazing pictograph cut into the rock. It was brightly illuminated by a ray of sunlight shinning though the branches of the great tree’s canopy. There before me was an ancient pictograph that had been preserved through time from the ravishes of man. I felt it calling out to me, telling me that here, hidden for millenniums, were keys to great secrets. 

Eagerly, I removed my camera from my shoulder bag and began to take photographs of what my disbelieving eyes beheld. As I began shooting the pictures of the ancient pictograph that was before me, a sense of great humility overcame me. With each shot of my camera I reflected on the age of this place and its forgotten people. I felt that one of the Ancients, an Immortal, was revealing its timeless secrets to me, a mere mortal.

Image of  an ancient Pictograph my camera captured.  Kneeling man with grin has snake come out of head. The Pictograph has an Olmec culture appearance.

Suddenly, a cloud passed overhead and the sun beam that had been shining through the branches of the great tree above was squelched. The image in front of my eyes disappeared, as if it were, absorbed by the great boulder that bore it. I was amazed by this seemingly supernatural phenomenon. My amazement turned to perplexity, frustration, and a degree of bewilderment as I searched my memory for any known archeological sites that had these types of strange pictographs. My memory catalog was void of such pictographs and as I pondered on the mystery that I had seen with my own eyes, the clouds above passed to once again allow a sun beam to dance upon the surface of the sleeping giant before me. An image that could not conceivably be possible appeared again before my eyes. I eagerly captured this long hidden secret on film, a secret that had not been seen by human eyes for countless ages, and never before seen by a camera’s eye.

 I explored the ancient site and with a crew of workers we excavated a small section. This cleared section gave us inkling to the areas past history. What I discovered from this preliminary archeological work was nothing short of amazing. I consider this to be a profound archeological discovery that I will soon be revealing to the archeological groups around the world. Here, in a place only 12 miles outside of Atlanta, Georgia, was an ancient Stone Temple hidden for thousands of years. Here, over 4 millenniums ago at a time before known history, a civilized people lived, worshipped and thrived.

Nickel Iron meteorite discovered at the site of the ancient Megalith temple Douglas County Georgia.

Some of the initial secrets that have been revealed are artifacts that hint to the possibility that these were “metal age people” and not Neolithic (Stone Age) people. One of our discoveries was a nickel iron alloyed meteorite (star metal) that may have been used as a source of metal to fashion advanced lapidary tools. With these tools it was possible for the people of this place to work granite, quartz and other hard stones. Another discovery was an ancient axe head fashioned from purple quartz crystal.  This axe head has the shape of a Diamond Head rattlesnake. We know from our preliminary digs that there must be many more amazing discoveries waiting to be revealed at this ancient civilization site.

Another fascinating discovery found on the site of the Stone Temple is a legendary ancient Curative Mineral Spring. Native American History tells of its "magical medicine water" and Spanish accounts of the Explorer Hernando De Soto's passage through Georgia in 1540 place his trail by the legendary spring, where he may have drank of its waters.  It is possible that the ancient people built the Stone Temple in reverence of the Curative Mineral Spring Waters that flowed from the legendary spring.

The discovery of this ancient Stone Temple has been a hallmark of my life and I owe its discovery to my teacher, Wong Tien Chung, who in late May of this year died at the age of 88. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to journey to China to see my teacher before he left this world. When I made my visit to his home in China he was in such frail health that he could hardly speak, but he made an effort to tell me something very important. What he told me were these words, “your journey will soon lead you to a temple.” At the time he said those words to me I could not comprehend their meaning and unfortunately he passed on and left this world without elaborating to me what he meant.

In March of this year, a few months before the death of my mentor, my younger brother died. His passing left a huge void in my heart. When my teacher died, only a short time later, I found myself pondering upon his message trying to comprehend its meaning. I felt that there might be something in his words that would help to fill the void, the deep emptiness, which had grown inside of me with the passing of both my brother and my teacher.

The day that I discovered the ancient Stone Temple was the day that the emptiness inside me evaporated. A hollow darkness seemed to be pulled out of me by the gigantic granite boulders that stood guard over the unknown. For the first time since my teacher and brother left this world of the living, I began to comprehend the meaning of Wong Tien Chung’s precious last words.  I had found the temple of which he had spoken; I had found the temple of my journey.

Larger than the famous Stonehenge, the Stone Temple is over 5 acres in area. Depicted is a Mayan Shaman who performs a blessing with water from a conch shell to celebrate the rediscovery of the Ancient Water Temple.

I will be working with others to excavate this archeological wonder and we are planning on building a Museum on its site. The planned museum will be dedicated to my teacher Wong Tien Chung who believed the museum he envisioned to build would illuminate the path of The Jade Road for others to follow.   The planned museum will exhibit artifacts from temple site, a large mineral collection, ancient Mound and Pre-Columbian stone artifacts, Ancient Jade Artifacts and of course the secrets of the Ancient Stone Temple that will include the curative mineral waters that flows from it.

This museum will help modern people discover that passing through an ancient temple's doorway and drinking of its water is the beginning of a never ending journey.

Come journey down the jade road to an Ancient Stone Temple that has waited millenniums for its doorway to be opened. In the near future I will be announcing the round breaking of the planned Museum and I will also be keeping you informed of the progress of our explorations.     -Ian (Fung Gen Qua)