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All the United States California Hemet Hemet Maze Stone
AO Edited

Hemet Maze Stone

This mysterious petroglyph evokes the ancient swastika symbol but was later vandalized with the more troublesome Nazi one.

Hemet, California

Added By
Kimberly Wadsworth
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Hemet Maze Stone   Ken Lund on Flickr
Hemet Maze Stone   Ken Lund on Flickr
Hemet Maze Stone   Ken Lund on Flickr
Hemet Maze Carving   Paul Kiler on Wikimedia Commons
Locked double fence/gate   Avoiding Regret
  joeypesto / Atlas Obscura User
  joeypesto / Atlas Obscura User
  joeypesto / Atlas Obscura User
  joeypesto / Atlas Obscura User
The gate where you can park and hike to the stone.   kellygassman360 / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
Sunny Christmas Day 2016   daileyheather / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
Historic plaque (which mistakenly calls the petroglyph a pictograph)   Avoiding Regret
Wildlife conservation area   Avoiding Regret
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About

In 1914, a rancher just outside Hemet, California was surveying his property and discovered a boulder with a strange maze-like image carved into it. Archeologists later determined – based on some artifacts found near the stone – that the carving is at least 500 years old, if not even older. However, even today archeologists are not sure who made the carving, or why.

Part of the mystery comes from the design itself. The maze-like design is quite different from other petroglyph designs in the United States; most petroglyphs are stylized pictures of animals or people, or designs representing rivers, trails or other natural features. The carving on the Hemet stone, however, is an intricate maze in a swastika-like shape -a design more commonly found in Buddhist tradition. It’s also rare – since 1914, only 50 other similar carvings have turned up, all of them within 150 miles of each other.

The design’s Buddhist symbolism, and the proximity of other such stones, sparked a theory that they were all carved by a crew of Chinese sailors shipwrecked in California as early as 500 CE. However, the swastika is also found in Native American art – to the once-nomadic Hopi, for example, the swastika represents their wanderings, while among the Navajo it represents the movements of the tsil no'oli, or “whirling log,” a canoe which a legendary hero rode during a quest. Native American swastika designs turn up on textiles, pottery, and sand paintings more so than in petroglyphs, but their prehistoric use does at least suggest a more local source for the maze carvings.

Unfortunately, today the swastika is more often associated with the German Third Reich, and the Hemet Maze Stone has suffered some damage as a result. The stone and its surrounding land became a California state landmark in 1956, and sometime thereafter a vandal added swastika in the orientation favored by the Nazis to one corner of the carving.  The stone is now protected by a pair of chain-link fences, and the surrounding park has since been closed.  But the carving is still an official California Historical Landmark, receiving occasional visits from intrepid and curious guests.

Related Tags

Rocks Mazes Nazis Mystery Geology

Know Before You Go

West of Hemet in Reinhardt Canyon. Take Hwy 74 to California Avenue, and follow California for 3 miles to until it ends at a gate. Park near gate, and continue on foot, following the former road to the park. The stone will be on your right, surrounded by chain link fences.

Community Contributors

Added By

Kim W

Edited By

Avoiding Regret, Collector of Experiences, kellygassman360, joeypesto...

  • Avoiding Regret
  • Collector of Experiences
  • kellygassman360
  • joeypesto
  • daileyheather

Published

January 15, 2015

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Sources
  • http://unmyst3.blogspot.com/2009/02/hemet-maze-stone.html
  • http://articles.latimes.com/1991-06-11/news/mn-515_1_hemet-maze
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemet_Maze_Stone
Hemet Maze Stone
3519 California Avenue
Hemet, California, 92545
United States
33.780975, -117.056154
Get Directions

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