What Does ChatGPT See in the Mystery Stone

Near the Shenandoah River, by Holy Cross Abbey, a weathered quartzite cobblestone was found—marked with patterns that seemed to hint at a deeper story. Drawing on careful study and scholarly insight, the author examines this "Mystery Stone" with the help of an unusual partner: Artificial Intelligence.

In this unique collaboration, AI is used to interpret the stone's markings, confirming many of the author's observations—and even suggesting new possibilities. The correspondences are astonishing, resonating with Indigenous worldviews and raising the question: could natural formations and ancient intentions sometimes converge?

Come, take a journey into layered perception, where man-made intelligence helps us glimpse meanings embedded in stone—mysteries that the landscape itself may have given to those who lived closest to it.