I agree the stones are no older than late-19th century. They don’t seem nearly weathered enough for the medieval-era Templar origins that Serna proposes. The crude workmanship suggests a craftsman working out of their element, or someone simply in a hurry. I suppose JJ isn’t notorious for his (stone)masonry
The Albuquerque TV station did a followup story about 6 months ago to say they’d been contacted by the McDaniel family to clarify the first stone was not found in the forests of Valle Vidal but further south, close to the McDaniel ranch home. I wonder if Milton McDaniel fibbed about the hunter finding it first as a sort of plausible denial in case any trouble came of where it came from.
The McDaniel Ranch was part of the historic Urraca/UU Bar Ranch (now owned by cattle magnate Bob Funk) and when the ranch home was sold in 1985, the pillar moved to the St. James Hotel, then the home became a bed and breakfast retreat, minutes away from Urraca Mesa (we're in the heart of LUE territory now, aren't we?). The property has always been known as Casa del Gavilan. I think for experimental purposes it would be safe to place the marker on Urraca Mesa if we're looking for interesting "angles".
https://casadelgavilan.com/history-of-the-casa
I’m hoping our resident KGC experts (Rebel, Kace, L.C., franklin) will chime in and at least comment on the pillar symbols..