Bamahenge is a full-scale fiberglass replica of England's prehistoric

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...

monument, located on the grounds of Barber Marina near

Josephine, Alabama Josephine is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. History The community is named for Josephine Ross, who was the daughter of the first postmaster. A post office operated under the name Josephine from 1881 to 19 ...

. It was designed and built by artist

Mark Cline Mark Cline is an American artist and entertainer. Inspired by monster and science fiction films. He produces foam and fiberglass figures and fantasy characters for attractions and cities. Cline has described ''Foamhenge'' as his greatest achieveme ...

, at the request of marina owner

George W. Barber George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

History

The idea for a

replica in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

originated with billionaire dairy magnate

. In 1991, Barber had commissioned Virginia artist

of Enchanted Castle Studios to design and install seven life-size dinosaurs as "lawn ornaments" on one of his properties. While Cline was onsite repairing hurricane damage to the sculptures in 2006, Barber, perhaps aware of the recent installation of Cline's

Foamhenge ''Foamhenge'' is a full-scale styrofoam replica of Stonehenge, which was originally located in Natural Bridge, Virginia. It was conceived and built by artist Mark Cline as a roadside attraction, and opened on April 1, 2004. In 2017, ''Foamhenge ...

replica in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, asked him to build a life-size Stonehenge replica at his Vintage Motorsports Museum outside of

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. By the time Cline was able to begin work on the project in 2012, Barber had relocated four of the dinosaurs to the grounds of Barber Marina and decided to instead install the Stonehenge replica on the marina grounds, in the woods to the north of the dinosaurs. The name Fiberhenge was briefly considered for the work, but Cline decided that it "didn't have the ring" he wanted and instead named the installation Bamahenge.

Structure

Bamahenge is a full-scale replica of Stonehenge, measuring tall and across. Like Stonehenge, the installation is oriented so that the sun rises over the center of three

lintels A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

on the outer markers on the

summer solstice The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...

. Bamahenge is not an exact replica, however: the monument is constructed from only four different shapes of fiberglass "stones", oriented in different ways. The pieces were designed so that the smaller ones could nest inside the larger ones for transportation from Cline's Virginia studio to the Alabama coast, which required four flatbed tractor-trailer loads. Located only from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, Bamahenge is located in an active

tropical storm A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

and

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

zone. To protect the work from high winds, each "stone" is anchored by a wooden pole extending up into the "stone" and a similar distance underground. The lower portion of the "stone" and a pit beneath, surrounding the pole, are filled with concrete.

Access

Bamahenge is located west of the access road to Barber Marina. A small parking area sits at the head of the path to the monument. While most closely located to the unincorporated community of Josephine in

Baldwin County, Alabama Baldwin County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama, on the Gulf coast. It is one of only two counties in Alabama that border the Gulf of Mexico, along with Mobile County. As of the 2020 census, the populat ...

, Bamahenge is more often associated with the larger nearby town of

Elberta, Alabama Elberta is a town in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 1,498, up from 552 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area. Geography Elberta is located in southern Baldw ...

References

External links

Barber Marina website
{{Stonehenge Replicas and derivatives of Stonehenge Landmarks in Alabama Outdoor sculptures in Alabama Buildings and structures in Baldwin County, Alabama Tourist attractions in Baldwin County, Alabama Fiberglass sculptures in the United States