Bamahenge

Bamahenge is made out of fiberglass argusfoto (Atlas Obscura User)

“Bamahenge”, a full-scale fiberglass Stonehenge, wasn’t built by Alabama Druids. It was conceived, designed and installed by Virginia artist Mark Cline and his Enchanted Castle Studios.

Cline’s work is big, typified by the dinosaurs that dot the landscape around his Virginia studio. It was these sculptures that caught the eye of Alabama billionaire George Barber, who wanted some dinosaurs for himself. He had Cline install four—a brontosaurus, a T. rex, a stegosaurus and a triceratops—along the edge of the woods near Barber Marina in Elberta. Barber was so happy with the ginormous creatures that he commissioned Cline to create a replica Stonehenge for the marina property, reminiscent of the “Foamhenge” that Cline built in Virginia in 2004.

Both Foamhenge (made entirely out of styrofoam) and Bamahenge are full-size, exact replicas of the real thing, right down to their orientation to the sun and the summer solstice. And since third time’s the charm, Barber added one more Cline piece to his collection: called “The Lady in the Lake,” it’s a 50-foot fiberglass woman floating in a manmade pond nearby.

It’s recently been reported that the original Foamhenge will have to come down, the land underneath it to be absorbed into a Virginia state park. There’s no new home for the foam stones identified just yet—maybe they can come and join their fiberglass Alabama cousins.

Update September 2016: Foamhenge has relocated to a new location at Cox Farms in Centreville.

Know Before You Go

There’s no fee to see Bamahenge or the Dinosaurs in the Woods From Elberta, follow US-98/State St. east for about 3 miles and turn right onto Old Co Rd (Rt 95), then about go 5 miles and turn right onto Fish Trap Rd. Go for half a mile, and at the sign for Barber Marina turn left onto Barber Pkwy. In a little over a mile you’ll see the stones in a clearing, just off to the right through the rows of tall pines. Park anywhere off the road and it’s just a minute or two to walk over to the site. If you continue for another quarter mile you'll see the dinosaurs.