Replica of Stonehenge is planned  for construction on UTPB campus By David J. Lee Odessa American It won’t have the serene quiet of the piles of rocks in a field in northern England, but an Odessa imitation could still have the educational, artistic and astronomical benefits, according to some UTPB faculty members. University of Texas of the Permian Basin officials will find out by the middle of this week if it will be home to a replica of Stonehenge. Pending approval by the University of Texas at Austin’s board of regents, a group of private investors want to build a close-to-life-size replica of the thousands-of-years-old megalithic site near West Amesbury, England. “It was a pipe dream that a couple of us had, and to think it actually might happen is so incredible,” said Chris Stanley, chairman of UTPB’s humanities and fine arts department. Dick Gillham, Permian Basin Stonehenge coordinator, said if the UT board approves the construction, he estimates completion by June 30. “If they approve it, it goes forward,” Gillham said. “We’ll immediately start laying it out on the ground, then start the foundation and the concrete work.” Gillham said if UT won’t approve Odessa’s four-year university for the site, he would try other options. “UTPB is our first choice,” he said. “But if it doesn’t happen there, we’ll approach Odessa College. And if not there, we’ll try the city.” Pam Price, a member of UTPB’s art faculty, said the replica would be a classroom tool for teachers on campus. “Having a replica of Stonehenge on our campus would give students the opportunity to see an extraordinary creation by an ancient culture,” she wrote in a letter to UTPB President David Watts. “The ability to actually go up to the slabs of stone and see the relationship a human has to this scale is something not currently available in West Texas.” The Permian Basin Stonehenge will be built astronomically correct, Stanley said. “The original Stonehenge — it’s an astronomical calendar. It marked lunar eclipses and solar eclipses and the solstices for the obvious seasons of planting and harvesting,” he said, adding that the one built at UTPB would match the alignment of the one in Britain. “At certain times of the year, when the sun comes up, we’ll be able to see what they saw 6,000-7,000 years ago. “To have object like that on campus — we can take students out to the environment and can say, ‘This is the enormity of how these people worked,’ ” he said. And Price said the replica could provide more than that. “The variety of subjects based on this structure for study is almost unlimited — math, geology, architecture, art history and culture-based courses are just the beginning,” she said. Gillham said the replica would be exact in horizontal size dimensions and 70 percent of the vertical dimensions of the original stone structure. It will require 0.3 acres of land. The Permian Basin replica will be built of limestone donated by Connie Edwards, owner of TexaStone in Garden City. While the tallest stone in England stands right at 22 feet, the Odessa version will clock in at 19 feet. “The guys giving us the stones, that’s just the way it works out,” Gillham said, adding that it would not detract from the structure. And that’s not the only difference. “It won’t be curved or weathered,” he said. “These stones will be squared, while the ones in Britain are kind of shaped by time and weather.” Regardless, the replica will be quite authentic, Gillham said. “It’ll be, to the best of my knowledge, the second most authentic Stonehenge replica in the United States,” Gillham said, adding that the most authentic replica sits on a golf course in Montana. The replica will be educational, Gillham said, but the goal is more than just art and education. “I think it will draw school kids from all around the area to the UTPB campus, and hopefully it will help the university grow and create a familiarity with the campus,” he said. “I think it will have an impact on the community. It will be a public art piece. And it will also be a tourist attraction.” Stanley said as a tourist attraction, the sculpture would benefit Odessa as a whole. “There’ll be people coming onto campus, people pulling off I-20 to see something like this. If they come off to see Stonehenge, they might go visit the museums, might go have lunch and might find a whole bunch of other wonderful things to do in Odessa.” This Stonehenge will be built by crane. And while much of the labor and material costs are being donated, Gillham said there would be some costs involved. “The other costs will be transportation, some foundation work and the erection,” he said, adding that he expects a maximum cost of $50,000. “It’ll be privately funded by individual and corporate donations. There’s no cost to the university.” And viewing the monument, which will set between the tennis courts and art building and be visible from 42nd Street, will also be free. “Having a Stonehenge replica on our campus would allow students to see, experience and study this structure without having to travel,” Price said. “We know that most of our students don’t have the resources to travel to see art. Many students who go on field trips have never been out of the Basin, let alone out of the state or country.” The excitement in Stanley’s voice was audible as he talked about the potential for the Permian Basin Stonehenge. “It’s a neat dream, and it’s really neat that it’s going to happen,” he said.