SWAMPSCOTT —   They will stand near the ocean — 10 tall obelisks — their tips pointing towards the heavens. Precisely arranged in a circular pattern, the celestial sculpture created by D. Bruce Greenwald will track the movement of the sun as it crawls across the horizon.

The concept dates back to the early Bronze Age, when stone pillars were positioned in rings to help ancient people mark the equinoxes. These “henges” became sacred sites for spirituality and prayer.

Greenwald has been working on this Sun Circle project since 2004. The Clifton Improvement Association, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and protecting the area, chose the Marblehead-based artist/architect to design a dramatic piece of public art to be installed at the CIA-owned Beach Bluff Park on the Swampscott/Marblehead border.

Beach Bluff Park, which overlooks Preston Beach, is a relaxing little oasis with benches and paths. During the High Holidays, it serves as a site for taschlich rituals. The idea for a sun circle in the park came from CIA president Lynn Nadeau. It is her hope that the sculpture will serve as an astronomical teaching tool, and draw locals and visitors to what she believes is a special spot.

It has taken five years, but the Sun Circle project is now in its final phase. The CIA is hosting a fundraiser on June 18 to raise the final $20,000 it needs to install the columns and repair a nearby floodwall destroyed in 2007 during a severe storm.

Greenwald’s contemporary Sun Circle has been crafted from basalt. The unusual hard stone forms naturally in columns. Greenwald personally trekked to the Columbia River Basin in Washington state to hand-pick the rust-colored basalt slabs required for the project.

The stones, each of which weigh about 6,000 pounds, have been fabricated and will be arriving on a flatbed truck later this month. They will be unloaded by a crane, and arranged in a 20-foot circumference circular pattern. Local landscaper Lauren Lautner is creating a natural landscape design to complement the striking sculpture.

As a volunteer, Greenwald has donated hundreds of hours to this project. The estimated cost to create and install the Sun Circle is $80,000, and all monies have been privately raised. Greenwald’s wife, Krena, a photographer, has personally raised more than $30,000 to help her husband’s vision become a reality.

CIA’s June 18 event is co-sponsored by the Marblehead Museum and Historical Society, another nonprofit that Greenwald assists by creating pro bono architectural documents. The fundraiser will take place in the lovely garden of the Jeremiah Lee Mansion, which the Marblehead Museum and Historical Society owns.

In addition to food and wine, the evening will feature a silent auction with more than 70 items donated by local businesses and entrepreneurs (see http://www.ciabeachbluff.org for details). A highlight will be the auction of more than two dozen signed books from North Shore authors, including Julia Glass, Ada Louise Huxtable, Virginia Gamage and Pam Peterson, Linda Weltner and Janet Spurr. Tickets are $25 in advance, and $30 at the door.