Ground has been broken on the Capitol lawn for the state’s new Ten Commandments monument.

In 2015 the Arkansas Legislature passed a law authorizing the placement of a monument of the Ten Commandments on the Capitol grounds.

Earlier this spring the State Capitol Arts and Ground Commission authorized the monument as a formality before construction could officially begin.

The monument is similar to a monument ruled constitutional in Texas, and is being privately funded. It celebrates the influence and legacy of the Ten Commandments in western law.