diff --git a/calma/CalmaRdcl.c b/calma/CalmaRdcl.c
index cf81d1b1..4281f331 100644
--- a/calma/CalmaRdcl.c
+++ b/calma/CalmaRdcl.c
@@ -301,6 +301,7 @@ calmaParseStructure(filename)
     int nbytes, rtype, nsrefs, osrefs, npaths;
     char *strname = NULL;
     HashEntry *he;
+    int timestampval = 0;
     int suffix;
     int mfactor;
     off_t filepos;
@@ -318,7 +319,7 @@ calmaParseStructure(filename)
     /* Read the structure name */
     was_initialized = FALSE;
     predefined = FALSE;
-    if (!calmaSkipExact(CALMA_BGNSTR)) goto syntaxerror;
+    if (!calmaReadStampRecord(CALMA_BGNSTR, &timestampval)) goto syntaxerror;
     if (!calmaReadStringRecord(CALMA_STRNAME, &strname)) goto syntaxerror;
     TxPrintf("Reading \"%s\".\n", strname);
 
@@ -392,6 +393,15 @@ calmaParseStructure(filename)
 	cifCurReadPlanes = cifSubcellPlanes;
 	cifReadCellDef->cd_flags &= ~CDDEREFERENCE;
 
+	/* Set timestamp from the GDS cell's creation time	*/
+	/* timestamp, unless "calma datestamp" was specified	*/
+	/* with a value, in which case use that value.		*/
+
+	if (CalmaDateStamp == NULL)
+	    cifReadCellDef->cd_timestamp = timestampval;
+	else
+	    cifReadCellDef->cd_timestamp = *CalmaDateStamp;
+
 	/* For read-only cells, set flag in def */
 	if (CalmaReadOnly)
 	    cifReadCellDef->cd_flags |= CDVENDORGDS;
diff --git a/calma/CalmaRdio.c b/calma/CalmaRdio.c
index e9d6e679..4a0e7add 100644
--- a/calma/CalmaRdio.c
+++ b/calma/CalmaRdio.c
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ static char rcsid[] __attribute__ ((unused)) = "$Header: /usr/cvsroot/magic-8.0/
 
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <sys/types.h>
+#include <time.h>
 
 #include <netinet/in.h>
 
@@ -272,6 +273,81 @@ eof:
     return (FALSE);
 }
 
+/*
+ * ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ *
+ * calmaReadStampRecord --
+ *
+ * Read a record that contains a pair of timestamps for creation and
+ * modification dates.
+ *
+ * Results:
+ *	TRUE on success, FALSE if the record type we read is not
+ *	what we're expecting.
+ *
+ * Side effects:
+ *	Consumes input.
+ *	Translates the creation timestamp from GDS format to a standard
+ *	UNIX (time.h) timestamp (seconds since the epoch).
+ *	Stores the result in the integer pointed to by 'stampptr'.
+ *
+ * ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ */
+
+bool
+calmaReadStampRecord(type, stampptr)
+    int type;
+    int *stampptr;
+{
+    int nbytes, rtype;
+    struct tm gds_timestamp;
+
+    READRH(nbytes, rtype);
+    if (nbytes < 0)
+	goto eof;
+
+    if (type != rtype)
+    {
+	calmaUnexpected(type, rtype);
+	return (FALSE);
+    }
+
+    nbytes -= CALMAHEADERLENGTH;
+    if (nbytes != 24)
+    {
+	/* Not dealing with any timestamp that is not in I2 format */
+	calmaSkipBytes(nbytes);
+	if (stampptr) *stampptr = 0;
+	CalmaReadError("Unknown timestamp format;  setting timestamp to zero.\n");
+	return TRUE;
+    }
+
+    gds_timestamp.tm_wday = 0;  /* Not used by mktime() */
+    gds_timestamp.tm_yday = 0;  /* Not used by mktime() */
+    gds_timestamp.tm_isdst = -1;
+
+    READI2(gds_timestamp.tm_year);
+    READI2(gds_timestamp.tm_mon);
+    READI2(gds_timestamp.tm_mday);
+    READI2(gds_timestamp.tm_hour);
+    READI2(gds_timestamp.tm_min);
+    READI2(gds_timestamp.tm_sec);
+
+    /* GDS timestamps differ from UNIX time structure only by a	*/
+    /* difference of 1 in the month count.			*/
+    gds_timestamp.tm_mon--;
+
+    /* Skip the modification date timestamp */
+    (void) calmaSkipBytes(nbytes - 12);
+
+    if (stampptr) *stampptr = (int)mktime(&gds_timestamp);
+    return (TRUE);
+
+eof:
+    CalmaReadError("Unexpected EOF.\n");
+    return (FALSE);
+}
+
 /*
  * ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  *
diff --git a/doc/html/gds.html b/doc/html/gds.html
index a8723633..a0412946 100644
--- a/doc/html/gds.html
+++ b/doc/html/gds.html
@@ -68,6 +68,15 @@ Read GDSII input or generate GDSII output.
 	 Options for <B>gds read</B>:
 
 	 <DL>
+	    <DT> <B>datestamp</B> [<B>yes</B>|<B>no</B>|<I>value</I>]
+	    <DD> When reading a GDS file, the resulting layout views in magic
+		 will be timestamped according to the declared datestamp
+		 action.  If <B>yes</B> (the default), then the creation date
+		 timestamp from the GDS file is transferred to the layout cell.
+		 If <B>no</B>, then the datestamp is set to zero and will be
+		 created when the cell is saved to disk.  If <I>value</I>,
+		 then the specified value (in UNIX format of seconds since the
+		 epoch) will be used for the layout timestamp.
 	    <DT> <B>drccheck</B> [<B>yes</B>|<B>no</B>]
 	    <DD> If set to <B>no</B>, then do not mark cells read from GDS as
 		 requiring DRC checks (default <B>yes</B>).