Explore Licking County is excited to announce that early on September 19, 2023 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) decided unanimously to inscribe the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks of Ohio to the World Heritage List. This inscription is Ohio's first and the Nation's 25th. It is a serial inscription including The Great Circle Earthworks of Newark and Heath, The Octagon Earthworks of Newark, and six other sites spanning Ross and Warren Counties. All eight newly inscribed sites, constructed by early Native Americans in the Ohio Valley between 1,600 and 2,000 years ago, are some of the finest examples of ancient human brilliance on earth. The Ohio Earthworks are now confirmed as places of outstanding universal value to humanity for today and the generations yet to experience their graceful beauty, sacred nature, geometric precision, and astronomical inspirations. Ohio's Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks now joins a list of places worldwide, such as Stonehenge, The Great Pyramids of Egypt, the Acropolis, and nearly 1,155 other sites across 167 countries.
It is a banner day for the United States, Ohio, and Licking County.
For more information on the inscription and the eight Ohio sites, please visit the following: hopewellearthworks.org, unesco.org & https://www.nps.gov. You can also see a map that outlines the locations of the Earthworks across the state of Ohio using the link below.
