Two thousand years ago, American Indian cultures worked together in modern-day Newark and Heath to create spectacular earthen monuments that even the centuries that have come and gone could not erase from the landscape. Built to connect people with their natural surroundings, ceremonial beliefs, and culture, these testaments to the most remarkable creative genius in the ancient world still stand tall as connecting points for the twenty-first century.
Inscribed to UNESCO's World Heritage list as a serial inscription, the Newark Earthworks take their rightful place on the global stage along with companion pieces in Ross and Warren County. Their geometric precision and ceremonial nature place all eight sites in the company of such ancient wonders as Great Britain's Stonehenge, the Great Pyramids of Egypt, and the Acropolis of Greece.
The two sites in Licking County represent the planet's most extensive ancient geometric earthworks, making them the perfect road trip. See all eight sites and make it a long weekend.
The Great Circle Earthworks' massive size is dwarfed only by its precision and architectural beauty. Still resting in the location selected by American Indian builders for its proximity to the Licking River, the Circle now encompasses nearly forty acres of open green space. Constructed to enhance ceremonial practices, communal interactions, and celebrations, this near-perfect geometric Circle rises above an interior moat, forming the perimeter of one of North America's most sacred sites.
The park, open from dawn to dusk, offers interpretive tours on select days of the week, an interactive interpretive center, picnic areas and ample parking.
The geometry of the Octagon Earthwork is so precise in its construction that modern mathematicians find it to be off by less than one degree. With its octagon and connected circle, the structure was built to mark time in lunar movements, the most spectacular of which is the 18.6 northernmost moon rise, which breaks the horizon of the nearly eighty-acre site and follows a path through the center of the octagon as it has for two thousand years in Newark. The Octagon Earthwork is an undeniable history lesson in mathematics, astronomy, and architectural techniques, proving that the American Indian cultures of the time had a superior grasp of all the disciplines.
The park is open from dawn to dusk. Interpretive tours by request and ample parking.
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.
