Mission
The mission of the Newark Earthworks Center is to promote and support research and engagement by faculty, students, scholars, Indigenous peoples, and other stakeholders with an interest in the ancestral and contemporary Indigenous places, peoples, cultures and experiences within and around Ohio.
Vision
Values
Respect, Recognition, Preservation, Celebration and Promotion of Indigenous peoples and their achievements, past, present and future, in and about Ohio.
Since 2005, the Newark Earthworks Center has successfully initiated strategies to inform Ohio citizens about brilliant ancient Indigenous earthen architecture and contemporary American issues. We support tribal governments' self-determination and cultural sovereignty in their essential roles relating to the preservation, interpretation and stewardship of pre-contact and historic Indigenous places within their ancestral lands. We seek to develop reciprocal, sustainable relationships between American Indian tribal governments and The Ohio State University faculty staff, and students to identify research and project goals.
We have been fortunate enough to host several tribal governmental visits by the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, Wyandotte Nation, as well as Native artists and writers, and faculty throughout our history.
Several sites in Ohio are poised to join the extremely prestigious The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List, with more than 1000 other properties around the globe, including the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Wall of China, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and Stonehenge. World Heritage inscription is based on stringent criteria, and signifies outstanding universal value to humanity. Efforts are now well underway to celebrate our Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks inscription!
The World Heritage Program of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was established to encourage the permanent protection of cultural and natural treasures around the globe. With inspiration from America’s National Park system, and leadership from the United States under the Nixon administration, an international treaty (called the Convention) was signed in 1972, with the United States of America as the first signatory. Today, 191 countries have ratified the Convention. The United States has 23 Inscribed Sites so far, ten of which are cultural. The entire worldwide list of around 1,000 properties can be explored on an interactive map.
Two nominations in Ohio are among 20 currently on the “United States' Tentative List” from which nominees will be drawn to go forward for inscription in the coming years. Preparations to nominate Serpent Mound and the Dayton Aviation Sites are upcoming.
Making the list helps ensure a site’s permanent preservation, enhanced understanding, deeper appreciation, and increased tourism.
The Hopewell Culture nomination for UNESCO World Heritage consists of "nine archaeological sites of monumental earthworks constructed by the Ohio Hopewell culture during the Woodland Period (1-1000 CE). These sites are ceremonial centers characterized by large earthwork constructions that feature precise geometric shapes and standard units of measure. The mounds contain extensive ritual deposits of finely crafted artifacts.
This nomination proposal encompasses the variety in Hopewell earthworks and includes examples from each of the valleys of several principal northern tributaries of the Ohio River.
Together, these earthworks are the best preserved examples of the more than 40 monumental earthworks constructed by the Ohio Hopewell culture during the Woodland Period (1-1000 CE), which trace a cultural florescence distinct from other mound-building cultures in Eastern North America. The earth walls of the enclosures are among the largest earthworks in the world that are not fortifications or defensive structures. Their scale is imposing by any standard: the Great Pyramid of Cheops would have fit inside the Wright Earthworks; four structures the size of the Colosseum of Rome would fit in the Octagon; and the circle of monoliths at Stonehenge would fit into one of the small auxiliary earthwork circles adjacent to the Octagon. The presence of artifacts from far distant sources, especially of materials that were not widely traded 2,000 years ago, indicates that these sites were important ceremonial centers that interacted with communities in much of eastern North America."
-National Park Service U. S. 2008 Tentative List (submitted to the World Heritage Centre) [external link]
For more information about the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks [external link] , visit UNESCO's page [external link] or visit Hopewell Culture UNESCO World Heritage nomination [external link].
The "Hopewell Culture" is the name archaeologists have given to the people who built the Newark Earthworks. It is an archaeological culture defined on the basis of certain kinds of artifacts, architecture, and cultural practices that occurred in southern and central Ohio (and other regions of eastern North America) from about 100 B.C. to A.D. 400. The term is not the name of any American Indian tribe. We have no idea what the ancient peoples who built the great earthworks might have called themselves, but their descendants undoubtedly include many of the historic tribes who lived in the Eastern Woodlands. The people of the Hopewell culture were farmers, fishers, hunters, and gatherers of wild plant foods. They lived in small villages scattered along the major tributaries of the Ohio River – especially the Great and Little Miami, the Scioto and Muskingum rivers. They are known especially for their monumental earthworks and for their spectacular art objects crafted from materials such as copper, mica, and obsidian obtained from the ends of their world.
"Of course, it’s not a people, tribe, or culture. Much of that information was lost as a result of the great die off of American Indians, after arrival of Europeans, from disease. I think of it more as an era or age. Like the Bronze, Iron, and Industrial ages. I think of the ancestors who created these wonders as living in the Hopewell era or age." -Director Dr. John Low, Newark Earthworks Center.
For a detailed discussion of this topic, please see Ohio's Earthworks Timeline, on the Ancient Ohio Trail [external links].
The preserved portions of the Newark Earthworks include the Great Circle, the Octagon, and sections of the Wright Square.
The Great Circle, Octagon, and the Wright Square's grounds are free and open year round from dawn to dusk.
The Great Circle's museum is typically open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays, visit the Ohio History Connection [external link] for holiday hours and more information.
Enjoy the earthworks but please do not climb on the walls. We would like to keep these walls standing tall for 2,000 years after you visit them. Foot traffic will cause damage over time.
Dogs are welcome on all the sites. Please keep your furry companions leashed and take advantage of our waste bags and remove messes that they may create on the grounds.
The use of drones is prohibited at all Ohio History Connection sites. To inquire about commercial filming permits, contact Neil Thompson, manager of media and public relations, at nthompson@ohiohistory.org .
The site consists of a circular earthwork formed by a tall continuous earthen wall that encompasses 30 acres of land. The wall is lined by a deep ditch on the inside of the earthwork. The Museum is located at the top of a slight rise with a paved pathway leading to it. There is no paved pathway into the interior of the Great Circle.
The Museum located at the Great Circle includes a bookstore and interpretive center.
The restrooms near the shelter houses at the Great Circle are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Address: 455 Hebron Road, Heath, OH 43056
A small portion of a square earthwork enclosure positioned northeast of the Great Circle. This site provides a perspective of how development has impacted earthworks not only in Newark but all over the state of Ohio.
Address: James Street, Newark, OH 43055
Two combined earthwork enclosures positioned above the floodplain of Raccoon Creek. This earthwork includes a 20-acre circle and a 50-acre octagon, connected by a small passageway.
Address: 125 N 33rd Street, Newark, OH 43055
The site is fully open to the public, dawn to dusk.
Led by Senior World Heritage Archaeologist Brad Lepper, March-November. Donations are encouraged to support education and public programing at the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks. If you are in need of any accommodations for a tour, please reach out to newarkearthworks@ohiohistory.org .
Please reach out to Ohio History Connection's Newark Earthworks [external link] for more information.
Information for self-guided tours can be found on the Ancient Ohio Trail's Newark Earthworks page, which you can also print out.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, seeks to encourage the identification, protection, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity, such as Stonehenge in England or Mesa Verde in Colorado. For more information go to the National Park Service's World Heritage [external link] or UNESCO World Heritage [external link].
The attainment of World Heritage allows a wider audience to experience some of the Hopewell Culture's unique & touching history. In the process of uniting these sites globally, the Newark Earthworks Center is collaboratively working with the Ohio History Connection, the National Park Service, UNESCO and the U. S. Department of Interior.
No voice is too small, as individuals we can all contribute by contacting advocates to voice your opinion or make a donation towards the effort directly with UNESCO. We would love to receive letters of support; feel free to email us at: earthworks@osu.edu .
For a brief summary on our blog of criteria for World Heritage sites and state of preservation guidelines, click here.
Check out our Classes page for OSU classes connected to American Indian nations, and the earthworks they built in Ohio! We update every semester with upcoming classes.
Please contact us if you have an idea for a class for us to develop (earthworks@osu.edu or 740-364-9574).
A land acknowledgment is a statement that runs counter to many historical narratives about the colonization and settling of North America, and it is intended to be provocative.
In some settings and circumstances, it is an act of resistance.
In others, it is a statement of support and, well, acknowledgment of the American Indian history of every single place in North America.
It is crucial for each statement to reflect the unique circumstances of each location and personal reflection of the speaker.
