Chillicothe, Newark will host World Heritage events at Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks

Kent Mallett, Newark Advocate
·2 min read
The axial alignment of the moonrise with Newark's Octagon Earthworks.
The axial alignment of the moonrise with Newark's Octagon Earthworks.

NEWARK − The Ohio History Connection announced the commemoration of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks inscription as Ohio's first World Heritage site will be Saturday in Chillicothe and Sunday in Newark.

A quarter-century effort to recognize eight sites of ancient earthworks in Newark, Chillicothe and Oregonia as one of the world’s most significant cultural attractions came to a successful completion Sept. 19, when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s World Heritage Committee approved the nomination in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The largest set of geometric earthen enclosures in the world, in Licking, Ross and Warren counties, became the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks nomination to the World Heritage List in January 2022.

The National Park Service and the Ohio History Connection planned three inscription celebration events, which kicked off Saturday at Fort Ancient Earthworks and Nature Preserve in Oregonia.

The commemoration event Saturday in Chillicothe will be 1-4 p.m. at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park's Mound City Group Visitor Center, 16062 Ohio 104. The ceremony will include several speakers, including Chief Glenna Wallace, of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, and visiting dignitaries.

The Sunday event at Newark Earthworks includes a commemoration program beginning 1 p.m. at the Great Circle, 455 Hebron Road, Heath. Regular tours and speakers will be scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Great Circle and at the Octagon Earthworks, 125 N. 33rd St., Newark.

There will be no golf played Sunday at Moundbuilders Country Club, as it is one of four open house days this year for the Octagon Earthworks.

World Heritage commemoration schedule

Saturday in Chillicothe

  • 9 a.m.: Mound City Visitor Group Center opens. Park rangers will lead interpretive talks throughout Mound City until noon.

  • 1-4 p.m.: Commemoration with speakers and visiting dignitaries

Sunday in Newark, Heath

  • 9 a.m. to noon: Remnants walking tour

  • 9-9:45 a.m.: Stationary history of Newark Earthworks

  • 10-10:45 a.m.: Filling in the details: Archaeology of Hopewell Earthworks and sites in Ohio

  • 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. or 2-3 p.m.: Tours of Octagon and Great Circle

  • 1-1:45 p.m.: Commemorating the journey to World Heritage status

  • 3:30-4:30 p.m.: What World Heritage means and how you can play a role

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Chillicothe, Newark to host Hopewell Earthworks World Heritage events