News Release
NPS Photo/Tom Engberg
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Contact: Chris Alford, 740-774-1126
Contact: Susan Knisley, 740-774-1126
On Tuesday, Sept. 19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee came to a consensus decision to include the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks as a World Heritage Site. The group of eight ancient earthwork sites is in southern Ohio; five of the earthwork sites are managed by the National Park Service and three are managed by the Ohio History Connection.
“The designation of Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks as a World Heritage site is a remarkable accomplishment,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said. “It elevates the work of the Hopewell people and invites visitors to explore the history and culture of these ancient engineers to better understand how Indigenous people have lived on these lands for thousands of years.”
“It is a great day for American Indian recognition, the State of Ohio, Ohio History Connection, the cities and counties where these sites reside, the National Park Service, and Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. Congratulations to everyone who has worked and been part of this great accomplishment,” said park superintendent, Chris Alford.
The sites that comprise Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks were built between 1,600 and 2,000 years ago by people now referred to as the Hopewell Culture. The earthworks, built on an enormous scale and using a standard unit of measure, form precise squares, circles, and octagons as well as a hilltop sculpted to enclose a vast plaza. The geometric forms are consistently deployed across great distances and encode alignments with both the sun’s cycles and the far more complex patterns of the moon. Artifacts, which are among the most outstanding art objects produced in pre-Columbian North America, show that those who built the earthworks interacted with people as far away as the Yellowstone basin and Florida. These are among the largest earthworks in the world that are not fortifications or defensive structures.
The properties comprising the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks:
- Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Chillicothe, including the Mound City Group, Hopewell Mound Group, Seip Earthworks, High Bank Earthworks and Hopeton Earthworks
- The Ohio History Connection’s Octagon Earthworks and Great Circle Earthworks in Newark and Fort Ancient Earthworks in Oregonia
World Heritage Committee members agreed that these earthworks deserve to be recognized alongside such places as Stonehenge in England and the Nazca Lines in Peru, as well as other iconic places in the United States, including Independence Hall and the Grand Canyon. The National Park Service's manages all or part of 20 of the 25 World Heritage Sites in the United States. It is also the principal U.S. government agency responsible for implementing the World Heritage Convention in cooperation with the Department of State.
Inclusion of a site in the World Heritage List does not affect U.S. sovereignty or management of the sites, which remain subject only to U.S., State and local laws. Detailed information on the World Heritage Program and the process for the selection of U.S. sites can be found at NPS.gov.
Last updated: September 21, 2023