Earthworks are in the shapes of circles, squares, or octagons.' 'Whereas in south central or eastern Ohio, we see mostly geometric earthworks. This is the type of earthwork we see mostly in southwest Ohio,' he explains. 'Fort Ancient is one of the types of earthworks that these people build – it is what we will call a hilltop enclosure. Despite names like 'Fort' Ancient, the earthworks served as ceremonial centers, not military ones. It reaches a fluorescence, though, in southern Ohio that it doesn't reach anywhere else.'įort Ancient is located about 45 minutes north of Cincinnati, high atop a river bluff. It's happening all throughout eastern North America. 'It's a new religious movement of people. 'In the past we might sometimes say 'Hopewell culture' or 'Hopewell people,' but what we really understand 'Hopewell' to be now is not a new peoples,' explains Bill Kennedy, site manager and site archeologist at Fort Ancient Earthworks and Nature Preserve. Hopewell Culture National Historical Park (five geographically separate elements)Īll the sites were built 1,600 to 2,000 years ago by peoples formerly referred to as Hopewell.Fort Ancient Earthworks and Nature Preserve.The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks encompass eight sites - a collection of historic earthen mounds built by Indigenous peoples: What are the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks? There are only about 1,000 World Heritage sites around the globe. World Heritage inscription brings recognition to places of exceptional interest and value.

'Just three months after rejoining UNESCO, the United States has its twenty-fifth site inscribed on the World Heritage List, which illustrates the richness and diversity of the country's cultural and natural heritage,' said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay in a statement. There are just a thousand sites worldwide and Ohio's Earthworks now take their place alongside such wonders as the Grand Canyon, with its awe-inspiring layers of sculpted rich, red rock, the Statue of Liberty and the 20th-century architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. UNESCO awards the designation to places deemed of universal importance and value to humankind.

Delegates from across the world meeting in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday approved adding Ohio's Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks to the prestigious list. There are now 25 UNESCO World Heritage sites in the United States. Eight of Ohio's prehistoric monumental earthworks built 2,000 years ago by Native Americans are Ohio's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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