09/19/2023

Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks Inscribed as Ohio’s First UNESCO World Heritage Site

On Sept. 19, the 21 countries on the UNESCO World Heritage Committee issued their decision to inscribe Ohio’s Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks to the World Heritage List. This is the first World Heritage site in Ohio and only the 25th in the United States.

The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks include five locations managed by the National Park Service and three managed by the Ohio History Connection. They were built by early Native Americans between 1,600 and 2,000 years ago. These complex masterpieces of landscape architecture are exceptional among ancient monuments worldwide because of their enormous scale, geometric precision and astronomical alignments.

The eight Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks sites are in Licking, Ross and Warren counties. The National Park Service’s Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Chillicothe includes the Mound City Group, Hopewell Mound Group, Seip Earthworks, High Bank Works and Hopeton Earthworks. The Ohio History Connection's Great Circle Earthworks and Octagon Earthworks are in Heath and Newark, respectively, and Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve is in Oregonia.

“Inscription on the World Heritage List will call international attention to these treasures long known to Ohioans,” said Megan Wood, executive director and CEO of the Ohio History Connection.

World Heritage inscription brings recognition to places of exceptional interest and value. There are only about 1,000 World Heritage sites around the globe.

The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks were nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage List in January 2022 by the U.S. Department of the Interior, but the process to get to that point has been over a decade in the making. The Ohio Travel Association has been a partner in helping inscription come to fruition for close to 11 years.

"This has been a big week for Ohio and for our tribal partners," said Melinda Huntley, executive director of the Ohio Travel Association. "What we make of this inscription is up to all of us." A breakout session at the Ohio Conference on Travel focuses on opportunities to promote and work regionally, and OTA is scheduling a November work-day for regional partners to gather.    

For more information about the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks and upcoming commemoration activities, go to hopewellearthworks.org.

Also read: 

Here's a Primer on What That Means and What Opportunities are Ahead, eClips, 9/8/23