The Newark Earthworks

The 1862 map of the earthworks by Newark residents James H. and Charles B. Salisbury (American Antiquarian Society)

The Newark Earthworks were constructed between 100 B.C. and A.D. 500 by a people we know today as the Hopewell Culture. Part temple, part astronomical observatory, and part cemetery, this is the largest set of geometric earthworks built anywhere in the world. They include Great Circle Earthworks, Octagon Earthworks (joined by parallel walls to another circle), and Wright Earthworks, a large, nearly perfect square enclosure.

The size of these earthworks is impressive. The Great Circle is nearly 1,200 feet in diameter, and the Octagon Earthworks enclose 50 acres (its linked circle encloses 20 acres). The entire complex was about 3,000 acres in extent. Today, the site is the Newark Earthworks State Memorial and covers 206 acres, including the Great Circle and a 50-foot long segment of the Newark Square (the remianing portions of this are also referred to as Wright Earthworks). The Ohio Historical Society oversees these and the Octagon. The Newark Earthworks was one of 14 sites nominated in January 2008 by the Department of Interior for submission by the United States to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Why were these earthworks built and what were they used for? Many believe that the Hopewell culture used the earthworks as places of ceremony, social gathering, trade, and worship, and as cemeteries. Ohio Historical Society Archaeologist Brad Lepper thinks that the Hopewell built these ceremonial spaces on such a large scale because they weren't built just for the needs of the locals but for people from hundreds if not thousands of miles away.

"The Newark Earthworks is my favorite site because of its grandeur and complexity, and because of its rich history," says Lepper, "The monumental architecture creates a ceremonial landscape that encodes remarkably sophisticated geometrical and astronomical knowledge we're only just beginning to decipher." (The Octagon Earthwork is aligned to track movements of the moon.)

Many people assume that little remains of the Newark Earthworks, and that they were destroyed in the making of the golf course and county fairgrounds which have occupied parts of the site. Although the burial grounds were destroyed early on, by canal and railroad construction in the 19th century, many of the earthworks remain. In fact, inclusion of Octagon Earthworks in a country club's golf course in 1910 may have helped preserve the mounds. "We're able to decipher it only because the early citizens of Newark and Licking County found creative ways to incorporate major elements of this ancient architecture in their own 19th-century landscapes," says Lepper.

According to Lepper, the parallel walls that extended in a straight line from the Octagon at the Newark Earthworks may have connected the site to the many Hopewell mounds and enclosures near Chillicothe--nearly 60 miles away. Lepper calls this "Great Hopewell Road." The road may have been a route of pilgrimage connecting the two grandest centers of the Hopewell world. If this is the case, then it makes sense that the Hopewell Road was a spiritual path uniting two centers similar to the straight roads built by the Maya culture in Mesoamerica, which they called sacbeob, or "white roads." Although the Hopewell acquired goods from much of North America, there is more evidence of exotic material, from obsidian to seashells, coming into Ohio than of Ohio goods going out. It's possible that the mica and obsidian were gifts coming into the earthworks and in return, these visitors took away a blessing rather than a commodity. Lepper believes formal roadways for the trips in and out of the earthwork centers would have enhanced the pilgrimages.

Newark Earthworks Day

This October there will be several special events in and about the site (see the downloadable flyer).

Saturday-Friday, October 10-16, Walk with the Ancients! Beginning at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Chillicothe, follow the "Hopewell Road" to the Newark Earthworks. The walk will cover 60 miles over seven days. Programs on topics such as presentations about the earthworks, astronomy, and Native life will be offered every night of the walk. Programs will include buildings and parks. The walk ends Friday afternoon at Geller Park in Heath. The public is welcome to greet the walkers when they arrive. On Friday or Sunday they will walk the final mile to the Newark Earthworks, where Native American singers and dancers and civic officials will lead a ceremony at the Octagon Earthworks.

Saturday, October 17, the Ohio State University at Newark will feature speakers, exhibits, craft vendors, and Native American food all day. Talks will focus on the nature of pilgrimage and evidence that the Newark Earthworks have been a place of pilgrimage across the centuries. Speakers include Chief Glenna Wallace (Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma); Dr. Lindsay Jones, The Ohio State University; Dr. Bradley Lepper, The Ohio Historical Society; Dr. William Romain, author of The Mysteries of the Hopewell; and Vincent Stanzione, author of Ritual of Sacrifice: Walking the Face of the Earth on the Sacred Path of the Sun.

Sunday, October 18, Octagon Earthworks Open House at 125 North 33rd St., Newark

Everyone is welcome, all events are free. For more information, see the downloadable Newark Earthworks Day flyer here, or call 740-364-9584, email earthworks@osu.edu.