Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks

Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks consist of eight monumental earthen enclosure complexes that are the most representative surviving expressions of the North American Indigenous tradition now referred to as the Hopewell culture. Built between 2,000 and 1,600 years ago along the central tributaries of the Ohio River, the earthworks’ scale and complexity include precise geometric figures; alignments with the cycles of the Sun and the Moon; and hilltops sculpted to enclose vast, level plazas. The earthworks served as ceremonial centers and have yielded finely crafted ritual objects fashioned from raw materials acquired from distant places.

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Great Circle Earthworks
The Great Circle at Newark is one of the largest geometric enclosures built by the Hopewell culture. It is nearly 1,200 feet in diameter and encloses nearly 30 acres.

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Octagon Earthworks
The unique shape of the Octagon Earthworks is a feat of astonishing precision that required an advanced understanding of the cosmos. The indigenous creators of the Octagon Earthworks incorporated the alignments of the rising and setting of the moon over its 18.6 year long cycle into its design.

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Mound City
Individual buildings once stood where we see mounds today at the Mound City site. During excavation in the 1920s, archaeologists discovered large, well-built shrines beneath each of the mounds, along with altars, cremations, and objects. The individuals buried here were interred with rich artifacts made from faraway materials, suggesting that these were people of great importance.

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Hopewell Mound Group
Evidence points to the Hopewell Mound Group maintaining its significance as a ceremonial center throughout the entire era of the Hopewell Culture in Ohio, approximately 400 years. Due to this longevity, experts conjecture that the Hopewell Mound Group served as the ceremonial center among all the area earthworks.

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Hopeton Earthworks
Located across from Mound City and suffering from decades of agricultural use and erosion, the Hopeton Earthworks have been reconstructed via archaeology and interpretive mowing, which have helped bring the ancient site back to life.

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Seip Earthworks
The arrangement of the three Seip Earthworks shows up in several other ancient earthworks sites in Ohio that also share the same dimensions. The repeated dimensions of these areas required precise techniques of design, measurement, and execution.

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Fort Ancient
The builders of Fort Ancient created the largest hilltop enclosure in North America containing distinctive mounds aligned to the summer and winter solstice sunrises.