From staff and wire reports
COLUMBUS – Described as “part cathedral, part cemetery and part astronomical observatory,” a network of ancient American Indian ceremonial and burial mounds in Ohio noted for their good condition, distinct style and cultural significance has been added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The eight Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks locations in Licking, Ross and Warren counties include five sites managed by the National Park Service and three managed by the Ohio History Connection.
The earthworks were built by Native Americans between 1,600 and 2,000 years ago. They are complex masterpieces of landscape architecture and are exceptional among ancient monuments worldwide in their enormous scale, geometric precision and astronomical alignments.
Collectively, these special and sacred places constitute Ohio’s first World Heritage Site.
“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.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee approved the application Tuesday during a meeting in Saudi Arabia.
The massive earthworks join a list of about 1,000 World Heritage sites around the world that includes Greece’s Acropolis, Peru’s Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China.
“Today’s inscription of Ohio’s Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks as a UNESCO World Heritage Designation will ensure that the earthworks created by American Indian Tribes over 2000 years ago will get international attention, drawing even more visitors to see these amazing places,” Gov. Mike DeWine said.
Preservationists’ push to recognize the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks was slowed by a protracted court battle to restore public access to a portion of the Octagon Earthworks leased to a golf course in Newark.
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. The Fort Ancient Earthworks and Nature Preserve is in Oregonia.
Other sites around the globe that have been awarded World Heritage designation include the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, the Colosseum in Rome, Britain’s Stonehenge and the Statue of Liberty.