Newark Earthworks

Newark Earthworks

Masks are no longer required but please continue to practice social distancing wherever possible.

The park is open, although the museum remains closed until further notice.  The restrooms near the shelter houses are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

A guided tour of the Great Circle is offered the first Friday of the month at 12:30 p.m. Please meet at the map in front of the museum.

Visit

The Newark Earthworks are the largest set of geometric earthen enclosures in the world. Already a National Historic Landmark, in 2006, the State of Ohio designated the Newark Earthworks as “the official prehistoric monument of the state.” Interpretive signage around the park will help to explain the significance of the site and why American Indians regard the Newark Earthworks as a sacred site. Average visit time: Allow 1+ hours.

Note: the parking lots are a moderate distance from earthworks and museum.  A paved path with some steps provides access to the museum but there is no direct walkway to the center of the Great Circle.

While visiting Newark Earthworks, consider traveling 15 miles east to visit Flint Ridge.

History

Built by people of the ancient Hopewell Culture between A.D. 1 to A.D. 400, this architectural wonder of ancient America was part cathedral, part cemetery and part astronomical observatory. The entire Newark Earthworks originally encompassed more than four square miles. Over the years, the growth of the city of Newark destroyed many of the Newark Earthworks, but three major segments survived because of the efforts of interested local citizens:

• Great Circle Earthworks (455 Hebron Rd., Heath, OH): Formerly known as Moundbuilders State Memorial, the Great Circle Earthworks is nearly 1,200 feet in diameter and was likely used as a vast ceremonial center by its builders. The 8 feet (2.4 m) high walls surround a 5 feet (1.5 m) deep moat, except at the entrance where the dimensions are even greater and more impressive.
• Octagon Earthworks (125 N. 33rd St., Newark, OH): Enclosing 50 acres, the Octagon Earthworks has eight walls, each measuring about 550 feet long and from five to six feet in height. The Octagon Earthworks are joined by parallel walls to a circular embankment enclosing 20 acres. At present the Octagon Earthworks is also the site of the Mound Builders Country Club golf course. The entire grounds are open four times a year, during daylight hours.
• Wright Earthworks (On James, north of the intersection of James and Grant; west and parallel to State Route 79): This earthwork consists of a fragment of a geometrically near-perfect square enclosure and part of one wall that originally formed a set of parallel embankments, which led from the square to a large oval enclosure. Originally, the sides of the Newark square ranged from about 940 to 950 feet in length, and they enclosed a total area of about 20 acres.

The three segment site-inclusive 2022 Newark Earthworks Open House dates are:

• • ​Sunday,  April 10 – Open daylight to dusk. Self-guided tours only. Staff on hand to answer questions, noon to 4 p.m.
  • Monday, April 11  – Open daylight to dusk. Self-guided tours only. Staff on hand to answer questions, noon to 4 p.m.
  • NEW!– Saturday, July 23 – A Walking Tour of the Newark Earthworks – a three-mile walking tour to discover the history of some of the extinct and hidden portions of the Newark Earthworks. The tour will begin at 9 a.m. in front of the museum at the Great Circle and will end around noon. Walking shoes and a water bottle are all you need, plus sunscreen or a hat — little shade on the tour, so dress accordingly. Walking tour is free.
  • Monday, July 25  –  Open daylight to dusk. Guided tours of Octagon Earthworks at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Information tables at both the Octagon and Great Circle Earthworks. Staff on hand at the Octagon and Great Circle to answer questions, noon to 4 p.m.
  • Sunday, October 16  –  Open daylight to dusk. Program schedule is still being developed. Staff on hand at the Octagon and Great Circle to answer questions, noon to 4 p.m.

Advanced registration to the Open Houses is not required; admission is free. Please note all tours will be postponed or canceled in the event of severe storms that include high winds, thunder and lightening.

While we can never know with any certainty the Hopewells’ purpose in designing the earthworks, one theory is that the Hopewell built these earthworks on such a massive scale for astronomical accuracy—long, straight embankments provide longer sight lines that increase the accuracy of astronomical alignments. In 1982, professors Ray Hively and Robert Horn of Earlham College in Indiana discovered that the Hopewell builders aligned these earthworks to the complicated cycle of risings and settings of the moon. They recovered a remarkable wealth of indigenous knowledge relating to geometry and astronomy encoded in the design of these earthworks. The Octagon Earthworks, in particular, are aligned to the four moonrises and four moonsets that mark the limits of a complicated 18.6-year-long cycle.

World Heritage

The Newark Earthworks are one step closer to becoming part of Ohio’s first World Heritage site. The site is one of seven Ohio sites in a serial nomination of Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks. In addition to Newark Earthworks, the sites are Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve and five sites that make up Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Chillicothe. For more information on World Heritage and how you can help, visit worldheritageohio.org.