Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, United States of America

The finest examples of monumental earthen architecture created by the ancient Indigenous Hopewell culture

Octagon Earthworks Exterior (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

Masterpieces of human creative genius, the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are a series of 8 gigantic earthen enclosures built by American Indians 2,000 years ago along the central tributaries of the Ohio River.

The site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023.

Mound City: View with Mount Logan at Sunrise (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

The huge squares, circles and octagons are geometrically precise and align perfectly with the cycles of the sun and moon. 

Great Circle (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

Great Circle Earthworks

The Great Circle Earthworks was a place of gathering and ceremony. A monumental gateway nearly 200 feet wide leads to the interior of the circle, where visitors will find Eagle Mound, named for its symmetrical, somewhat winged shape.

Great Circle Interior (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

The interior of the Great Circle Earthworks is so huge, the Great Pyramid of Giza could fit inside of it!

Visit the Great Circle Museum

Octagon Earthworks Exterior (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

Octagon Earthworks

The Octagon Earthworks is made of two geometric enclosures: a large circle enclosing 20 acres, and an even larger octagon enclosing 50 acres, connected to one another by an avenue.

Octagon (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

While it’s not possible to say with certainty why the Octagon Earthworks was built, the alignments of the rising and setting of the moon over its 18.6 year long cycle suggest shared beliefs.

Fort Ancient General Exterior (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

Fort Ancient

Built on a steep bluff overlooking the Little Miami River, Fort Ancient features miles of trails, earthen embankments and hidden astronomical connections. 

Fort Ancient A South Gate Angle (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

Items made of materials sourced from areas as far away as the Rocky Mountains help paint a picture of the importance of Fort Ancient as a gathering place. 

Fort Ancient (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage


Human genius is evident in the design of Fort Ancient—builders literally carved the rhythm of time into the land. Two of the distinctive limestone-capped mounds align to the summer solstice sunrise, and two align to the winter solstice sunrise.

Mound City (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

Mound City

Mound City consists of 25 mounds of various shapes and sizes enclosed by a low wall in an area just over the size of 10 football fields. There are two gateways—one on the eastern side, and one on the western. 

Mound City (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

Ancient people who were buried here were surrounded by rich artifacts made from materials from far away, suggesting that people of great importance were brought here to be cremated or buried.
Visit the Hopewell Culture Historical National Park 

Hopewell Mound Group: Great Enclosure Interior (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

Hopewell Mound Group

The Hopewell Mound Group forms the general shape of a parallelogram, with a Great Enclosure that measures 1,800 feet on the east and west sides and 2,800 feet on the north and south sides.

Hopewell Mound Group: Great Enclosure Interior (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

Artifacts discovered here were associated with typical Hopewell imagery, including bird and bear claws made of mica and copper. These items were crafted from rare materials not typically found in Ohio, such as ceremonial blades made from obsidian from Yellowstone National Park.

Hopeton Earthworks: NPS Mowing Pattern (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

Hopeton Earthworks

The Hopeton Earthworks are dominated by an irregular square with rounded corners and an overlapping circle. Remarkably, these two shapes have nearly the exact same area of 20 acres – just over 15 football fields each!

Hopeton Earthworks (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

The Hopeton Earthworks feature alignments to the summer and winter solstices within one degree. In addition, certain measurements within these huge shapes exactly match those in other Hopewell earthworks across Ohio.

High Bank Earthworks: Circle from East (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

High Bank Works

The High Bank Works are located in a nearly 200-acre field near the Hopeton Earthworks and Mound City. The large circle at High Bank has the same diameter as the Observatory Circle in Newark. 

High Bank Earthworks (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

Other seemingly divine measurements among the Hopewell culture are observed here as well, reiterating that these works are not separate, and were only possible due to a great collaborative effort. 

Seip Earthworks: Large Circle North Gateway (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

Seip Earthworks

Like the other Hopewell earthworks, the Seip Earthworks were built by a dispersed group of American Indians for a ceremonial purpose. 

Seip Earthworks: Large Circle North Gateway (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

The three shapes that make up the Seip Earthworks—two enormous circles and a square—were likely large gathering places of great significance, as is evidenced by their divine geometry and archaeological contributions.

Seip Earthworks: Large Circle North Gateway (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

The three-shape arrangement of the Seip Earthworks shows up in several ancient earthworks sites in Ross County, Ohio. Extraordinarily, these shapes all have the same dimensions.

Hopeton Earthworks: Square from Visitor Overlook (2023) by Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksUNESCO World Heritage

Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are exceptional amongst ancient earthworks worldwide not only in their enormous scale and wide geographic distribution, but also in their geometric precision. They reflect the pinnacle of Hopewell intellectual, technical, and symbolic achievement.

The site bears exceptional testimony to the unique characteristics of their builders, who lived in small, dispersed, egalitarian groups, between 1 and 400 CE, amongst the river valleys of what is now southern and central Ohio.

Credits: Story

This exhibit was created by the Ohio History Connection, in partnership with the National Park Service (Hopewell Culture National Historical Park). For more information, visit the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks site: https://hopewellearthworks.org

More on Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks and World Heritage:  whc.unesco.org/en/list/1689/

Photos: Ohio History Connection, John Hancock, alterNative Media, Tom Engberg/National Park Service

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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