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*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:*
September 19, 2023




*MEDIA CONTACTS:
*Dan Tierney: 614-644-0957
Eve Mueller: 614-644-0957






*Governor DeWine Applauds UNESCO World Heritage Designation for Ohio’s Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks*

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine celebrates Ohio’s first United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage designation for the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, after a committee vote today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Earthworks were built by Native Americans between 1,600 and 2,000 years ago.

Octagon Earthworks in Newark, Ohio.

Mound City Group in Chillicothe, Ohio. (Credit: Courtesy of the Ohio History Connection)

While this is Ohio’s first UNESCO World Heritage designation, it’s the 25th World Heritage Listing in the United States. Ohio’s Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are now among exceptional places of interest and value around the globe including Machu Picchu (Peru), the Great Pyramid of Giza (Egypt), the Colosseum (Italy), Stonehenge (England), and the Statue of Liberty (New York, United States).  

The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks is the collective name of eight monumental sites operated by the Ohio History Connection and the National Park Service in Licking, Ross, and Warren counties:


* Great Circle Earthworks (Heath)
* Octagon Earthworks (Newark)
* Fort Ancient Earthworks (Oregonia)

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park (Chillicothe) includes:


* Mound City Group
* Hopewell Mound Group
* Seip Earthworks
* High Bank Works
* Hopeton Earthworks
Octagon Earthworks in Newark, Ohio.

Octagon Earthworks in Newark, Ohio. (Credit: Courtesy of the Ohio History Connection)

“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,” said Governor Mike DeWine.  “I encourage Ohioans and people from across the globe to visit these eight sites to experience the awe-inspiring earthworks that are such a special part of Ohio’s history.”

The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks were nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage List in January 2022, but the vote didn't occur until today, after years of effort.

“We are so pleased the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks have been inscribed as Ohio’s first World Heritage Site,” said Megan Wood, Executive Director and CEO of the Ohio History Connection. “This inscription is a testament to the outstanding universal value of these masterpieces and more than a decade of work to prepare the UNESCO nomination by our various partners, including the National Park Service and federally recognized American Indian Tribes who trace their ancestry back to Ohio. We are beyond excited to share these sites with more and more Ohioans, Americans and world travelers.”

Fort Ancient Earthworks in Oregonia, Ohio.

Fort Ancient Earthworks in Oregonia, Ohio. (Credit: Courtesy of the Ohio History Connection)

These sites are complex masterpieces of landscape architecture and are exceptional among ancient monuments worldwide in their enormous scale, geometric precision, and astronomical alignments.

"Upon hearing that eight mounds in Ohio built by our Native American ancestors some 2,000 years ago have now been officially designated World Heritage sites, my immediate reaction was pure excitement and exhilaration,” said Chief Glenna Wallace of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. “Tears came to my eyes, and exhilaration turned into reflection, knowing that the world will now see and recognize the commitment, spirituality, imaginative artistry and knowledge of complex architecture to produce magnificent earthworks. Our ancestors were true geniuses."

The National Park Service and the Ohio History Connection are planning multiple events in October that are free and open to the public to commemorate the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks being inscribed as Ohio’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

To find out more about the events, visit hopewellearthworks.org [ [link removed] ].

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*Additional Media Contacts: *

*Ohio History Connection
*Neil Thompson, Media and Public Relations Manager 
?? 614-917-9348*
*✉ [email protected]

*National Park Service
*Susan Knisley, Supervisory Park Ranger
?? 740-774-1126
✉ [email protected]

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