COLUMBUS — The Ohio History Connection and the National Park Service will celebrate the second anniversary of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks’ UNESCO World Heritage inscription on Sept. 19, according to a community announcement
The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, a collection of eight monumental landscape architecture sites built by Native Americans between 1,600 and 2,000 years ago, were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on Sept. 19, 2023.
Culture and Historic Preservation Director of then Seneca Cayuga Nation, William, of Grove, Oklahoma, stands in front of one of the mounds at the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park before the start of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks UNESCO World Heritage Inscription on October 14, 2023, in Chillicothe, Ohio.
The sites, located in Licking, Ross and Warren counties, are managed by the National Park Service and the Ohio History Connection.
Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks is Ohio’s only World Heritage Site
The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks is the 25th of 26 World Heritage listings in the U.S. and the first and only one in Ohio. There are about 1,200 World Heritage Sites around the globe.
To celebrate the anniversary, the Ohio History Connection and the National Park Service are offering a weekend of special events, including free and ticketed tours at various earthworks sites.
Free tours will be available at Octagon Earthworks at 12:30 and 3 p.m. on Sept. 19, while a ticketed tour at Great Circle Earthworks will take place at 2 p.m. Ticketed tours at Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve are scheduled for 1 and 3 p.m.
A panel of guest speakers applaud as the as a plaque is unveiled celebrating the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks a World Heritage Site during the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks UNESCO World Heritage Inscription on October 14, 2023, in Chillicothe, Ohio.
Self-guided tours available at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Free self-guided tours will be available at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park sites, with the Mound City Group Visitor Center open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors can speak with rangers and watch a 20-minute interpretive film. Young guests can learn about the National Park Service World Heritage Junior Ranger program and receive an honorary badge.
“The second anniversary of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site is a reminder of these monumental sites and history we have right here in Ohio,” Megan Wood, executive director and CEO of the Ohio History Connection, said in the announcement. “These sites have been — and remain — vital pieces of Ohio’s history for nearly 2,000 years, and this is just the beginning of their recognition on the global stage.”
For more information about the events and the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, visit hopewellearthworks.org.
This story was created by Jane Imbody, jimbody@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct/.
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Hopewell Earthworks celebrates 2 years as World Heritage Site