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Saturday, November 11, 2017

The Newark Earthworks

The Road, The Stone and The Heavens

Nestled by Ohio’s Capital city is another “wonder of the ancient world”.[1] The 2000 year old Newark Earthworks is a collection of mounds formed to make geometric shapes that are the largest of their kind found anywhere in the world. The site consists of a circle, an octagon and a square, all of which are connected by roads. The site has been called the” Crown Jewel of the Hopewell Culture” and one of the most traveled to destinations of the ancient world.[2] The site is so large in scale that it can only be seen in its entirety from the air and each geometric shape is so massive that they become nearly inconceivable and almost impossible to photograph from the ground. To be honest this is one of those ancient ruins that must be seen to be fully appreciated.


For those who take the time to stop by Newark Earthworks Museum and State Park you will be greeted by a long manicured grass hill that is visible from the main parking lot.


(View from the parking lot) 

          However once you have made your way up the path towards the museum you will find yourself standing at the entrance to the Great Circle.The nearly 14 ft. gateway that leads to the interior of the circle is made completely out of dirt and wood and gives the appearance that you are peering into something special. Once inside the Great Circle the vastness of the interior is revealed. Even though others may be wandering around it gives you the feeling as though you have the run of the place. Even though the circle is situated near the busiest section of town the walls of the Circle seem to drown out the noise of the city and provide a sense of seclusion. It is no wander why this place was once celebrated as a spiritual destination.

(View from the Trench and inner Circle)

The Great Circle is nearly 1,200 feet in diameter with 8 foot high walls set atop of a 5 foot deep trench that is said to have once contained water. The interior of the circle is nearly four football fields long and so spacious that the Great Pyramid of Giza could sit inside its walls and never touch a side.

Most of the Earthworks complex has been destroyed by modern expansion but the Octagon Mound and the Great Circle Mound are still visible today. Unfortunately the Great Circle Mound is the only remaining mound that is still open to the public. A private golf course and country club currently reside inside the Octagon Mound and because of this it is only open to the public a few times a year.

(Artist recreation of the Newark Earthworks)

Unlike most of the mounds found throughout Ohio and Indiana, the Great Circle Mound does not contain burials. Early explores believed that the mound was the ruins of an ancient fort but modern researchers find this explanation unlikely do to the fact that there is no evidence of construction beyond the current geometric designs. The modern consensus is that the purpose of the Earthworks was ceremonial and astrological. Basically the entire earthworks complex is a giant calendar that doubled as a place of celebration.

Archaeoastronomy

The Great Circle Mound and the entire Earthworks complex was laid out in a manner that would allow certain elements to align with different movements of the sun and the moon. Modern researchers have termed this type of architecture “archaeoastronomy”. The Hopewell Indians and their Newark Earthworks were among the first structures to incorporate this type of architecture.

The gateway that leads to the inside of the Great Circle Mound is positioned to align with the summer and winter solstice while the gateway to the Octagon Mound is positioned to align with the seasonal rising and setting of the moon. It is believed that the other geometric shapes that once existed followed this same architectural style. Researchers believe that these alignments served as markers for the changing of the seasons.[3] Considering the tools that would have been used 2000 years ago, the precision of the structures are truly amazing
          


How these geometric shapes were so precisely designed remains a mystery to modern researchers but that is not the only mystery to be had at the Earthworks complex. Newark Earthworks may also have some of the earliest roads known to exist.

The Hopewell Road

When discussing ancient roadways it is highly unlikely that anyone would mention prehistoric Native Americans however, modern research may provide an argument for the Hopewell’s inclusion into the discussion. The Earthworks found in Newark show evidence that they were once interconnected by roads that extended well beyond their borders. Even though  much of the original landscape has given way to modern advancement, researchers have discovered what appears to be the remnants of an ancient road. The remnants have been dated to the time of the Hopewell Culture. This means that if the road existed during the Hopewell Culture then it is one of the oldest roads in the world.
The Hopewell Indians existed from approximately 500 BC to 1000 AD. The Newark Earthworks was constructed sometime prior to 100 BC. This means that the road would have been built around the same time as the Romans were building their first roads.

That is something I bet your high school history teacher neglected to tell you while discussing the amazing advancements made by the Roman Empire.

Currently the Hopewell Road lies just below a thin layer of sod and grass. Researchers describe the road as a straight line that stretches 60 miles with parallel earthen embankments that are approximately 3 feet in height and 200 feet apart.[5] It is unknown if the road was originally covered with soil or if it simply became overgrown with time.

Things that make you go Hmmm???

The invention of the wheel and the use of horses is believed to have been brought from Europe long after the Hopewell were gone. Because of this it is not unusual to find roads in association with later cultures that use one or both of those things. However, the Hopewell are believed to have had neither of those luxuries so the discovery of a road is a bit compelling. It is well known that the Hopewell Indians were long distance travelers and traders but artifacts suggest that they did so on foot or by boat. So the logical question is…….Why did the Hopewell need roads if their two primary forms of transportation were walking and boating?

Perhaps the road was simply a grand gesture fitting the grandness of the Earthworks complex or maybe the goal of the road was to encourage travel to and from the earthworks. The simple fact is that ancient America is so understudied and misrepresented that places like Newark Earthworks makes people start to question what they thought they knew about America prior to the arrival of the Europeans. It may even be that the Hopewell did have other means of transportation that have yet to be discovered. The only thing that is certain is that the Hopewell Road demonstrates that there is much left to discover and explain about life in prehistoric North America.

The Newark Holy Stones

Located near the center of the Great Circle is three small mounds called the Eagle Mounds.They are said to be called this because they resemble an eagles claw. However, that is not all these little mounds are famous for.
 
(Present day Eagle Mounds)
In 1860 a man named David Wyrick found an inscribed stone while excavating near Eagle Mounds. The stone contained a condensed version of the Ten Commandments written in a style of writing most associated with the tribes of Israel. The stone is one of the most controversial and debated artifacts to ever come out of North America. The stone is even housed in a museum that is not supported or connected to the Earthworks complex and the only thing that can be viewed at the complex is a copy of an old newspaper clipping that describes the finding.

The stone is approximately 6 inches long and is made of limestone. The front of the stone contains an image of Moses while the outer edges and back of the stone contain the Hebrew script. Because of the Hebrew script Wyrick believed that the stone must have come from one of the tribes of Israel and thus began the debate.

(Newark Holy Stone)

The age of the stone has never been determined and a definitive explanation for its origin remains a matter of debate. Some experts say Wyrick faked the stone; others say he was duped into believing that the stone is real, while still others argue for its authenticity. [6] Until more light can be shed on the artifact the true origin of the stone may never be revealed. Like many things about the Newark Earthworks the Decalogue Stone, more commonly known as the Newark Holy Stone remains a mystery.

If you find yourself in the vicinity of Newark Ohio and you have some time to kill, I highly recommend visiting the Newark Earthworks. This ancient example of prehistoric America is well worth the trip and it is something that is best seen rather than described.




[1] Bradley T. Lepper, The Newark Earthworks: A Wonder of the Ancient World' Columbus , (Ohio: Ohio Historical Society, 2002).

[2] Susan L. Woodward, and Jerry N. McDonald, Indian Mounds of the Ohio Valley: A Guide to Adena and Hopewell Sites, The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, (Blacksburg, Virginia, 1986)  p.16-23.

[3] Lindsay Jones, and Richard D. Shiels, The Newark Earthworks: Enduring Monuments, Contested Meanings. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2016, https://muse.jhu.edu/.

[4Photo by Timothy E. Black

[5] Bradley T. Lepper, "Tracking Ohio's great Hopewell Road," Archaeology 48, no. 6 (1995): 52-56

[6] J. Huston McCulloch,. The Newark, Ohio Decalogue Stone and Keystone, Symposium, Nov. 6, 1999, http://www.econ.ohio-state.edu/jhm/arch/decalog.html.

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