Page 12 - AAA Magazine – AAA Ohio Auto Club – September 2021

Discovering
Ancient
Ohio
By John E. Hancock
Digital rendering by University of Cincinnati/CERHAS: The full moon rising at its northernmost point over the central axis of Newark’s Octagon Earthworks, a lunar observatory more precise than any other on earth.
W hile the Caesars were ruling Rome 2,000 years ago, a flourishing American Indian culture was building huge, intricate monuments of earth and stone across central and southern Ohio. They were pilgrimage
centers for a religious movement dominating much of North America at the time. Many of these remarkable sites still stand today among the river valleys and hilltops of our region.
Archaeologists call this ancient culture “Hopewell” after a site near Chillicothe. It is one of eight being prepared for nomination to the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List next year. That’s the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, whose World Heritage program was inspired in the 1970s by the United States’ National Park System and now features more than 1,000 natural and cultural sites in nearly every nation on earth.
World Heritage recognition will bring new travelers to the region, with new expectations and new tourism development opportunities. You don’t need to wait, though. You can discover these ancient sacred places now.
This past spring, Ohio’s former First Lady Hope Taft joined retired Cincinnati attorney and author Buck Niehoff and a small group of friends in walking back-roads across the state to visit these earthworks. Niehoff is an experienced
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