The Octagon Earthworks is one of the most spectacular surviving remnants of the Newark Earthworks. The gigantic octagonal enclosure for which the site is named is large enough to contain four Roman Colosseums. The Octagon is connected to a perfectly circular enclosure 1,054 feet in diameter. The architecture of the Octagon Earthworks encodes a sophisticated understanding of geometry and astronomy. It is a National Historical Landmark and is on track to become a World Heritage site!
Portions of the Octagon Earthworks is open to the public during daylight hours 365 days a year, but much of the site is used as a private golf course for most of the year, so access necessarily is restricted.
Four times each year, however, golfing is suspended and the entire site is made available to the general public, so that you can walk where the Hopewell walked.
Here are the dates for this year:
April
Sunday, April 8 and Monday, April 9
July
Monday, July 30
October
Sunday, October 7
Stay tuned for further information on activities that might be scheduled for one or more of these dates, but if nothing else, you are welcome to come to the site and explore every nook and cranny on these dates!
Maybe I’ll see you there!
