Newark Earthworks Octagon Openhouse

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 are 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. Two of those dates are coming up in April!

Here are the four dates for 2014:

Sunday, April 13
Monday, April 14
Tuesday, May 27 (the day after Memorial Day)
Sunday, October 12 (the day before Columbus Day)

The Open House events extend from dawn to dusk, but some days have limited educational programming including guided tours. On April 13th, tours will be offered from 12:00 to 4:00 PM.

Put these dates on your calendar and plan to spend at least one of these special days walking where the Hopwell walked. Experience this wonder of the ancient world is all its magnificence.

Brad Lepper