Ancient Indigenous ‘Stonehenge’ of Ohio nominated for UNESCO status

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A court ruling that supports efforts to nominate the monument for UNESCO World Heritage Site status requires a golf course that surrounds ancient Native American earthworks in the state of Ohio to give up its lease, The Art Newspaper reported. The site has been compared in archaeological significance to Stonehenge and Machu Picchu.

The Octagon Earthworks near Newark, Ohio, is one of eight groups of earthen mound enclosures called the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks that were constructed by the now-extinct Hopewell culture about 2,000 years ago. The Octagon Earthworks, the greatest remaining example of the culture's earthworks, are thought to have operated as a lunar observatory.

Prior to being leased in 1910 to the Mound Builders Country Club, which built an 18-hole golf course there and has subsequently maintained the mounds, the location was utilized as a militia camp.

Considering that the location was included in the US National Register of Historic Places in 1964, some have suggested that a golf club was an unsuitable use of the area.

According to the court's decision, the organization, whose lease was due to end in 2078, must accept payment from the state's historical resources and leave the territory in order for the site to be made publicly accessible as mandated by UNESCO.

A non-profit organization called the Ohio History Connection, which works to preserve cultural heritage in the state and submitted the site and two others for UNESCO status in March this year, offered to buy the property for $800,000 in 2018. It changed its offer to $1.7m upon a corrected appraisal.

The payout will be decided by a lower court, but the golf club is requesting $12 million, arguing that it has not been offered compensation to relocate its business and that ending the lease is not necessary to make the site publicly available.