This photo provided by the Ohio History Connection show the Octagon Observatory Circle at Newark. (Photo Provided)

NEWARK — Newark and other Ohio sites may soon have World Heritage status.

A group of eight Ohio prehistoric earthworks sites, including ones in Newark and Chillicothe, may soon become Ohio’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee is meeting Sept. 10-25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A decision to inscribe the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks as a World Heritage Site is expected Sept. 19 or 20, according to a press release from the Ohio History Connection.

The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks is the collective name for five of the earthworks sites managed by the National Park Service and three managed by the Ohio History Connection.

The Ohio earthworks were nominated to the World Heritage List in January 2022 by the U.S. Department of the Interior. World Heritage inscription brings recognition to places of exceptional interest and value, and there are only about 1,000 World Heritage sites around the globe, the release said.

The earthworks in Licking, Ross and Warren counties were built by Native Americans between 1,600 and 2,000 years ago. They are considered exceptional among ancient monuments worldwide because of their complex landscape architecture, enormous scale, geometric precision and astronomical alignments.

The Ohio History Connection’s Great Circle Earthworks and Octagon Earthworks are in Newark and its Fort Ancient Earthworks are in Oregonia.

The National Park Service’s Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Chillicothe includes the Mound City Group, Hopewell Mound Group, Seip Earthworks, High Bank Works and Hopeton Earthworks.

“We are confident in the strength of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks nomination, making these earthworks Ohio’s first World Heritage Site and the 25th World Heritage Site in the U.S.,” said Megan Wood, Executive Director and CEO of the Ohio History Connection.

More information about the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks can be found at hopewellearthworks.org.