Observational archaeoastronomy at the Newark Earthworks

Abstract

The Newark Earthworks are the largest set of geometric earthworks in the world. Built nearly 2,000-years ago by the Hopewell culture of eastern North America, this ceremonial complex, is located in Newark, Ohio, and extended over more than twelve square kilometers. In 1982, Hively and Horn demonstrated that the main axis of the Octagon Earthworks was aligned to the northernmost rising of the moon, an event that occurs every 18.61 years. The period from 2004 through 2007 includes this cycle's northernmost rising of the moon (14 September 2006) and many near-northernmost risings that afford a series of opportunities to attempt to use the earthworks as a device for making observations of the moonrise. Direct observations made during this period indicate these earthworks function admirably and dramatically as a frame for observing the northernmost rising of the moon. These results support Hively and Horn's argument that the architecture of the Newark Earthworks deliberately encodes lunar alignments and adds insight into how the Hopewell culture would have experienced such astronomical events.