COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) â A debate over public access to a set of ancient ceremonial and burial earthworks is before the Ohio Supreme Court in a case pitting the state historical society against a country club within whose grounds the earthworks are located.
At issue before the court are the 2,000-year-old Octagon Earthworks in Newark in central Ohio. The Ohio History Connection, which owns the earthworks, has proposed the site along with other ancient sites in Ohio for nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The historical society, which is a nonprofit that contracts with the state, argues it must control access to the earthworks for that nomination to proceed.