Experiencing solstice as ancient Ohioans did
LEBANON, Ohio — Jack Blosser recalls feeling stunned the first time he watched the summer solstice sunrise at Fort Ancient Archaeological Park in Warren County.
“It was breathtaking,” said Blosser, Fort Ancient’s site manager.
People from across the state show up at the site every summer solstice to watch the sun rise on the longest day of the year. On Wednesday, about 75 visitors — mostly first-timers — gathered in front of the Fort Ancient visitors center at 5:30 a.m. to learn about the history of the park, the ancient Hopewell culture and the summer solstice.
Shortly after Blosser started working at Fort Ancient 29 years ago, he noticed something about a group of four, low limestone-covered mounds that form a perfect square, 512 feet on each side.
Blosser said he saw that the western mound was in perfect alignment with the summer solstice sunrise, which shone through two earthen walls. The only problem was an overgrown treeline that blocked the view.
With the help of a local Boy Scouts troop, Blosser cleared a new corridor, allowing visitors to experience the solstice as ancient cultures did.
He said his first solstice is still his favorite. “Seeing something the way (Native Americans) did 2,000 years ago, that’s something,” Blosser said.
Other parks host summer solstice events, including the Newark Earthworks, another Hopewell mound site. It held a sunrise service on Saturday.
Serpent Mound in Adams County invites people to watch the sunset as the serpent’s head lines up perfectly with the setting solstice sun.
Seth Cooper, 28, of Cincinnati, had visited Fort Ancient before, but never to see a solstice sunrise. “You hear about it, but it’s cool to see it really happen.”
After visiting the mounds on a work trip, Brad Lockhart, 45, of Mason, decided to bring his wife, Angela, 44, and children Blake, 10, and Ashlyn, 12, to watch the sunrise.
“It’s neat that these places exist where history really happens,” Mr. Lockhart said.
For ancient Ohioans, the change in seasons signaled by the solstice was a time of celebration.
Hopewell tradition, a period of Native American culture that began around 200 B.C., developed and spread across the Midwest for approximately 600 years.
Although Hopewell culture can be found as far away as Minnesota and Georgia, its “grandest expression” is here in Ohio, said Brad Lepper, curator of archaeology at the Ohio History Connection.
A number of different tribes during the Hopewell period occasionally gathered in large numbers to build gigantic ceremonial centers. This often included constructing massive earthen monuments, many of which line up precisely to mark important celestial bodies, Lepper said. These include solar events, constellations and moon cycles.
“They were either recognizing or asserting that human lives were aligned to the cosmic works in the heavens,” Lepper said.
Why and for what purpose Native Americans built these mounds isn’t totally clear to archaeologists, but there are some theories.
The solstice, Lepper said, is like a “great hinge point in the year,” something Native Americans would have celebrated annually.
Like giant earthen gears intended to interlock with celestial gears, Lepper said building mounds likely was a way to facilitate a connection.
“Two thousand years ago, there were some really smart ancient Americans,” he said. “They had not only begun to perceive those patterns (in nature), but they had tried to show them. They realized (they were) not just haphazard celestial bodies moving around.”
Blosser said that although we might never know all the answers about these mounds, seeing visitors leave Fort Ancient inspired is what really matters.
“The fact that when they see this and they’re in awe, that’s just incredible.”