Ross County contains the world’s most spectacular concentration of ancient earthworks. Of the three dozen major earthwork complexes built by the Hopewell Culture, two thirds lie within the boundaries of modern Ross County. Five of these sites, protected far longer than Junction, are on the nation’s priority list for World Heritage Site nomination along with Newark and Fort Ancient Earthworks, and efforts are underway to help Junction join them. A reproduction of Squier and Davis’ 1847 survey of the greater Chillicothe region shows a remarkably high density of earthworks, representing only a small portion of those once built in modern-day Ross County. The Chillicothe area was the most important ceremonial center in all of Eastern North America two thousand years ago. All of the great Hopewell earthwork complexes have been damaged during the last two hundred years: some were obliterated by urban development, while others were degraded by nearly 200 years of plowing on the rich, level soils where they were built. Few are now visible to casual observers, but because the builders dug below the topsoil before construction, modern archaeologists can reveal them with new technologies such as the magnetometer, which detects ancient disturbances beneath the ground; using this technology, archaeologist Jarrod Burks revealed the location of Junction’s nine earthworks. Of the two dozen earthwork complexes built in Ross County, seven have been fully protected. Junction Earthworks and Spruce Hill are under the stewardship of the Arc of Appalachia in partnership with The Archaeological Conservancy, while High Bank Works, Hopeton Earthworks, Hopewell Mound Group, Mound City, and Seip Earthworks are managed by Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. For over 30 years, The Archaeological Conservancy has played a pivotal role in protecting Ross County earthworks for posterity.