Two of the most impressive features of the ancient Newark Earthworks remain today, helping visitors grasp the literally unbelievable scope, beauty, and precision of this unique architecture. A small museum at the Great Circle orients visitors to the complex and faces the monumental gateway of the dramatic, 1200-foot diameter ditched enclosure, with its winged "eagle" mound at the center.

Across town (once linked by ancient walled roadways) the precise "Octagon Earthworks" present their perfectly level artificial horizons, used in antiquity to mark the complex movements of the moon. A giant circle connects via an avenue with the even larger, open-cornered octagon, with its cleverly-designed corner gateways. Small earthen walls nearby mark the point where a long straight roadway took off to the southwest.

Amidst a hilltop subdivision just off the Newark-Granville road stands Ohio's second great Fort Ancient-era effigy, the so-called "Alligator", best seen when early- or late-day shadows show off its curling tail and rounded feet to full advantage.