Archaeologists have increasingly broadened considerations of what is “monumental” and what relations with art, architecture, and landscapes constitute monumentality. This article documents the monumentality of ditches through an examination of 11 Scioto Hopewell ditches. Well known for their ornate crafts of exotic raw materials and massive geometric earthworks – constructed of ditches and embankments, usually in tandem – Scioto Hopewell was comprised of small-scale societies of the Middle Woodland period (1950–1550 BP) of the Scioto River Valley of southern Ohio. Though garnering archaeological attention for over two centuries, most research directed at understanding earthwork construction in this region has been relatively recent and primarily focused on embankment wall construction. This article represents the first exploration of Scioto Hopewell ditch construction and demonstrates that these ditches are monumental architecture that carry various meanings and whose construction was ritualized. Establishing a basis for the monumentality of Scioto Hopewell ditches has broad implications, as there is a global record of ditches that were multivalent and multi-functional landscape features that remain understudied beyond their possible functional or pragmatic purposes. This article demonstrates the value of the systematic archaeological examination of these features and the informational potential they hold.

考古学家越来越多地考虑什么是“纪念碑”以及与艺术，建筑和风景的关系构成了纪念性。本文通过检查11个Scioto Hopewell沟渠来记录沟渠的巨大性。Scioto Hopewell因其华丽的异国原材料工艺和大型几何土方工程（通常由沟渠和堤坝共同建造）而闻名，由Scioto河谷中林地时期（1950–1550 BP）的小规模社会组成俄亥俄州南部。尽管在两个多世纪以来一直受到考古学的关注，但大多数旨在了解该地区土方工程的研究都是相对较新的研究，主要集中在路堤围墙的建设上。本文代表了对Scioto Hopewell沟渠建设的首次探索，并证明了这些沟渠是具有不同含义且经过仪式化的纪念性建筑。为Scioto Hopewell沟渠的不朽性奠定基础具有广泛的意义，因为沟渠的全球记录是多价和多功能的景观特征，仍然超出其可能的功能或实用目的的研究范围。本文演示了对这些特征及其所具有的信息潜力进行系统的考古研究的价值。为Scioto Hopewell沟渠的不朽性奠定基础具有广泛的意义，因为沟渠的全球记录是多价和多功能的景观特征，仍然超出其可能的功能或实用目的的研究范围。本文演示了对这些特征及其所具有的信息潜力进行系统的考古研究的价值。为Scioto Hopewell沟渠的不朽性奠定基础具有广泛的意义，因为沟渠的全球记录是多价和多功能的景观特征，仍然超出其可能的功能或实用目的的研究范围。本文演示了对这些特征及其所具有的信息潜力进行系统的考古研究的价值。