Notes

Minecraft: Lockdown Lesson Recreates Ancient Island Tomb

Minecraft: Lockdown lesson recreates an ancient island tomb Written by George Herd BBC News



Consider an archaeologist, bored girl who is in coronavirus lockdown, and a common interest in exploring ancient tombs.



The result? One of Wales' most important Bronze Age sites recreated - in the video game Minecraft.



It's Dr. Ben Edwards from Wrexham and his daughter Bella who have achieved it.



Their models of Bryn Celli Ddu on Anglesey are now being shared with schools around the globe.



The models can be added to Minecraft's block-building world. You can also browse the site to learn more about Neolithic life and Art.



The burial mound dates back about five thousand years ago. Its called the "passage Tomb" is in perfect alignment with the sun's rise on the summer solstice.



More recent excavations at the site, including those by the Manchester Metropolitan University archaeologist Dr Edwards himself, revealed that the burial chamber was originally constructed as an "henge".



Similar to Stonehenge, this was a ceremonial enclosure that consisted of the bank surrounding an inner ditch, encased in a circle of upright stones.



Dr. Edwards used these digs along with work with researchers from the University of Central Lancashire, Wales the historical environment service Cadw to carefully recreate Bryn Celli Ddu for the video game.



It was later integrated into Minecraft's educational edition, which is used around the world to teach chemistry lessons and computer coding.



Now you can add ancient Welsh history.



From cromlechs and cairns – Wales' ancient burial grounds



History of the world The Bryn Celli Ddu stone



Why did the prehistorics build so many hill forts



BBC Radio 3: New Generation Thinkers' Seren Griffiths on Bryn Celli Ddu



"I was aware that Bella had the educational version of Minecraft at school near Wrexham and I had it at my university.



"So it was always at the back of my mind for a while to create something in Minecraft," said Dr Edwards who has worked on other more mature computer models of Bryn Celli Ddu in the past.



"It wasn't a priority, but then it's lockdown time and it's the Easter holidays, so you are homeschooling.



"I just said to Bella"Should we have a crack at this?'"



The game is famous for its ability to create virtually any kind of world or playground of graphic blocks.



While it might seem like an unending game, Dr. Edwards was serious about the approach to Bryncelli Ddu and used actual geographic mapping data to create the Minecraft landscapes.



It also includes the tomb itself in the manner it could be from the Bronze Age, and alongside it are burial mounds and pits that were discovered in the last few years.



The game also features rock art by Bryn Celli Ddu, as also a model of an Neolithic home.



Dr. Cities Edwards declared that the most difficult thing to build was not the house or the burial mounds.



"It was planting the trees," he said.



Each one had to be "planted" by Bella and her dad as part of the Minecraft world.



"Bella had to demonstrate to me how to do a number of things, because she uses it more than me," Dr Edwards confessed.



In the end, she was in favor of the final version and said it was "very real".



Her father said, "And she knows because she used to go down to the mines as well."



Dr Ffion Reynolds from Cadw said that it was precisely children like Bella who would be the most benefit from the Minecraft model.



"We were looking for creative ways of providing people with an experience in digital form of Bryncelli Ddu," said Dr Reynolds, who would normally spend the summer months giving guided tours of the excavations to schools in the area.



"This was an opportunity to maintain our relationship with these schools and to provide them with a means to 'visit' the site electronically."



Coronavirus restrictions have resulted in Cadw's sites in Wales being closed to the public including Bryn Celli Ddu.



It also meant, for the first time ever that those who celebrate the solstice were unable to gather at the burial ground to observe the dawning phenomenon there.



Dr Reynolds stated that sunrise access was possible with 360-degree filming.



She stated that Cadw hopes to make the videos accessible in the near future and make the site accessible to the public.



Meanwhile, those with access to Minecraft at home or in school can now visit the site online in safety.



The Bryn Celli Du Minecraft world is available for download free from Hwb the Welsh Government's teaching resource site. Also available from the Manchester Centre for Public History and Heritage.



And for those looking for an experience that is more serious, Dr Andrews and his team are working on an app for augmented reality available for Apple devices, which will help users navigate the site once it is reopened.



New dig at prehistoric burial site



15 June 2019



A new find at an ancient tomb



23 June 2017



Around the BBC



BBC Radio 3: New Generation Thinkers



Bryn Celli Ddu


My Website: https://www.occities.org/