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Minecraft Lockdown Lesson Recreates Ancient Island Tomb

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



Imagine an archaeologist and a bored girl in coronavirus lockdown. They share an interest in exploring ancient tombs.



The result? The video game Minecraft has recreated one of Wales' most important Bronze Age sites.



It is Dr Ben Edwards from Wrexham and his daughter Bella who have done it.



They are sharing their models of Anglesey's Bryn Celli Ddu with schools across the world.



The models can be loaded into Minecraft's block-building world. You can also explore the site to learn more about Neolithic life and art.



The burial mound dates back an estimated 5,000 years, with its so-called "passage tomb" whose entrance aligns perfectly with the sun's rising on the summer solstice.



Recent excavations at the site, as well as some done by Dr Edwards, Manchester Metropolitan University archaeologist, showed that the burial chamber was designed as an "henge".



It was similar to Stonehenge and comprised of a bank surrounding an internal ditch, encircling in a circle by upright stones.



Dr Edwards has made use of the digs, alongside work with researchers from the University of Central Lancashire and Wales' historical environment service Cadw to meticulously recreate Bryn Celli Ddu in the video game.



It was later integrated into Minecraft's educational edition that is used all over the world to teach chemistry lessons and computer programming.



Now you can add a bit of ancient Welsh history.



From cromlechs to cairns and cromlech Wales ancient burial grounds



The history of the world: The Bryn Celli Ddu stone



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



Dr Edwards who worked on different computer models of Bryn Celli Ddu said that "So it was always in my mind for some time..."



"It was never a massive priority, but then you're locked down and it's Easter time and you're at in home schooling.



"I just told Bella"Should we take a go at this?'"



The game is famous for its ability to build nearly any kind of playground or world out of graphic blocks.



Although it could be an actual game, Dr. Edwards used the technique of Bryn Celli Ddu seriously and utilized actual maps of the world to recreate the landscape of Minecraft models.



It includes the actual tomb as it was in the Bronze Age and other burial mounds or pits discovered in recent years.



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



Dr. Edwards declared that the most difficult thing to construct was not the house , but the burial mounds.



"It was planting the trees," he said.



Each one was individually "planted" and then tended by Bella and her father, as part of the Minecraft world.



Dr Edwards admitted that Bella needed to teach her how to do a variety of things since she uses it more frequently than I do.



She eventually ratified the final version and stated that it was "very real".



"And she knows, because she used to come down to the excavations too," her father added.



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



Dr Reynolds stated, "We were looking at ways to give people an online experience of Bryncelli Ddu" and he'd typically be in the summer months providing guided tours of the excavations to the local schools.



"This was a way to continue our relationship with these schools, and offer them a way to 'visit' the site electronically."



Coronavirus restrictions mean Cadw's sites across Wales are closed to the public, including Bryn Celli Ddu.



It also meant that, for the first year in years, people who celebrated the solstice of summer couldn't be at the burial site to watch the sunrise phenomenon on the mound.



"However, it did allow us to access a special camera crew, and we've been able to capture the sunrise with 360-degree videography," Dr Reynolds added.



She said Cadw was hoping to make the footage available in the near future, as well as opening the site back to visitors.



In the meantime anyone who has internet access at school or home can now play Minecraft digitally - and in complete safety.



The Bryn Celli Du Minecraft world is available for free download on Hwb, the Welsh Government's resource for teachers. 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 augmented reality app available for Apple devices that can guide visitors around the real site once it is reopened.



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