An archaeologist and his daugher used Minecraft to recreate an ancient site

Dr Ben Edwards, and archaeologist hailing from Wales, paired up with his 11-year old daughter Bella to recreate an ancient burial site from the Bronze Age inside of Minecraft. Bryn Celli Ddu, a burial site dated at over 5,000 years old, has been closed to the public recently because of concerns involving the COVID-19 pandemic. To compensate for this, and their newfound isolation at home, Dr Edwards and his daughter worked together to build the site in Minecraft, including factual information and painstakingly planted trees.

It’s a commemorable accomplishment by itself, since accuracy was their focus in the project, but even more noteworthy is how Dr Edwards has since made the map available for download and use by educators all over the globe using Minecraft: Education Edition. This means children and students can now explore and learn about this burial site through Minecraft, even while learning remotely at home. This is a great example of how powerful Minecraft: Education Edition can be, even when everyone is stuck at home.

If you’re interested, you can check out the full report from BBC, or download the map from the Manchester Centre for Public History & Heritage.