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<p>Minecraft: Lockdown lesson recreates an ancient island tomb by George Herd BBC News </p> <p>Take an archaeologist, a bored girl in school who is suffering from coronavirus lockdown, and an desire to explore ancient tombs. </p> <p>The result? One of Wales the most important Bronze Age sites recreated - in the video game Minecraft. </p> <p>It is the achievement of Dr. Ben Edwards, from Wrexham and his daughter Bella 11. </p> <p>Their models of Bryn Celli Ddu on Anglesey are now being shared with classrooms around the world. </p> <p>The models can be added to Minecraft's block-building universe. You can also explore the site to find out more about Neolithic life and Art. </p> <p>The burial mound dates back an estimated 5 000 years, and is the"passage tomb," or "passage tomb" whose entrance aligns perfectly with the sun's rising on the summer solstice. </p> <p>Recent excavations at this site, including one by the Manchester Metropolitan University archaeologist Dr Edwards himself, revealed that the burial chamber was constructed as an "henge". </p> <p>Like Stonehenge This was a ritual enclosure consisting of a bank that was surrounded by an inner ditch, which was enclosed by a circle of upright stones. </p> <p>Dr Edwards has used those 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. </p> <p>It was then integrated into the educational edition of Minecraft which is used across the world to deliver lessons in anything from chemistry to computer programming. </p> <p>Now you can add a bit of ancient Welsh history. </p> <p>From cromlechs to cairns - Wales ancient burial sites </p> <p>The history of the world: The Bryn Celli Ddu stone </p> <p>Why did the prehistoric build so many hill forts? </p> <p>BBC Radio 3: Seren Griffiths, New Generation Thinkers on Bryn Celli Ddu </p> <p>"I was aware that Bella had the educational version of Minecraft at her school near Wrexham and I also had it at my university. </p> <p>Dr. Edwards who worked on different computer models of Bryn Celli Ddu said that "So it was always on my mind for some time..." </p> <p>"It was never a massive priority, but now you're in lockdown because it's the Easter holiday and you're home schooling. </p> <p>"I just said to Bella, 'Shall you have an attempt at this?'" </p> <p>The game is renowned for being able to construct almost anything out of graphic blocks, creating massive worlds and playgrounds. </p> <p>Although it might appear like an unending game, Dr. Edwards was serious about the approach to Bryn Celli Ddu and used real-world mapping data to create the Minecraft landscapes. </p> <p>It also includes the tomb itself in the manner it could be from the Bronze Age, and alongside it are burial mounds and pits discovered in the last few years. </p> <p>The game also features rock art by Bryn Celli Ddu, as also a model of an Neolithic home. </p> <p>Dr Edwards said that the most difficult thing to build was not the house or the burial mounds. </p> <p>He said, "It was planting trees." </p> <p>Each one of them had to be "planted" by Bella and her dad as part of the Minecraft world. </p> <p>"Bella was required to teach me how to do a variety of things because she was more reliant on it than me," Dr Edwards confessed. </p> <p>She ultimately approved the final version and said that it was "very real". </p> <p>Her father told her, "And she knows because she used to go to the excavations too." http://b3.zcubes.com/v.aspx?mid=8891079 </p> <p>Dr Ffion Reynolds, from Cadw, said it was exactly children such as Bella who could benefit from playing with the Minecraft model. </p> <p>Dr Reynolds stated, "We were looking at creative ways to provide people with an experience in digital form of Bryn Celli Ddu," and he would normally be out in the summer giving guided tours through the excavations to the local schools. </p> <p>"This was an opportunity to maintain our relationship with these schools, and to provide them with a means to "visit" the site online." </p> <p>Coronavirus restrictions have resulted in Cadw's sites in Wales being closed to the public including Bryn Celli Ddu. </p> <p>It also meant that, for the first time in years that those who celebrate the solstice weren't able to meet at the burial site to watch the sunrise phenomenon that took place there. </p> <p>"However, it did allow us get access with an exclusive camera crew, and we have been able to capture the sunrise with 360-degree filming." Dr Reynolds added. </p> <p>She said Cadw hopes to make the footage available in the near future, and also opening the site again to visitors. </p> <p>In the meantime anyone who has internet access at home or in school can now access Minecraft digitally - in safety. </p> <p>The Bryn Celli Du Minecraft world is available for free download from Hwb the Welsh Government's website for teaching resources. Also available from the Manchester Centre for Public History and Heritage. </p> <p>If you're looking for a more serious experience, Dr Andrews and his coworkers have developed an augmented reality app for Apple devices that can guide visitors around the real site once it reopens. </p> <p>New dig on prehistoric burial ground </p> <p>15 June 2019 </p> <p>A new discovery in an ancient tomb </p> <p>23 June 2017 </p> <p>Around the BBC </p> <p>BBC Radio 3: The New Generation Thinkers </p> <p>Bryn Celli Ddu </p>
