Minecraft temple challenge
A hidden Roman temple was discovered in London in 1954. Our challenge is to build your own – using Minecraft!
Discovering a temple
Lots of London had to be rebuilt after getting damaged in the Second World War. This meant archaeologists had the chance to dig for buried remains from the city's past. They found amazing things!
Marble head of Mithras
Found in London's Mithraeum.
In the City of London they uncovered the exciting remains of a Roman temple. It had been a temple of Mithras – also called a Mithraeum – where the worshippers of the god Mithras would meet. It would have been filled with beautiful sculptures.
Mithras was a deity who was worshipped in the Roman world alongside public gods like Jupiter, Mars and Venus. Very few temples to him have been found from Roman Britain.
This temple was built of stone brought from Kent and clay bricks. It was a rectangular shape roughly 17 x 7.5 metres in size, with two aisles and an altar, much like many places of worship today.
It was built in roughly AD 240-250, but was abandoned in the 5th century as the Romans left the city.
Here's what an artist thinks the temple might have looked like in Roman times:
Your challenge
You task is simple: try to recreate the Temple of Mithras or imagine your own spectacular place of worship in Minecraft.
You can find out more about the Temple of Mithras on the London Mithraeum website or by visiting the Museum of London and exploring our Roman London gallery.
If you're designing your own, you might want to think about whether it has:
- Columns or pillars
- Special windows
- A dome (or several...)
- Aisles and seats
- Altars or shrines
- Anything else you think is important.
It's up to you!
About Minecraft
If you're not familiar with Minecraft, here are the answers to some questions you might have:
Minecraft is a ‘sandbox’ video game that can be played across a number of platforms for a one-off payment. It's called a sandbox game because it allows users to play around, explore and create what they want. The creative and building aspect of Minecraft allows players to build 3D constructions using textured cubes. The virtual landscapes in which building or game play takes place are often referred to as ‘maps’ because of their simulation of geographic areas.
To date Minecraft has sold over 200 million copies and is one of the most popular video games in history. It's used by players of all ages, and is very popular within education as an engaging learning platform.
More information on Minecraft can be found at https://minecraft.net/en/.
PEGI recommend that Minecraft is suitable for ages 7+. The game's makers, Mojang, offer a range of information about the game's Safety, Security and Accessibility features here, including a Parental Control Features FAQ.
You can play Minecraft on many kinds of devices. Here is a list of the game's versions.
More inspiration
Not sure what to build? Have a look at these examples of amazing places of worship in London today.
Use the arrows or swipe to look through:
Share your creations
Once you've finished your construction, why not tweet us @museumoflondon with a screenshot?
We'd love to see what you come up with!
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