Desert pyramid

Desert Temples (also known as Pyramids) are structures primarily made of Sandstone that occur naturally in deserts. They generally occur at ground level, though they can be hidden by sand dunes on one or more sides, which may cause them to appear buried. Desert Temples each contain a hidden chamber that is booby-trapped with several blocks of TNT and a Pressure Plate.

Appearance


Desert Temples are constructed from Sandstone (regular and Chiseled/Smooth variants), Orange and Blue Wool, and Sandstone Stairs.

In the center of the temple's ground floor is a single block of Blue Wool. Underneath this blue wool is a 'booby-trapped' hidden chamber with four chests that can each contain very valuable loot. The trap consists of a Stone Pressure Plate (located directly under the Blue Wool), connected to a 3x3x1 grid of TNT.

Items in these chests can include Emeralds (rare), Diamonds, Iron Ingots, Gold Ingots, Enchanted Books, Rotten Flesh and Bones.

Desert Temples appear on maps as gray, similar to bare stone, but with a distinctive shape.

Strategy
Desert Temples are the most valuable structures the game generates, as each temple contains 4 chests with highly valuable items. The colored wool and 9 blocks of TNT in the trap are also fairly worthwhile loot.

When attempting to enter the hidden chamber, the player must take care not to step on the Pressure Plate at the bottom of the pit, as the Plate is connected to 9 blocks of TNT just under the hidden chamber's sandstone floor. The Pressure Plate is situated directly under the Blue Wool; therefore a player entering the chamber by breaking the Blue Wool or its adjacent blocks will likely fall on the Plate and set off the trap. The TNT will cause an explosion sufficient to kill most players (and may even destroy the player's drops), as well as destroy all four of the chests, including their loot.

The simplest method of avoiding the trap is to dig through other blocks in the floor that are far from the Blue Wool, such as those next to a wall, then break the pressure plate when it comes into reach.

Other methods include use of a Water Bucket to create a stream to swim down and avoid the Plate, or dropping Sand/Gravel down before you. You could also destroy floor blocks from a distance, being careful not to step over the edge, then look down into the pit to locate the pressure plate, as its stone color stands out against the surrounding sandstone.

Trivia

 * The orange symbols found resembles the Ancient Egyptian symbol for Life, an Ankh, or a Tyet.
 * Rotten Flesh and Bones are common items found in chests within temples; it may be suggested that these are the remains of the previous occupants, or possibly mummies buried with their treasure, a common Egyptian practice for pharaohs.
 * A Desert Temple is constructed from:
 * 3,078 Sandstone blocks
 * 184 Smooth Sandstone blocks
 * 39 Chiseled Sandstone blocks
 * 54 blocks of Orange Wool
 * 16 Sandstone Stairs
 * 9 TNT blocks
 * 4 Chests
 * 2 Sandstone Slabs
 * 1 block of Blue Wool
 * 1 Stone Pressure Plate
 * For a short time in Infdev, huge, solid brick pyramids could be spawned.
 * A Desert Temple is the first structure where TNT can be found naturally.
 * As there is no light in the lower chamber, mobs can spawn inside and trigger the TNT trap, destroying the chests and loot before any player can reach it. You may not even hear the TNT detonate.  The shaft will appear to terminate in a cave, which, if fallen into, will deal more damage than you may be expecting.
 * A Desert Temple will not spawn fully if spawned partially on water. When spawned on lakes, they are only half-generated.
 * Desert Temples, Jungle ruins, and witch Huts are caused by the same thing in the code, and the biome tells which one it is.
 * Desert Temples and Jungle ruins have the same frequency of loot.
 * Rarely, Desert Temples generate in Villages,even rarer is the desert temple spawning connected to a house.