Desert pyramid



Desert Temples (also known as Pyramids) are structures primarily made up of Sandstone that occur naturally in deserts. Most of the time, they generate at ground level. However, they will sometimes generate partially buried in sand.

Appearance


Desert Temples mostly consist of Orange Wool, Sandstone, Chiseled Sandstone, Smooth Sandstone and Sandstone Stairs. In the middle of the temple is a block of blue wool. Underneath this blue wool is a 'secret' chamber with 4 chests which can contain very valuable loot and a Stone Pressure Plate connected to a 3x3x1 grid of TNT. The only treasures found in temples are Emeralds (rare), Diamonds, Iron Ingots, Gold Ingots, Enchanted Books, Rotten Flesh and Bones.

Desert Temples appear on maps as gray like 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 access the chests, the player must take care not to step on the Pressure Plate at the bottom of the pit. Just below the sandstone are 9 blocks of TNT - Touching the Pressure Plate will activate the TNT, killing the player unless properly protected, and destroying all four of the chests, including their loot. It is ill-advised to enter the treasure chamber by breaking the blue wool, or any of the eight surrounding blocks. Instead it is best to dig down to the side, and then break the pressure plate when it comes into reach.

An alternative method for retrieving the loot safely is to use a bucket of water. By breaking one of the orange wool blocks immediately surrounding the blue wool block and placing water in its place, the player can swim down and break the pressure plate with relative safety. This has the added bonus of leaving the temple more intact, so it can be used as a base or have the trap reset for an unsuspecting passerby in SMP.

Another method is dropping several cubes of sand or gravel in the hole left after breaking orange wool. Jump into the hole (landing on the sand column) and dig down until you can reach the pressure plate and break it.

Another method is to dig around the outside of the temple and then harvest the TNT when you get to the right level. This method requires only a shovel and pickaxe so is easy if you have only just gotten into the world's seed.

Also, you could destroy all the blocks from a distance, and, being careful not to step over the edge, look down into the pit to locate the pressure plates.

Bugs

 * The first floor of a desert temple does not generate symmetrically: the left side of the wall will be closer to the center of the temple than the right side.
 * The desert temple trap will occasionally generate with fewer than 9 blocks of TNT.
 * Desert temples will very rarely spawn within a jungle biome where a jungle temple would otherwise be located, or in a swamp where a swamp hut would normally be.
 * Desert temples may be able to spawn anywhere randomly except for Swamps and JungleHills. This is caused by an else statement in the code with no biome checking for Desert Temples.
 * Rarely, desert temples may spawn half buried. (May be intentional.)
 * When playing on a customized superflat world with sand as the highest level and total block level is less than 64 the temple will spawn on level 64 and sandstone will create large column going down to the highest level of sand.

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.
 * Desert wells seem to be common near desert temples.
 * A Desert Temple will not spawn fully if spawned partially on water. When spawned on lakes, they are only half-generated.
 * Desert Temples, Jungle Temples, and Swamp Huts are caused by the same thing in the code, and the biome tells which one it is.
 * Desert Temples and Jungle Temples have the same frequency of loot.
 * Rarely, Desert Temples generate in Villages.