Desert pyramid

Desert Temples (also known as Pyramids) are structures primarily made up of Sandstone that occur naturally in deserts. Most often, they generate at ground level, but occasionally they can be almost fully buried in sand, with one of the towers flush with the 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. This will most likely also destroy the player's dropped equipment if any one of the nine blocks of TNT explodes after the player has died (highly likely). 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.

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.