A Real Archaeologist Restores an Ancient City in Minecraft (ft. MC Oda) Ep. 6

[@daskalosBCE]

This is a reupload due to an audio glitch. If you want to see the uncut work on the "icebox" building, here it is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jX6XqXhtmtVrhKs

[@elliesteele2027]

I was wondering if you're ever planning on taking a look (listen? :P) at Disc 5, what is possibly the last remaining record created by the inhabitants of the Ancient City.

[@daskalosBCE]

Probably not since it isn't explicitly stated that the disc is from the original inhabitants. Also, there just isn't enough evidence to support it, and generally if there isn't enough evidence, I wont be treating it as canon. But if it makes you feel any better, I've listened to the disc in its entirety and it definitely has something to do with the site, but what that is, who knows!

[@Lumberjack_king]

​@@daskalosBCEyeah it's really vague

[@Sly-Moose]

@@daskalosBCE If the disc is located there, and shattered to pieces from how old it is, plus the colours matching the warden, and the disc coming out in the same update as the Ancient City did then I'd strongly say it is canon. That's the other thing about storytelling, stating the obvious when something suppose to be subtext and subtle, is usually bad writing. Irl, yes, stating the obvious as divisive proof works. Doesn't work so much in storytelling cuz then it'd start to come off as tho the author is talking down to the readers as tho they're stupid, and need everything explained to them to the finest detail. Nuance is key. As for theories, idk if you've listened to disc 5, disc 11, & disc 13 all at the same time, but they really do all start to paint a picture very evidently through audio

[@daskalosBCE]

The canon I was referencing it being from the original inhabitants. No proof of it being from the early period, and nothing saying it is from a later period either. So without proof it is from the original inhabitants, its a no go. Remember I am coming at this like we would in the real world

[@LangleyNA]

Your call on removing the towers is one I expect differs from most player restorations - one that should derive from your experience and education. Good work!

[@josephrowlee]

Agreed. But still that was the biggest plot twist of the series if you ask me!

[@ReddBoi64]

They are remnants of pillager exploration, not original construction after all

[@TheMasterBlaze]

@@ReddBoi64 Pillagers using Blue Wool instead of Red? Evokers must be slacking.

[@ReddBoi64]

@ WOLOLOH!

[@Somiaz]

It think it would be a neat idea to rebuild a tower elsewhere to show that they were constructed at somepoint. Not inside the site but perhaps above ground in a separate place.

[@Sly-Moose]

Exactly what I was thinking. As decor outside the museum or something

[@Sly-Moose]

4:00 Another thing that could have been done was the tower could be relocated. There could even be a designated "never history" section (maybe added as decor outside the museum or something)

[@Dragons_Clutch]

Awesome to see it coming together! The choice to remove the dark oak towers is interesting, and it makes a lot of sense. It definitely tells a different story than the original site!

[@daskalosBCE]

i think itll all make way more sense at the end

[@Lumberjack_king]

I mean we know they were built after everything else by some outside party

[@TheWither129]

@@Lumberjack_kingthe implication i believe is illagers. They use dark oak exclusively, and have storerooms in mansions with large amounts of blue wools. I think they came pillaging and tried to be sneaky and failed and abandoned the site Or became one with the sculk

[@Lumberjack_king]

@TheWither129 I agree

[@thestone7388]

Loving this series! I think you should visit another Ancient City to see if their white building, “IceBox”, is more intact than the one you have at your site and use that info to base yours on. Maybe you can even get some answers about other things you were questioning at your site. Can’t wait for the next episode!

[@daskalosBCE]

I though about that, but i think i will keep this one isolated for now and check it out after im done to see how close i got

[@shmecklestemple]

Hi Daskalos! Next episode, or whenever really, could you go over the idea that this site was perhaps intentionally built underground from its beginnings? I am seeing a lot of evidence to suggest it WAS built underground rather than ever on the surface! At no point in the city do we really ever see any of it buried under dirt, rock or anything else for that matter (other than skulk). We know the site is ancient and has been around a long time, and there is evidence the areas these cities inhabit are not entirely geologically sound based on tuff being present. All of this to me suggests that the city wasn't built above ground, another example we see of this is that every other ruin we tend to find in minecraft has some degree of being buried... desert temples, underwater ruins, trail ruins (which based on their depth and state of degradation, are almost certainly younger than these ancient cities which should all, or mostly be completely buried by now) I think it is very possible that this site, by removing the cave roof and surrounding cavern features, has perhaps lost some of the context of its history if it is indeed true that the city was designed and built underground at its establishment. I'd love to see you cover this possibility and explain what ramifications this could have on the site restoration so far! I doubt there is much real world precedence to go over with this, but if there, is it would also be cool to learn about that! Thank you!

[@zeldaautumn]

I am no history buff, nor have I studied much archeology. However, the underground Derinkuyu caves in Turkey may be similar to the Ancient City in Minecraft as a city built solely underground. This is what comes to my mind when I think about the Ancient City.

[@Jansenbaker]

I don't know who would think it used to be above ground. It's made of the stuff it's surrounded by, and sometimes seems carved out of the rock itself, like the Tuff.

[@cawareyoudoin7379]

I think they removed the ceiling specifically to get the maps, and are planning to re-install it afterwards!

[@piercexlr878]

​@@cawareyoudoin7379This is in fact the case. Maps just dont work with a surface cover. It incidentally also handles lighting too which is a good bonus

[@daskalosBCE]

I figured its construction underground would have been understood, but I suppose I could mention it. It would be VERY difficult to argue otherwise. Also, Cawareyoudin7379 is correct the roof came off to map and give light.

[@FourDyce]

Pretty sure the leftover skulk block in Red was supposed to be a chest that the skulk took over. The location matches the chest locations on the opposite side of the building. I don't think skulk takes chests over in game mechanics, but I think when the game decides where skulk is going to be during world generation, it's just picking potential block locations and not really considering what type of block would be there. Since those chests are randomly generated - some structures have several, some have one, some have none - if the location didn't generate a chest, it might still generate as a skulk block when the world generation picks random blocks to be repalced by skulk. From a historical standpoint, since the chests would not have been original to the structures - wooden chests would have degraded a long time ago - and were probably put there by whomever put up the wooden towers that you took down, they - and the red glass that replaced the skulk that generated in their places - can probably just be removed.

[@shavranotheferanox7809]

the little bridge that was there kindof solidified the idea fo rme that the wooden structures were added later then the origional things, because they looked too perfect and new to be from the same time

[@WalkinStereotype]

Thank you for taking the time to do this series of some education, speculative interpretation, and entertainment. I know something like this takes a very long time, and it is greatly appreciated. It is somewhat disappointing to see some people being so disrespectful in the comments. In speculation, you’re always bound to have conflicting ideas, but this is a minecraft video, for crying out loud. Not to mention, as you said in a previous video, there are numerous ancient cities around the world of the game. The reconstruction of one without the adaptive reuse period does not destroy the history of that period. If Oda wants to build another museum, or extend the existing one, he could make an exhibit on this period with a reconstruction of the tower inside, I doubt that’d please all, but that is an option. If you read this, thank you, and I’d be curious as to your theory of what may have happened to the civilization. A sort of natural disaster that suddenly came with the sculk, or if you believe this would have been a gradual issue that pushed them away from their homes? I personally believe the second due to the wool walkways, and it could be another explanation for why so few artifacts are left behind; the people might’ve gathered all that they could carry.

[@daskalosBCE]

Thank you! I will be monitoring that comment thread and if it gets heated, will delete it.

[@daskalosBCE]

ok, it went into misinformation territory, so it got deleted

[@atyourself1st]

Given it has an inner chamber and some remaining ice, I want to believe this building was cold storage for food stuffs. I don't know what's inside the structure, but I don't think I'd be surprised to find left over nourishment. Food says a lot about a culture. I'm eager for your next project 🙂.

[@daskalosBCE]

Thats my general thoughts too, especially since the chest inside has food

[@DMBarr]

Pillager towers down! Awesome decision.

[@viktorfisting]

Hi Daskalos!! When you do screenshots, you can click F1 to remove item bar etc., so your screenshots can be clean :)

[@daskalosBCE]

Thanks! I'll definitely keep that in my toolbox

[@zacaritest]

That red block could be a piece of sand or granite that fell from the ceiling of the cave over time, it is probably not part of the structure.

[@daskalosBCE]

I didnt even think of that. Though, that block is in the same spot on both structures

[@zacaritest]

Mmm that complicates things, it could be ice, although we would lack context You're right, it would be best to wait to have the complete image of the city

[@daskalosBCE]

I also found out that sculk cant infect ice. So, who knows what it was!

[@Mike-mf3ed]

@@daskalosBCEI’m guessing it was a chest/barrel/anvil or some sort of crafting table block. But I’m curious to see what you decide it is…

[@daskalosBCE]

thats an interesting idea. Ill have to think on it!

[@_PresidentSkillz]

do you plan on like restoring the buildings to what they actually looked like? A lot of these buildings are obviously just ruins of what they used to be, and so far you've only reconstructed the ruins. Love the series btw

[@daskalosBCE]

yep! thats the plan :)

[@spacecadetglow]

@@daskalosBCEI’d love to see them restored to their original glory someday!

[@endymonyt4268]

with the degradation into cobble, it might be good to ask what's degrading it. these buildings have been in a cave this whole time so there's not much wind or rain.

[@josephrowlee]

Time would be one factor that still affects it; many many years without any sort of repairs being made. Maybe moisture in the caves? The skulk looks like a pretty moist block for example, and it definitely degraded/took over blocks. Earthquakes?

[@endymonyt4268]

@@josephrowlee earthquakes are definitely in possibility. minor tremors might cause similar damage

[@josephrowlee]

@@endymonyt4268 Okay, glad that sounds more possible than it seemed in my head!

[@minamagdy4126]

An i teresting concept that I don't know if you explored is the fact that some of the sculk may have been illager structure blocks, so it's possible (if unlikely) that some blocks that were sculk when you considered them weren't original to the founders of the site.

[@gregiep]

Whenever this project is done, a wolf download would be crazy cool!

[@daskalosBCE]

Oh a world down load is absolutely planned. In the meantime I already have it available just without the ancient city stuff

[@ruanholtzhausen4000]

Like the trail ruins, I think some of these block are pieces of the walls that fell.

[@marionlara428]

Question: Obviously the question of who decides the story that an archeological site should tell is complicated, and often very political. The example that comes to mind as a lay person is the Hagia Sophia, where multiple cultures have made an impact on the structure and there has to be a decision about which story to tell when restoring it. So my question is if there's any strong academic consensus about the "correct" way to decide on the story that these sites should tell, or at least loose guidelines about how to ethically restore a site?

[@daskalosBCE]

The big takeaway here is that the towers are so far removed both temporarily and stylistically from the original structures that they most certainly are not original nor anywhere near original. No consensus on which story to tell. However, from what ive experienced, it is usually the original story or one that is removed from any invaders.

[@prometheus5757]

@@daskalosBCEsometimes the stories of what structures were used for or was added to them after can be quite interesting (the old medieval settlements and modifications which used to exist in a lot of surviving Roman / classical amphitheaters come to mind - I think it’s Vienne which still has some towers which are quite cool and makes em uniquely interesting, though I remember wishing there were more such structures preserved) but this particular removal seems justified considering the limited number of structures and their seemingly temporary nature. Might’ve been interesting trying to preserve / restore one while removing the rest though as an example for visitors of the sites afterlife’s following whatever led to its original abandonment

[@zeldaautumn]

@@daskalosBCE Yes, my thought exactly.

[@mrt1880]

12:23 the building seems symmetrical so maybe it's a chest even the wall pattern looks similar

[@thomasfplm]

10:58 My hypothesis here would be that some material from the wall or ceiling above felt there are was later taken by Sculk.

[@josephrowlee]

Daskalos: "We're taking 'em down" Me: wuuut ?? Biggest plot twist of the series! Very cool! Can't wait to see the next episode! :D Thank you so much for this awesome series, Daskalos!

[@casualsleepingdragon8501]

The ancient builders knowing the missing parts of the ice box were completely pink terracotta

[@josephrowlee]

lol

[@viktorfisting]

It's such a pleasure to watch these series!! No one else on KZbin doesn't do repairing of Ancient City with such big care of buildings and history! Thank you very much 🌻

[@josephrowlee]

Also others on KZbin tend to squash it down into 15 to 30 minutes instead of multiple 20-30 minute episodes; which is fine, but it's cool seeing so much more of the process!

[@cuddlelover]

I love this series so much!

[@Kamarovsky_KCM]

I can't believe im so darn captivated by the series! Almost makes me with I stumbled upon it much later so I could binge all the episodes in one evening hah!

[@auriel8577]

Hi daskalos im really loving this series!! Im a conservation student and really enjoy your discussions about the ethics of restoration! Youve also inspired me to play Minecraft again so thank you for that. Interestingly I just started working on some archaeology at uni, although its anglo saxon so probably a bit outside your speciality 😂

[@TheaterCrazed]

I just wanted to drop in and let you know I’m a big fan of this series! The algorithm presented it to me a few days ago, and I’ve seen them all and am now going to start your Bronze Age series. I downloaded the world from your Patreon earlier today and had a great time exploring the museum and the ruins. Way cool! Keep up the good work.

[@daskalosBCE]

That's so good to hear, im happy you are enjoying the series! Be sure to check out the Ancient Greek skyblock series too! When you're done with bronze age season 1, make sure to download it as well!

[@supergwiazdka8833]

Im excited about the final reconstruction!! Cool stuff

[@Kitxi_Official]

I swear I've learned more about art history and archaeology from your videos than I have through multiple college courses. Keep up the great work!

[@Florian87]

I've really been loving this series, it's noticeable how much effort you've put into the scripting/rp. Any chance we could get litematica files of the individual restored buildings when they're all fully completed? I'd really like to restore an ancient city to look the same as yours

[@synapticbit]

I would think in a case like this.. or in a study of a civilization, there may be other sites where other examples of the ice house could be studied. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@daskalosBCE]

For this I'm generally staying away from comparing the structures between cities because in the real world we may not always have that luxury.

[@josephrowlee]

@@daskalosBCE That makes sense!

[@cawareyoudoin7379]

Huh, I did not know that about the Acropolis! I would enjoy a little real world archeology fact each episode.

[@widdershinnz]

Such a satisfying way to play 😊

[@antjepost1850]

if youre done with this one and want to be doing another one, in the modpck better minecraft there is a jungle ruined city, it completely overgrown and had sculptures and roads and stuff, it also has a lot of workplaces that would be interesting to figure out, maybe even some traps set up in there, its a while since i saw it

[@allenm1024]

Loving this series! Thank you so much for keeping up the good work.

[@Secr3tYT]

honestly the portal looks like the wardens head. I think rather than a portal, it was a massive monument, something like the belly rubs structure. They have a sound theory of the pillagers originating from the ancient city since they have similar structures in the overworld. Also their skins gray so they arent evolved to pigmentation. I believe the pillagers had cities underground, experimented with sculk, and rapidly lost control as it took over their cities. The monuments seem to support a theory i have, of them either coexisting, or idolizing the warden mob. Like every religion, they have their figurehead. Now pillagers are forced to the overworld and only have outposts. Theyre hostile, and raid villages probably since they lost their homes.

[@squittlequeen2282]

This series is to fascinating 🤩 you’re digging deep into it and really telling us a whole story of this place like what happened to the original inhabitants, what the buildings are for, it’s so interesting! Will you do more tails and trails ruins in the future? ❤❤❤

[@josephrowlee]

Agreed! I'd love to see more structures done! I'm not sure how he'd do it, but I'd love something about a few Trial Chambers, because that's my favorite structure.

[@TheWither129]

Im so happy you noticed the dark oak and light blue towers dont belong. Its a really cool bit of environmental storytelling, cus thats actually the palette used by woodland mansions. Dark oak, found in the dense dark forests, and various shades of blue wool, found tucked away in certain rooms in the mansions. Its evidence of the illagers trying and failing to take over the cities, and so a proper restoration would indeed involve the removal of the dark oak towers and bridges, and the blue wool.

[@istora9158]

12:06 could it be that the wall collapsed and it's a piece of (cobbled) deepslate?

[@daskalosBCE]

thats a definite possibility

[@istora9158]

@@daskalosBCE wow, I didn't expect anyone to actually read my comment! I love your videos btw :)

[@daskalosBCE]

Thanks!

[@SPYROSTSABOURIS]

12:25 maybe it's just cobbled deepslate that fell from the wall?

[@antstone2898]

The unknown red stained glass is cobble. I checked in a ancient city myself.

[@daskalosBCE]

Please refrain from letting us know what certain blocks are

[@joachimcornu3245]

Hi again Daskalos! I have to say, I'm really impressed how you and Oda managed to make such good use of scientific method to rebuild those structures so far. I'm also rebuilding an ancient city in a world of mine, and we got some similar conclusions, but I find your approach very faithful and interesting. It's a shame the city you found doesn't have that many buildings inside, there is a very large type of building with multiple basins in it, which I believe is a form of public bath. I think you could check this one out! Cheers, and have a good one, sir

[@Zopocalypse]

Phobos fans are eating good this episode

[@robertpopa2628]

Have you consideted making a save to try alternate builds and replacing the cobble with other material? At least in a small section

[@Sly-Moose]

Oh and about the red block, MC has been proven to show in other ruined structures that, say blocks on a wall or pillar, have fallen over over time. Might that be what that confusing red block was?

[@JohnHunter-ns4mu]

Have thought of putting a roof over the structures? It makes sense they wouldn’t have a top since the entire city is in a cave system. But would heat from the houses not escape without some sort of roof?

[@daskalosBCE]

these structures will be getting the full interpretive rebuilding after all of the destruction is fixed

[@Exleston]

Love watching your process in these vids, it's such an interesting idea to uncover and restore one of these cities. I've had some ideas of my own while watching this vid but, correct me if I'm wrong (I've never played Minecraft myself, only watched others), aren't there other deep cities in the world as well? If there are, are they decayed in the exact same ways? If not then could we compare one city to the other and get even more of the "blanks" filled? Much the same way you have been comparing similar buildings? Now, excuse me for getting a bit meta, maybe there's no difference between spawned cities thus making such an endeavor pointless, but if not it could prove very interesting i think. Again, however, I'm just an observer so i may have no idea what I'm talking about. Regardless, I have been really enjoying this series.

[@daskalosBCE]

So, there are multiple cities that spawn in the world. For this im generally staying away from comparing the cities because in the real world we may not have that luxury. However, since there are multiple cities that did spawn, ill be restoring this one completely since its one of (potentially) thousands

[@NickyTannock]

Chicken sighting in the background at 6:30

[@OCinneide]

19:28 the feels man

[@Sly-Moose]

The chiseled block is actually suppose to look like the warden 😂 But I can see how it'd look like a shulker too. Tho I doubt the Ancient City has much to do with the End

[@Mathewmcgonagle]

A chest goes in that red glass spot

[@MythicalSquidInk.]

Question, how is it all deep-slate? Can cobble turn into deep-slate? Was it built underground? was deep-slate the stone type on the surface when this was built? Or does it just not make sense?

[@daskalosBCE]

it makes more sense that this was built underground, at least to me

[@hitcurry1242]

epic video

[@joshuabrown2337]

HE RETURNS

[@Mathewmcgonagle]

Maybe whoever lives in the end city’s built this place and then the pillagers moved in post guardian attack

[@3DWatcher718]

Less goo

[@amandaoh2025]

It may have been a matching chest? Its the only one block by itself

[@DarthBil1]

I really like your system of copying over identical buildings until there are no missing pieces. The only problem is when a piece is missing on both. I would like to see someone do that with lots of ancient cities, to try to get a more complete picture of what it is supposed to look like.

[@daskalosBCE]

That would be one heck of an undertaking! Id watch that video

[@Wrijvingsloos]

12:15 It could be a chest

[@Flufflord_Puffball]

they took down the second tower

[@fredbronkema6963]

All these people complaining about the removal of the dark oak towers need to calm down. First of all, its a block game, its not that serious. Second of all, its Daskalos' series, he can do whatever he wants with it. Third, his goal is to restore the original structure, and the dark oak and blue wool are clearly newer additions. Finally, he made good arguments for the removal of the towers and cited real world examples of this being done. TLDR, leave the man alone, its his series and he was justified in the removal of the towers.

[@josephrowlee]

Agreed! The removal of the towers was still the biggest plot twist of the series in my opinion. Lol!

[@denki-kaminari2]

30 sec

[@denki-kaminari2]

I am chronically online

[@abbyofgenderpronouns]

i am carnally attracted to denki kaminari

[@denki-kaminari2]

@@abbyofgenderpronouns same why do you think I chose this as my profile

[@aurunemaru]

here's the thing tho: the tower at 4:46 was degraded by sculk, shouldn't that point that the tower was there when the loss of the city happened? (but then, wood lasting that long could be conflicting so I dunno) nvm, there's also the wood at 5:15, looks like a fix on the (already collapsed) bridge

[@daskalosBCE]

Keep in mind that the sculk was still spreading up until we removed the catalysts by hand. Matter of fact, we missed one and the green wool I used for the map got infected by a falling goat or sheep. So the presence of sculk cant be a definitive indicator of age