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I would say that for I3, the bottles of enchanting may actually be used in a way that makes me think researcher. Afterall the way sculk works is that it grows with exp, so perhaps they were testing how it works with preset quantities of exp.

Has anybody considered that the city may have burned? That’s why everything is made of deepslate and generally just monochrome. Any wooden structure would have burned leaving behind coal/charcoal

The idea of the ancient cities’ residents worshipping the warden reminds me of how with game theory their theory is that the builders of the ancient cities were fleeing the wither, or at least they were trying to make sure it’d never find them, hence why the ancient cities are so far underground, and seems to not have been buried naturally, anyways their idea is that the wither did find them, but then the warden showed up and killed the wither, as recorded on the broken music disc, so using that idea, it would make sense they’d worship the warden because it killed the thing that was hunting them down so relentlessly they felt they needed to dig extremely far underground just to escape it

Can you imagine the horror of being alone in the wilderness as a Bronze Age human trying to fight off the cosmic horror with impossibly colored eyes that screams with rage, in sounds you can't have ever heard before?? Truly Minecraft is a horror game Σ(O_O；)

very calming and interesting to listen to while playing minecraft, subbed!

i feel like the log blocks could also be replicating trees having fallen on the structures over time, causing some of the damage.

…..over the course of this video your either looking WAY too deep into things or not deep enough…. But here are a few things we know for a fact. The city was made before the sculk was here. And the structure at the center is the portal that brought the sculk here. The reason the city is underground and only contains military, religious, and essential infrastructure is because the ancient cities are basically an equivalent to military bases and doomsday shelters.

On the subject of coal: What about use as a writing implement? It may be difficult to acquire ink so deep down.

There’s no potion you can make to get rid is sculk

Excellent work! Always wondered these buildings might have looked like.

How do you design the houses and town plan? Are they based on a real town or do you just wing it? Would love to know your process when designing this big builds

One thing I always do when I find ruins in games is try and figure out what the ruin was for. Sometimes, the ruins are just set pieces and aren't actually made to be analyzed, and thats fair enough, but when you are able to extrapolate information from them, ooo I get so giddy! I'm not an archaeologist (i'm studying to become a etnologist, but, lets see where that goes) so my analyses of ruins aren't as proper, but it feels nice to know i'm not alone in over-thinking (or perhaps just the right amount of thinking for this game . minecraft loves hiding context clues to the world in structures) analysing video-game ruins :D

I think the bottles of enchanting in I3 are for testing the spreading capabilities of sculk! It's the first thing that came to me as a science student, because i specifically tried different xp-giving things near sculk just to see it spread, and I think they may have been doing the same!

I wonder if maybe the red structures with the flames are for preparing the dead, and then light blue is for storing remains until then? If they worship the warden and the sculk it would make sense, as they both seem to feed on things dying near them. So maybe the 'offerings' are like providing the Warden with food, like how Japanese people leave food out for their ancestors?

20:10 i think that the fact that, this is a universe where zombies are a thing, should be taken into account here. If this society has seen the dead rise from the grave having gard towers around where the dead are laid makes sense.

second building at around the 5 minute mark: over here in tropical areas roofs with that type of design tend to be open for ventilation! perhaps it could be the case in that one~

4:31 No descendant communities = every single members of the civilization that built the ancient city were completely wiped out / exterminated. It's incredibly rare or even improbable in the real world for an ancient civilization to not have at least one descendant community... So the ancient city having none just shows that at some point a massive catastrophe / tragedy happened which resulted in the death of the entire population of that civilization, leaving no genetic lineage to link back to that civilization.

Not an archeologist, but Blue 3 (24:53)looks for me like it was a residence (if it is in fact a home) of a Sculk removal worker. I don't have much to back it up, but consider this: - Sculk catalys and echo shards being temporarly stored here, before being handed over for ? processing. - Disc and disc shards. Can be used to distract the Warden, expecially when removing sculk, that emits shrieks when harvested, and turning the Wardens attention on you. - A spare pair of Leg armor, as even with a distraction, you risc being detected and atacked. - Experience. Here i am speculating, as (same with other items in minecraft, like end portal frames) we currently have no way of making bottled experience, but the people of this city were able to do it, the proof is in the chest. A verry important detail about exp, When exp falls on a Sculk catalyst, the Skulk spreads. It is possible that people living with that sort of challenge found a way to bottle experience, as opposed to spread the Skulk. Again, not sure how my last point holds, but i thing it makes a bit of sence, and deserves to be concidered. Expecially that it is close to light blue, place that has a chest full of bones, and tools. For me it looks like the light blue was fulfilling 2 functions: 1. Prepare the people venturing out of the city, sorta like a bowl with holy water in christian homes, you perform the ritual to keep you safe when you are away 2. Place in which you honor those that passed away in your line of duty, and recpect the Warden, that is a constant reminder of your own mortality. ...But maybe that is just my writters brain seeing conections. Edit1. I just saw the second light blue chest content, and that made me sure that the light blue was dual purpose. Prepear for the journey, and remember the ones that have fallen, that now rest here.

This was pretty cool, also I never noticed that those couple buildings were asymmetrical Gdi mojang

I really like how the buildings came out! They all look phenomenal! Very excited to see what it looks like when it's all finished!

I have heard a fairly popular theory that minecraft is set in a post post? Or post Apocalypse. With The ruins, giant bones and undead mobs that look like us The player. And for each Update The world starts to heal, flowers, animals, enviroment etc. But we also come across more of The “ancient” civiliation comes into The world. Graves, ruins, cities. And As I said, The mobs like zombies and skeletons look like The player. The charaters Steve, Alex etc might be The only livings members or closer to The decentens of these ancient people

I think I'd like the cherry wood style in a vacuum, but it doesn't feel right for the ancient city. Also think the warped wood fits the best because sculk and the Warden have that coloration

I think the next ethnography should be the nether with the Piglins.

I am *very* glad you ended up choosing a mix of wood types- considering how many were available for use, it makes way more sense that a variety would then end up actually being used. And, much as I actually like deepslate and cherry wood together, I had to reluctantly agree with you that it really doesn’t work in this context Looking forward to seeing the city with all these pops of colour in it!

26:12 I think this is some type of warrior, the amount of items suggest someone higher in rank and traditionally warriors where well regarded. The skulk catalysts suggest killing wardens, and enchantment bottles could be used to mend armor. The amount of books state that this might be someone wealthier. Idk just my thoughts

I feel like you should try the mangrove since it's a more red/mahogany colour, compared to the slightly pinkish hue of the crimson wood

1:02 Also, it can help to stop unauthorized entry. 1:34 I would say that it depends on how much water. If it's very little, evaporation might be enough to avoid accumulation. Or you could have a roof with 2° of inclination and it would be enough for the water to drain, but would still look flat. You make a good point about the buildings being elevated, I could even imagine having channels and people travelling in boats in the city, and maybe the city being abandoned because something stopped the water from getting there. 4:12 This one looks like it could have a porch 6:22 The black part looks like could use some warped wood, even if the rest of the building used other woods. Or even a combination of materials like warped wood and black stone. Or a combination of cyan and black wool. 22:39 I don't expect you to do it, because it would be a loooot of work, but I think it would possible the inhabitants used combinations of woods. The cherry logs look nice, so they could be used with something else to make colour combinations and patterns. And maybe lighter woods could be used in the interior of places that need more light, even if the the outside would be dark. 24:11 It seems I was wrong (even if I was thinking of a bigger number of combination attempts).

22:35 I think its actually hole type. Maybe this type structures use for storage or its also kinda looks sleeping area type. Edit : But storage area makes more sense. Because they maybe there stock items and valuable items store underground or, maybe its official storage section for food or regular use items maybe.

It would be fun to have a builder build a city/village with lore and inspiration from the environment etc, then make it into ruins, and see how close you would get to the original build

Interesting video, here are some of my thoughts as far as actual lore goes: Skulk is artificial, names like Skulk Sensor are very artificial names, especially considering that it can be calibrated. They’re also very compatible with both Redstone and amethyst, proving once more to their artificiality further more the ancient city portal appears to be made from skunk and skunk bones, we also find things such as hose in the chests evident that whoever built, these knew what they were doing. Also the Ancient City has symbols of the Well of Fate. There’s also evidence of Enderling’s being present, such as with the high chests in some of the structures.

The assymmetry of the gateway complex compared to the symmetry of the rest of it makes me think of two things that could be complete nonsense, but all the same, the first being the assymmetrical nature of the Warden himself. The second is something I see a lot in archaeological sites in Scotland where the world of the dead is separated from the living (usually via water or an active separation) and that world of the dead is similar to living structures but reversed. I wonder if something like that is going on here

I love these interpretations! I never thought these buildings could have roofs, but you're absolutely right, they would. IIRC, developers were inspired by ancient Roman and Mayan ruins when they were designing these buildings, so I wonder if any surprising parallels can be drawn from those cultures to what you came up with. Also, I wonder if the woods can be mixed and matched within the same building, that'd be an interesting experiment. The masoleum should absolutely be blue, I agree, since it's a resting place, and the color of souls is blue. Overall I love your work. Can't wait to see the final result!

Excellent building exercise there! I find the wood combinations to be a little daring, but that's probably me being biased by the fact that I used a single type of wood in my own ancient city. Great work, I'll be looking forward to the next!

For the purple (?) buildings with the 3 beam roofs, how are you justifying insetting your beams into existing masonry, taking away from it in the process? Isn't this technically destructive of the original wall without cause?

Not to barge in, but I think you might actually enjoy this analysis!! When studying the structures on the acacia and desert villages (color pallete and usage of dyes), and mesa biome mines (blocks source), which i believe are more faithful to the trail structure, and are likely their descendants, would have made your life a lot easier when rebuilding!! Now... The gold nugget!! The placement is actually really important to me!! You see, I believe the criss cross building with the gaps was likely a well/drainage system!! And you know what most villages have near the center of the pathways, near a water source? The village bell :) The nugget is likely what remained of it!! The ruins here actually seem quite out of place, they are in a forested area, susceptible to high humidity and rainfall, and yet this whole structure seems to have been designed with harsh sun in mind! It looks to me like this would've been a result of the people who built this having been from an area where those conditions were part of their architecture and culture, hence the interesting choice in building materials, and the deep draimage system + gutters!! Plus, i do not believe this was a settlement, it seems like a hotspot for merchants, likely as a supply spot in between two far apart locations. Another note is that, when seeing other villages and assuming their architecture was inherited from those who came before them , especially in the early version of villages, the ladders led to the top of houses, which had fencing around the edges!! Whixh would have decayed the fastest, as it wouldve been exposed to the elements. Also, i believe one of the open areas you assumed was an animal pen, and had the pots, wheat and seeds, given the structure of the building- Was actually for preserving supplies!! Likely for fermented goods like bread and wine, hence the seeds and wheat :D The adjoining room that you assumed might've been a pen, with the leads, dye, armor template, and water cauldron seems to me like a setup for dyeing/tanning leather goods, as accessories for armor, maybe the confection of saddles, and preservation od animal skins!! I believe you were spot on with the ruins next to the tower being the top half, as in old versions, churches were rather tall, used stained glass, and used to have a lookout at the very top. Pillager outposts also have a similar structure, as their architecture is largely based off villagers', which is likely the culture they split from. Oh boy i went off. Well, i hope you enjoy this!!

So i have rebuilt my own ancient city recently, with inspiration from you. I tried to pay homage to the original style, but with my own sort of flare added on. I would love to have your inputs on it!

I wonder if the sort of cultish/ceremonial buildings indicate less worshiping the Warden, but perhaps a fear of the Warden and an attempt to placate it? Considering the shear number of buildings, that would indicate to me an almost primal level of fear or perhaps even terror.

@ 10:50 of this video...the "chimney" would look really cool with a campfire in it with the smoke rising out of it.

Darnit... now I want to hear Barbiegoth...

You doing a nice work, that's kinda interesting how a professional takes some game aspects that seriously. Maybe with structure block you even could make that city underground again, that would look very cool

All of the chests of ancient city have the same loot pool in them except of ice room, so maybe that's doesn't matter what items are at the chest. There are two lootpools: icebox and regular. There is no pattern how particular items to generate at what chest, so they you may take all of the chests (except of ice) as same cheats. I'm saying this because you payed lot of attention to them. Personally, I like to take the game features as canon and always imagine Minecraft world culture as if it was build around those. So, maybe ancient people were sacrificing the same items as they use at everyday household

i think your guesses could be more accurate if you looked at the loot table for each individual chest, and then listened to the disk that you make from the fragments. the disk is why everyone keeps mentioning the wither

I loved how the wall turned out and that intro was awesome!

So, this will be my running notes, is it not possible that the first red building is used less than the second and so has its full stock and/or fewer broken objects? Now I don’t doubt one is probably used more and this is where in real life we can look at patterns of human behavior that leave traces (how worn things are/grafitti/ what and how much is built around them) but I’m curious as to why you decided that the second one was used less specifically?

Took me a while to watch this... and still digesting both parts. As much as I kept "raising eyebrows" along the way with some of the interpretations. (I'm not sure how I'd differ, though. Just had me think "that seems odd" until hearing the rationale.) The final conclusion seems sound enough, though it has me looking at the borders and wondering where any outwards extensions were. If this was a center of administration supporting a larger civilization, I wonder where paths are to residential spaces - don't seem to see many of them in this place. ... could that be the reason for horse-related things near the edges? Places where transportation would be "stored" while visiting?

Love this series

For starters, I really like the nether woods, the acacia, and the dark oak. The Warped Wood in particular - it's striking in the dark environment of the cave, and would match with the soul lanterns very well. Where I'm of two minds, however, is how they'd source these woods. Surface woods (acacia and dark oak) are, well, from the surface - residents would need to trek all the way to the surface and back to obtain it. Meanwhile, nether woods are, well, from the nether, that deeply hazardous realm of lava and flying jellyfish artillery monsters. They both seem difficult, and therefore pricey, to get. It occurs that, with wood being so arduous to obtain, it might itself be a status symbol. Maybe the less well-to-do buildings (the smaller residences and shops) are roofed in cloth, or more deep slate. Something that would keep the wet out, but wouldn’t require realmhopping, or extended trips to the surface.