Building Blocks: Ocean Monument

Visitors can expect to see some breathtakingly beautiful ancient architecture. But don’t expect to grab much loot – the age of these structures means that chests and their contents have long since rotted away. All you’ll find is the treasure of gold blocks, a lot of prismarine and sea lanterns, and occasionally a room full of sponges. 

To find an ocean monument, you’ll need to be prepared. Visit a cartographer villager and enquire about buying an ocean explorer map – that’ll lead you to the nearest one. You’ll probably want to bring a boat, and almost certainly some potions of water breathing. Food is always a good idea, and a turtle shell on your head will offer some additional assistance. If you can manage to build a conduit, that’ll help a lot.

Be prepared to face some heavy opposition. Ocean monuments are populated by dangerous creatures called guardians that shoot lasers and are spiky enough that hitting them with a melee attack will hurt pretty bad. But they’re nothing compared to the elder guardians that you’ll find in the deepest parts of the structure. As well as the laser and the spikes, these ancient beasts will zap players with Mining Fatigue III, making it very difficult to attack or break blocks. Even an invisibility potion won’t save you from that one.

Luckily, as far as we know, elder guardians aren’t a thing in the real world. But ocean monuments are!

There are many parts of the world where sunken structures can be found. Mostly these were once on dry land that has become submerged – by a hydroelectric dam for example.

In a few places people have even built underwater. In Pemuteran Bay on the Indonesian island of Bali for example, there’s a Hindu temple that was built by divers in 2005 at a depth of 30 metres. This unusual structure serves an environmental purpose as well as a spiritual one – it has become a habitat for marine creatures, including corals and fish.

While divers are welcome to visit the Underwater Temple in Bali, Minecrafters will find themselves considerably less welcome in an ocean monument. But if you prepare carefully, take your time, and don’t take unnecessary risks, then a collection of soggy sponges could be yours!