Pyramids and obelisks
From the pyramids of Giza to a Maya temple, a ziggurat, an obelisk or a glass Louvre pyramid. Choose the type, the size and the slope, and build it layer by layer. At the bottom you can see how the slope is turned into blocks per layer.
Core: solid, but the inside gets its own part. Give it a cheap block in the block palette.
Side view
Top view
lighter = higherThe arrow on a stair points to its high side. Click a block once you have placed it.
Build breakdown
Per layer, from bottom to top
| Layer | Width | Compared with below | Blocks |
|---|
Layer 1, row by row
| Row | Start | Pattern | Blocks |
|---|
Build tips
- First mark the four corners of the bottom layer and run a line between them. Check the diagonals: if they are the same length, your footprint is truly square.
- Build the outer edge of each layer first and only then fill the inside. For a hollow pyramid you skip the inside.
- A 45° slope is built with stairs only: 1 up, 1 in. At 51.8° the face sometimes does not step in for a layer; follow the table per layer.
- Big pyramids take a lot of blocks. Choose Core and give the core fill a cheap block such as cobblestone or sand in the block palette.
- For a Maya temple, build the terraces first and then the stairs: the stairs cut diagonally through the terraces.
- An obelisk looks best with its tip in gold or a light stone, and the shaft in sandstone or quartz.
- For the glass pyramid, put up the frame first and then fill the panels with glass.
3D and layer-by-layer build plan
To Minecraft
Download the design as a schematic file and paste it into your world with WorldEdit, or build along with a hologram in Litematica. Glass and gold always stay glass and gold.
Shopping list
Add the amounts of this design to your list. There you see everything together, converted to stacks and shulker boxes.
How it is calculated
History and fun facts
From step pyramid to smooth sides
The first large pyramid is the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, built around 2650 BC. The architect Imhotep stacked six smaller and smaller layers on top of each other.
Later, Pharaoh Sneferu tried to build a smooth pyramid. The Bent Pyramid at Dahshur changes its angle halfway up, probably because the structure became unstable. His Red Pyramid became the first true pyramid with straight, smooth sides.
What was a pyramid for?
In Egypt a pyramid was a tomb for the pharaoh. The burial chamber was deep inside or under the pyramid. The passages were sealed after the funeral.
The shape pointed to the sky and the sun. Temples and a long raised causeway to the Nile were part of the complex.
How were they built?
The Great Pyramid of Khufu is made of more than two million limestone blocks. Workers pulled them up ramps of mud brick and rubble, using sledges and a lot of manpower.
The outside was covered with smooth white limestone. Most of that casing was later taken away for buildings in Cairo. That is why you now see the steps of the core.
The slope of Khufu's pyramid is about 51.8 degrees. In Minecraft you get this angle with layers that sometimes step in and sometimes do not. This tool works that out for every layer.
Temples, ziggurats and obelisks
In Mesopotamia people built ziggurats: stepped towers of mud brick with a temple on top. The Ziggurat of Ur was built around 2100 BC. The story of the Tower of Babel is probably based on a ziggurat like this.
In Central America the Maya built temple pyramids with steep stairs, for example at Tikal and Chichén Itzá. There the pyramid was not a tomb but a base for a temple.
An obelisk is a tall, narrow stone needle with a small pyramid as its tip. The Egyptians cut them from a single piece of granite.
Where can you still see them?
The pyramids of Giza stand near Cairo and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. El Castillo stands at Chichén Itzá in Mexico.
Many Egyptian obelisks now stand in European and American cities, such as the Luxor Obelisk on the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The glass pyramid of the Louvre is a modern example by the architect I. M. Pei.
Did you know?
- The Great Pyramid of Khufu was about 146 metres tall. For about 3,800 years it was the tallest structure in the world.
- Each side of the Great Pyramid is about 230 metres long.
- El Castillo has 91 steps on each side. Add the platform on top and you get 365, the number of days in a year.
- Cleopatra's Needles in London and New York are more than a thousand years older than Cleopatra herself.
- The glass pyramid of the Louvre opened in 1989.
- In Minecraft you find desert pyramids in deserts. Under the floor is a treasure room with a TNT trap.
About this tool
With this Minecraft pyramid generator you design a pyramid and build it layer by layer. You can choose from nine types: an Egyptian pyramid, the flat Red Pyramid, the Bent Pyramid, a step pyramid like Djoser's, a Maya temple, a ziggurat with ramps, a round cone pyramid, an obelisk or a glass pyramid like the one at the Louvre.
You set the base in blocks and the shape with a slope in degrees or with a height. For a temple pyramid you set the number of terraces, the stairs and a temple on top. For an obelisk you choose the shaft and the base. You can build the pyramid hollow, solid or with a cheap core. There is also an entrance, a passage and a burial chamber like in the Great Pyramid.
The tool shows a side view, a top view and a 3D preview. The table per layer tells you how wide each layer is and how far it steps in. For each row you see which blocks to place. Click a block when you have placed it, so you always know where you are.
With the block palette you choose sandstone, light stone or gold for the capstone. The materials counter adds up all blocks, stairs and slabs, in stacks. You can download the design as a .schem file for WorldEdit or Litematica.
The tool is useful for anyone who wants to build a Minecraft pyramid, from a small desert monument to a huge Khufu at full scale. Also see Egyptian buildings for temples and columns.
Frequently asked questions
How do I build a pyramid in Minecraft?
First mark the four corners of the bottom layer and check that both diagonals are the same length. Then build the outer edge of each layer and step in as the table per layer shows. At 45 degrees you step in 1 block on every layer.
How many blocks do I need for a pyramid?
That depends a lot on the size and the fill. A solid pyramid costs far more than a hollow one. The counter at the top shows the total and the number of stacks. Choose Core and give the core a cheap block like cobblestone or sand to save materials.
How do I get the slope of the real Great Pyramid?
Choose the Great Pyramid of Khufu example or set the slope to about 51.8 degrees. The tool works out on which layers the wall steps in and on which it does not. Follow the table per layer, because the pattern is not the same on every layer.
Can I add a passage and burial chamber?
Yes. Under Entrance you choose a passage to the centre, a passage with a burial chamber, or a rising passage with a king's chamber. The passage is left open in every layer, so you leave space for it while you build.
Does this work in Minecraft Bedrock?
The layer plan works in every version, because you simply copy it block by block. The .schem file is for Java Edition with WorldEdit or Litematica.
How tall can my pyramid be?
In Java 1.18 and newer you can build from height -64 to 320. A pyramid with a 200 block base and a 45 degree slope is 100 layers tall. So do not start too high above the ground.