The Hidden Temple

Inspired by the structures found at the Maya City State of Palenque (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site), The Hidden Temple is a recreation of the ruins found of Mayan structures. The Mayan Empire was incredibly influential, reaching the height of its power in 6 A.D. The Maya excelled at agriculture, hieroglyph writing, pottery, calendar-making and (perhaps most importantly) mathematics, and left behind an incredible amount of architecture and symbolic artwork after its decline in 900 A.D. As the Mayan Empire played such a significant role in human history, I find it fitting for one of its Temples to be created in LEGO.

The Build - The model itself is constructed with 1577 pieces, with the most common piece being the modified 1x1x1.67 brick (with studs on the side) and the most common colour being light-blueish grey. The temple is created using a variety of standard bricks (to create the rough shape of the build), the modified bricks and tiles (to add additional texture and to give the build a clean finish), and slope pieces to create both the roof of the upper section of the temple. Plant elements were then added in order to make the ruins seem overgrown and undiscovered, as well as to show that the temple would be found in a jungle, as the Maya Empire centred in the tropical lowlands of Guatemala.

Details - To create a realistic design for the Mayan Temple, many plant elements were used throughout the build, most commonly 1x1 round bricks with bamboo leaves and round 1x1 plates with leaf designs. Two smaller walls created using tiles and SNOT (Studs-not-on-Top) bricks were added to the exterior of the temple to break up the monotony of the plant elements, as well as to further the ruined aesthetic of the temple. Finally, frog elements were placed throughout the model to add some life to the build.