How to Get Pottery Shards in Minecraft 1.20

Giving rise to a whole new wave of creativity and expression, Minecraft is bringing the much-awaited archaeology features to the game with the 1.20 Trails and Tales update. And pottery shards (sherds) are the ones leading this new archaeological revolution. Whether you want to use them as building bricks or just decorative items, they help you express yourself in a variety of ways. But that’s for later. Right now, let’s learn how to get pottery shards in Minecraft 1.20 and make the most out of them.

What Is a Pottery Shard in Minecraft

Pottery shards are new archaeological items that have made their way into the game with the Minecraft 1.20 update. They spawn as hidden objects inside the new suspicious sand and suspicious gravel blocks. Instead of mining or breaking them, you have to craft and use a brush to unveil these pottery shards to collect them.

Types of Pottery Shards in Minecraft

There is a total of 20 types of pottery shards (or pottery sherds, as they are now called) in Minecraft:

• Angler Pottery Sherd (Fishing rod)
• Archer Pottery Sherd (Bow and arrow)
• Arms Up Pottery Sherd (Person with hands in the air)
• Blade Pottery Sherd (Sword)
• Brewer Pottery Sherd (Potion)
• Burn Pottery Sherd (Fire)
• Danger Pottery Sherd (Creeper)
• Explorer Pottery Sherd (Map)
• Friend Pottery Sherd (Villager)
• Heart Pottery Sherd (Heart)
• Heartbreak Pottery Sherd (Broken heart)
• Howl Pottery Sherd (Wolf)
• Miner Pottery Sherd (Pickaxe)
• Mourner Pottery Sherd (Warden)
• Plenty Pottery Sherd (Treasure chest)
• Prize Pottery Sherd (Diamond)
• Sheaf Pottery Sherd (Wheat)
• Shelter Pottery Sherd (Tree)
• Skull Pottery Sherd (Skeleton skull)
• Snort Pottery Sherd (Sniffer)

Each of these pottery shards has a unique symbol on them that relates to their name. Furthermore, the same symbol shows up when you turn the pottery shards into a pot.

How to Find Pottery Shards in Minecraft

Now that you know the basics of pottery shards, let’s venture into the overworld and collect some of them. Suspicious sand and suspicious gravel blocks can generate in these structures:

• Desert Well
• Desert Pyramid/Temple
• Trail Ruins
• Warm Ocean Ruins
• Cold Ocean Ruins

Follow these steps to find pottery shards in Minecraft:

1. First, go to one of the structures listed above, for instance, a desert well.

2. Then, you need to look for suspicious sand blocks. They always spawn at the bottom of the desert well. Use our dedicated guide linked here to learn more about these new sand blocks.

3. Finally, you need to use the brush on these suspicious sand blocks. If you’re lucky, it will slowly reveal a pottery shard. Learn how to make a brush in Minecraft in order to obtain pottery shards via this dedicated guide.

How to Use Pottery Shards in Minecraft 1.20

As the name suggests, pottery shards are used to make unique decorative pots in Minecraft. Once you find four pottery shards, you simply need to combine them on a crafting table using the crafting recipe shown below. Since each pottery shard only reflects one face of the pot, you can use any type of pottery shard while making a pot.

Whether you want to decorate your Minecraft house or create an archaeological custom map, the pottery shards are here to help. But before you collect them, we suggest you meet the Sniffer mob in Minecraft, which can sniff out ancient seeds such as torchflower seeds and pitcher pods that grow into beautiful decorative plants in Minecraft.

Meanwhile, if you struggle while collecting these shards, our list of best Minecraft desert seeds for archaeology adventures could give you a major head start. Having said that, which is your favorite type of pottery shard? Tell us in the comments below!