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Minecraft suspicious sand explained

Being able to tell the difference between regular sand and Minecraft suspicious sand can be the key to finding your riches in the desert.

A minecraft person holds up a shard of a pot they found inside suspicious sand.

What is Minecraft suspicious sand? The 2023 Minecraft Trails and Tales update peppered untold riches throughout the world, buried away inside special blocks. These blocks are called suspicious sand, and we’ve scoured the world to help you identify where the treasures are hidden, and how you can extract them without breaking the loot in the process.

The archeology feature brings an entirely unique interactive mechanic to Minecraft, so gear up, grab your trilby, and prepare to get rich. Before you head off on your adventure in the sandbox game, it’s worth noting that you’ll need to craft yourself a Minecraft brush, or any suspicious sand tiles you find won’t be worth a thing. Here’s how to find Minecraft suspicious sand.

A minecraft female dusting a rock for precious materials.

Where to find Minecraft suspicious sand

You can find Minecraft suspicious sand in three places:

  • Desert wells
  • Desert pyramids
  • Inside warm ocean ruins

A block of Minecraft suspicious sand with a block of normal sand on either side, showing the difference in appearance between the blocks, and the slightly darker pixels in the suspicious sand.

You can tell suspicious sand from the regular variety by a subtle difference in the texture. Suspicious sand has slightly darker spots on the surface, compared to regular sand which is one color. It can be difficult at first to spot the difference between the two types of block, so make sure you’re staying alert when exploring – especially since hitting suspicious sand with the wrong action will break it, forever destroying the item inside.

Once you’ve discovered some suspicious sand, it’s time to get your brush out and get to work. A block of suspicious sand must be dry for you to crush away its edges, but if you find one that’s prime for excavation, simply use your brush on it until its contents spill out onto the ground.

Now you know where to look for Minecraft suspicious sand, there’s nothing stopping you from kitting out your dream Minecraft build with all the wonders of the desert. If you want to shake up your experience in the open-world game, check out the best Minecraft mods, and even the best Minecraft servers if you’re looking for a new place to call home.