Archaeology

The archaeology is an upcoming gameplay mechanic that allows the player to find items that represent historical artifacts below suspicious sand and gravel blocks. This mechanic was originally intended to be part of the Caves & Cliffs update, but it had been delayed three times until the Trails & Tales update.

Guide
By using a brush on suspicious sand at warm ocean ruins (those whose the main building material is sandstone), desert pyramids and desert wells, players can discover and obtain artifacts and other loot, such as sticks, emeralds and pottery sherds. If the player breaks or drops a block of suspicious sand, they permanently break these artifacts. Pottery sherds can be used to add decoration to decorated pots. The brush can still be used on suspicious gravel blocks found in cold ocean ruins (those whose main building material is stone brick) and trail ruins. Suspicious gravel provides a wider variety of items after brushing.

Blocks

 * Decorated Pot (E) JE1.png
 * Can be crafted with any 4 pottery shards or brick items, shaped rhombic.
 * The type of crafting material decides which picture will appear on the certain side of the crafted decorated pot.
 * The possible pictures are decided by the type of pottery shard which is used to craft.
 * The brick item will not have a picture.
 * It is very fragile and very easy to break it:
 * Will break apart into its crafting materials when breaking it using any block-breaking tool.
 * Will drop itself when breaking it using nothing.


 * Suspicious Gravel BE1.png
 * Generates in cold ocean ruins and trail ruins.
 * Brushing the suspicious gravel with a brush will extract objects.


 * Suspicious Sand JE1 BE1.png
 * Generates in desert temples, desert wells, trail ruins, and warm ocean ruins.
 * Brushing the suspicious sand with a brush will extract objects.

Items

 * Brush JE1 BE1.png
 * An item which can be used to brush blocks.
 * Can be crafted with a feather, copper ingot and stick.


 * They have symbolic pictures on them.
 * Different structures contain different pottery shards.
 * Contains 20 different variants.
 * They cannot be crafted and are only found by brushing suspicious sand.
 * They cannot be crafted and are only found by brushing suspicious sand.

World generation

 * Trail Ruins
 * A buried generated structure from a lost culture.
 * Generates in taigas, snowy taigas, old growth taigas (both types), old growth birch forests and jungles.
 * Comprised of a tower, a path across the bottom, and a few additional rooms attached to the side.
 * Contains suspicious sand and suspicious gravel, as well as mud bricks and several colors of terracotta and glazed terracotta.
 * Four armor trims and seven pottery sherds can be found here.

Gameplay

 * The player can find items in suspicious sand or suspicious gravel inside of certain structures by using the brush.
 * In desert pyramids, suspicious sand can contain a pottery sherd, TNT, gunpowder, an emerald or a diamond.
 * In desert wells, suspicious sand can contain a pottery sherd, a brick, an emerald, a stick or suspicious stew.
 * In warm ocean ruins, suspicious sand can contain a pottery sherd, a sniffer egg, an iron axe, an emerald, wheat, a wooden hoe, coal or a gold nugget.
 * In cold ocean ruins, suspicious gravel can contain a pottery sherd, an iron axe, an emerald, wheat, a wooden hoe, coal, or a gold nugget.
 * In trail ruins, suspicious gravel can contain a pottery sherd, an emerald, wheat, clay, a brick, dyes, a dyed candle, a stained glass pane, a hanging sign, a gold nugget, coal, wheat seeds, beetroot seeds, a dead bush, a flower pot, string, a lead or an armor trim.