Shelter Pottery Sherd
An acacia-tree motif brushed from suspicious sand in warm ocean ruins (6.7% chance per block), used as one of the four faces of a Decorated Pot.
Description
In crafting, the sherd fills one of the four side slots of the Decorated Pot's plus-shaped recipe, in any mix with other sherds and plain bricks. The slot determines the face: the first occupied slot becomes the front, and the rest wrap clockwise, so a single pot can carry up to four different motifs.
A finished Decorated Pot stores one stack of a single item type, with no GUI — it interacts with hoppers, droppers and comparators instead. It breaks instantly: bare hands or a Silk Touch tool drop the whole pot, while any other tool returns the four sherds or bricks it was made from. Projectiles shatter the pot and spill its contents, so keep it out of arrow paths.
Block properties
| Item ID |
minecraft:shelter_pottery_sherd
|
|---|---|
| /give command |
/give @p minecraft:shelter_pottery_sherd
|
| Stackable | Yes (64) |
| Renewable | No |
| Java Edition | 1.20 |
| Bedrock Edition | 1.20.0 |
Guide
How to get and use the Shelter Pottery Sherd in Minecraft
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1
Find warm ocean ruins
Warm ocean ruins generate on the sea floor of warm ocean biomes. Sail across warm oceans and dive where you spot ruined sandstone and stone structures; the suspicious sand blocks inside them hold the archaeology loot.
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2
Craft a Brush
Combine 1 feather (top), 1 copper ingot (middle) and 1 stick (bottom) in a crafting grid. The Brush is the only tool that excavates suspicious sand; breaking the block any other way drops nothing. Water-breathing potions make long dives much easier.
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3
Brush the suspicious sand
Hold use on a suspicious sand block with the Brush until the excavation animation finishes; releasing early resets progress. Each brushed block in warm ocean ruins has a 6.7% chance of yielding the Shelter Pottery Sherd.
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4
Craft a Decorated Pot
Place 4 pottery sherds or bricks in a plus (+) shape on a 3×3 grid: top-center, left-center, right-center and bottom-center. The first slot you fill becomes the front face and the rest wrap clockwise, so put the Shelter sherd in the slot whose face you want its acacia tree on.
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5
Use and move the pot
A Decorated Pot holds one stack of a single item type and works with hoppers and comparators. Break it with an empty hand or a Silk Touch tool to carry the whole pot; a regular tool instead returns the four sherds and bricks.
Breaking a Decorated Pot with a non-Silk-Touch tool gives back exactly the sherds and bricks it was crafted from — a safe way to re-motif a pot without losing the Shelter sherd. But keep projectiles away: arrows, tridents and wind charges shatter the pot and scatter its contents.
Frequently asked questions
Where do you find the Shelter Pottery Sherd?
Only in warm ocean ruins: brush the suspicious sand blocks there with a Brush. Each block has a 6.7% chance in both Java and Bedrock. Breaking the block without a Brush destroys it and drops nothing.
Can you craft the Shelter Pottery Sherd?
No. It is archaeology loot with no recipe — brushing suspicious sand in warm ocean ruins is the only way to obtain it. You can also recover it by breaking a Decorated Pot that was crafted with it using a regular tool.
What does the Shelter Pottery Sherd depict?
An acacia tree — the name refers to the shade of the tree as a shelter. On a Decorated Pot it prints this acacia-tree motif on the face that matches its crafting slot.
How many items does a Decorated Pot need?
Exactly 4, placed in a plus (+) shape. Each of the four side slots takes any pottery sherd or a plain brick, freely mixed.
How do you move a Decorated Pot without losing it?
Break it with an empty hand or a Silk Touch tool: the pot then drops whole and keeps its pattern. Any other tool breaks it into the four sherds and bricks it was made from, and projectiles shatter it entirely.
What version added the Shelter Pottery Sherd?
Java Edition 1.20 and Bedrock 1.20.0, the Trails & Tales update released in June 2023. The same update added the Brush and Decorated Pots.
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