The Skull Pottery Sherd is a decorative archaeology item added in the Trails & Tales update (1.20). It carries a centered, forward-facing skull motif, commonly read as a marker of mortality, danger, or warning. The sherd cannot be crafted; it is obtained only by using a brush on suspicious sand found inside desert temples, desert wells, and warm ocean ruins. Each successful brushing pass slowly reveals one item, and pottery sherds are among the rarer rewards from these archaeology sites.

The fragment is used to craft a Decorated Pot. Place four sherds (or plain bricks) in a plus shape around the empty center slot of the crafting grid; the face that points outward in each slot defines which side of the pot displays that design. The finished Decorated Pot drops as a whole item only when broken bare-handed — using any tool breaks it back into its component pieces. The pot has a single inventory slot and accepts hoppers above and below for automation.