Archelogy was first teased as a feature coming to Mojang"s block-based sensation Minecraft back in 2020. However, this discovery-focused gameplay element was later revealed to be put on hold, with the studio saying it went back to the drawing board to present it "in the best possible way." While the wait has been long, Archelogy is finally coming to the game soon.
Mojang announced Archeology"s arrival in a blog post today, with the studio planning to add it as one of the features of Minecraft 1.20. Fans won"t have to wait until the update to try out Archeology though, as Mojang says it is introducing it to Minecraft preview builds very soon.
In the first iteration of this long-awaited feature, players will be able to find a special type of sand block named "Suspicious Sand" near Desert Temples. These blocks can be investigated using the new Brush tool, which lets players uncover Pottery Shards and random objects. For now, bringing four Pottery Shards together forms a clay pot as a brand-new decoration item.
The studio will be expanding on Archeology to be more feature rich as development continues, and players can help with this venture. Instructions on joining the Bedrock Edition betas and previews as well as Java Edition snapshots can be found here.
The Minecraft 1.20 major update that will carry the full version of this feature doesn"t have a release date yet. It is slated to bring brand-new additions such as Camels, Bamboo blocks, rafts, hanging signs, the mob vote winner the "Sniffer", and more sometime in 2023.