How to Use a Brush in Minecraft (Archaeology Guide)

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Craft a brush with a feather on top, a copper ingot in the middle and a stick on the bottom. Hold use on suspicious sand or suspicious gravel for about 4.8 seconds and an item slowly emerges - pottery sherds, diamonds, sniffer eggs and more, depending on the structure. You can also brush armadillos for scutes.

What you need

1 feather + 1 copper ingot + 1 stick per brush
Several spare brushes for a big dig site (or Mending)
Shovel to clear the normal sand/gravel around the suspicious blocks

Step by step

Craft the brush in a vertical line: feather, copper ingot, stick. It has 64 uses in Java (65 in Bedrock).
Find suspicious blocks: suspicious sand generates in desert temples, desert wells and warm ocean ruins; suspicious gravel in cold ocean ruins and trail ruins. They look almost identical to normal sand/gravel - look for the slightly rougher texture.
Hold the use button on a suspicious block. Do NOT break it - broken suspicious blocks drop nothing. Brushing takes 96 game ticks (4.8 seconds) per block.
Watch the item emerge: a little item pokes out of the block in stages, then pops out, and the block turns into regular sand or gravel. If you stop mid-brush, the block slowly resets.
Know what is inside: loot depends on the structure - desert pyramids give sherds, diamonds and TNT; trail ruins hide sherds, templates and colored glass; ocean ruins hide sherds and sniffer eggs (warm ruins only for eggs).
Bonus use: hold the brush on an armadillo to make it drop an armadillo scute. This costs 16 durability, so a fresh brush yields 4 scutes in Java (5 in Bedrock). Enchant with Unbreaking or Mending to make it last.

Java vs Bedrock

Brushing works the same in both editions. Two small differences: the brush has 64 durability in Java and 65 in Bedrock, so armadillo brushing yields 4 vs 5 scutes per brush.

Versions: Added in Java 1.20 and Bedrock 1.20.0 (Trails & Tales, 2023) together with the archaeology system. Armadillo brushing arrived later in Java 1.20.5 / Bedrock 1.20.80.

Frequently asked questions

Can I mine suspicious sand with a shovel?

You can, but it drops nothing - the loot only comes out by brushing. Always brush suspicious blocks, never break them.

How do I tell suspicious sand from normal sand?

Suspicious blocks have a subtly rougher, speckled texture and are not affected by gravity. When in doubt, tap the brush on the block: if the brushing animation digs in, it is suspicious.

Where do I find sniffer eggs?

Only by brushing suspicious sand in warm ocean ruins - each block has a 1/15 chance (6.7%) to hide one. Cold ruins and trail ruins use suspicious gravel instead and never give eggs.