How do you find a desert temple (pyramid) in Minecraft?

Generates in desert biomes, often half-buried in sand - the orange terracotta towers show above dunes /locate structure minecraft:desert_pyramid Desert wells and villages cluster nearby

What loot is in a desert temple (pyramid)?

4 hidden chests under the floor: enchanted books, golden apples, diamonds, emeralds, horse armor, bones and rotten flesh; 9 TNT blocks - mine them after disarming the trap; The temple itself: terracotta and cut sandstone for builds.

Desert Temple (Pyramid)

Overworld

A desert temple in Minecraft — Desert temple. Gameplay screenshot by Wesley Fryer via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

How to find it

Generates in desert biomes, often half-buried in sand - the orange terracotta towers show above dunes
/locate structure minecraft:desert_pyramid
Desert wells and villages cluster nearby

Loot

4 hidden chests under the floor: enchanted books, golden apples, diamonds, emeralds, horse armor, bones and rotten flesh
9 TNT blocks - mine them after disarming the trap
The temple itself: terracotta and cut sandstone for builds

Dangers

The TNT trap: a stone pressure plate on the center floor detonates 9 TNT - enough to kill an unarmored player and destroy the chests
Hostile mobs inside the unlit treasure chamber

Tips

NEVER step on the center plate: dig down at the chamber corner instead, or pour water from above.
Break the pressure plate first, then mine the TNT for your own use.
In Bedrock the chests generate slightly differently but the trap is identical.
For archaeology with a brush, look for desert wells and warm ocean ruins instead - temples have no suspicious blocks.

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