What are suspicious blocks in Minecraft?

Minecraft fans rejoiced when the long-awaited debut of archeology arrived in the 1.20 Trails & Tales update. At last, players could comb through the depths of the Overworld to find ancient items and create new blocks with plenty of history attached to them. When Mojang implemented archeology, it did so by introducing the new brush tool as well as suspicious blocks that can be brushed.

Suspicious blocks come in sand and gravel variants. They possess their own loot tables that provide a litany of different items when players brush them completely.

Although suspicious blocks have a defined purpose in Minecraft 1.20, there is much more to them than might meet the eye. Players may want to know the full scope of these blocks' capabilities for posterity.

---

What to know about Minecraft's suspicious sand/gravel blocks in the 1.20 update

Unlike standard sand and gravel blocks in Minecraft, suspicious blocks are incredibly fragile and can easily be broken if players aren't careful. Breaking them yields nothing, and the blocks themselves don't even drop, regardless of whether players are breaking them by hand or using a tool enchanted with Silk Touch.

Furthermore, these two blocks are affected by gravity. If they fall, they'll break on impact. However, if players drop suspicious sand/gravel blocks and they continue to fall for more than 30 seconds, they will drop themselves. This can also be achieved by dropping the blocks on upward bubble columns or two vertically-stacked cobweb blocks.

These two Minecraft blocks generate in different areas. Suspicious sand appears in desert pyramids, desert wells, and warm ocean ruin structures. Meanwhile, suspicious gravel blocks naturally generate within cold ocean ruins and the new trail ruins.

Minecraft players who want to brush either of these blocks will have to seek them out where they appear in the world. This is because placing them via commands or the Creative Mode inventory will result in suspicious blocks that have no items after being brushed. Once a suspicious block has been sufficiently brushed, it will revert to standard sand or gravel.

Depending on where a suspicious block generates, it has a different accompanying loot table of potential items it can carry in Minecraft. This incentivizes players to check multiple structures for brushing to acquire the new archeology items in 1.20, and they can snag some other useful items as well.

Trail Ruins Suspicious Gravel Loot

• Blue Dye
• Bricks
• Brown Candles
• Burn Pottery Sherds
• Danger Pottery Sherds
• Friend Pottery Sherds
• Heart Pottery Sherds
• Heartbreak Pottery Sherds
• Howl Pottery Sherds
• Sheaf Pottery Sherds
• Clay Balls
• Emeralds
• Green Candles
• Light Blue Dye
• Orange Dye
• Purple Candles
• Red Candles
• Wheat
• White Dye
• Wooden Hoes
• Yellow Dye
• Beetroot Seeds
• Blue Stained Glass Panes
• Coal
• Dead Bushes
• Flower Pots
• Leads
• Light Blue Stained Glass Panes
• Magenta Stained Glass Panes
• Oak Hanging Signs
• Pink Stained Glass Panes
• Purple Stained Glass Panes
• Red Stained Glass Panes
• Spruce Hanging Signs
• String
• Wheat Seeds
• Yellow Stained Glass Panes
• Gold Nuggets
• Host Smithing Templates
• Raiser Smithing Templates
• Shaper Smithing Templates
• Wayfinder Smithing Templates
• Relic Music Disc

Cold Ocean Ruins Suspicious Gravel Loot

• Coal
• Emeralds
• Wheat
• Wooden Hoes
• Gold Nuggets
• Blade Pottery Sherds
• Explorer Pottery Sherds
• Mourner Pottery Sherds
• Plenty Pottery Sherds
• Iron Axes

Desert Pyramid Suspicious Sand Loot

• Archer Pottery Sherds
• Emeralds
• Gunpowder
• Miner Pottery Sherds
• Prize Pottery Sherds
• Skull Pottery Sherds
• TNT Blocks
• Diamonds

Desert Well Suspicious Sand Loot

• Arms Up Pottery Sherds
• Brewer Pottery Sherds
• Bricks
• Emeralds
• Sticks
• Suspicious Stew

Warm Ocean Ruins Suspicious Sand Loot

• Coal
• Emeralds
• Wheat
• Wooden Hoes
• Gold Nuggets
• Angler Pottery Sherds
• Shelter Pottery Sherds
• Sniffer Eggs
• Snort Pottery Sherds
• Iron Axes

With so many new archeological items to find in Minecraft 1.20, many of the game's existing structures have found new life. As the game continues to evolve, suspicious sand and gravel blocks may not even be the only two of their kind. Only time will tell if Mojang is willing to expand archeology in the future.