How to Find Buried Treasure in Minecraft (1.20)

Let’s be honest. Finding buried treasure in Minecraft is a pain. Don’t get me wrong, I like the loot, and more than that, I love this mechanic because it adds depth to Minecraft’s environment. As if your world had existed for a long time before you loaded it up. What I hate is to position myself pixel-perfect on a tiny map, trying to locate a single block in a 512×512 block area.

Minecraft Steve looking for buried treasure and can't find the X
Minecraft Steve looking for buried treasure and can’t find the X

To find buried treasure in Minecraft, you need to find the X marked on a map. Sounds easy, right? But finding the exact point to dig can be frustrating, especially if it’s getting night-time.

Thankfully, there’s a simple trick to finding buried treasure fast, and that’s what I’m going to show you today.

What’s a Buried Treasure in Minecraft?

Buried treasure is a loot chest you can find buried on beaches (and in some cases underwater) under sand or gravel.

Buried Treasure Map
Buried Treasure Map

Buried Treasure Loot

The chest contains the heart of the sea and additional loot that can include: Iron ingots, gold ingots, cooked fish, a potion of water breathing, emeralds, diamonds, prismarine crystals, TNT, an iron sword, and a leather tunic.

Where to Find Buried Treasure Maps?

You can find buried treasure maps in most shipwrecks. It is found in the lower part of the ships (the middle part), so every shipwreck that has at least two chests will have a map chest.

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You can also find buried treasure maps in ocean ruins (both small and big).

By holding the map and right-clicking, it will direct you toward the closest buried treasure.

Shipwreck in Minecraft

How to Find Buried Treasure in Minecraft

Once you have the map and it is pointing toward a buried treasure chest, start going in the direction of the mark.

Find the General Location

The buried treasure map works in the same way that every other map works in Minecraft. North is up, south is down, and west and east are left and right, accordingly. Your location mark will grow when you come near the map area, and while you’re inside, it will be presented as an arrow, indicating your direction, too.

When you get closer to the map area, it will start getting colored.

Get as Close as Possible to the X

Until your location mark is right below the red X.

Finding a buried treasure in Mincraft - standing over the X

Hit the F3 Button

The F3 screen, also called the debug screen, gives you all sorts of information about the game, including your location, which chunk you’re in, what biome you’re in, and what your location is within the chunk.

Finding a buried treasure in Mincraft - debug F3 screen

Find Your Coordinates Inside the Chunk

Look for the marked area. You want your left and right numbers to be 9.

Finding a buried treasure in Mincraft - debug F3 screen with location inside the chunk marked

Dig

Once both values show 9, dig down. Here’s your buried treasure.

Finding a buried treasure in Mincraft - found the treasure

Finishing Thoughts

This was easier than you thought it would be, right? And that’s how it’s gonna be every single time you find buried treasure in Minecraft. I hope you found this guide useful!

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Now, you can try to learn how to find a buried treasure without a map if you’re up for the challenge.

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