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To find buried treasure in Minecraft, first find a treasure map—usually in a shipwreck or sometimes an ocean ruin—then travel to the red X and dig around that spot. There is no universal coordinate or fixed depth: the chest’s location depends on how your world generated.
Where to find a buried treasure map
Look for shipwrecks along beaches and in ocean biomes. They can be partly buried in the seabed or washed up along a shore, and a chest aboard may contain a map leading to buried treasure. Minecraft’s shipwreck guide describes them as broken-down ships found in beach and ocean biomes.
Ocean ruins are another possible source. Minecraft’s ocean ruins guide says most contain chests, and buried treasure maps are among the possible loot. Cold ruins appear in normal, cold, and frozen oceans; warm ruins appear in lukewarm and warm oceans. Neither structure guarantees a usable map.
Shipwrecks and ocean ruins compared
| Route | Where to search | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Shipwrecks | Beaches and ocean biomes | A ship chest may contain a buried treasure map. Shipwrecks can be partly underwater or along shore. |
| Ocean ruins | Underwater in the ocean types where cold or warm ruins generate | Most contain chests, and buried treasure maps are possible loot; reaching the structure requires underwater exploration. |
The official sources do not publish comparative map odds, so there is no supported basis for saying one route is more likely to produce a map.
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How to use the map and find the red X
- Open the buried treasure map and identify the large red X. Minecraft’s editorial Heart of the Sea article, written by Duncan Geere, advises players to “Follow the map and locate the big red X.”
- Travel in the direction that moves your map marker toward the X. Continue until you reach the marked area.
- Dig around the X to uncover the chest. Treat the X as the destination, not a universal coordinate: treasure placement is generated in your world, and the official guidance does not specify a fixed depth or exact digging pattern.
If the chest is not immediately visible, widen the search around the marked spot rather than assuming the map supplies an exact block or depth. No single coordinate works across all seeds and versions.
Can a dolphin help find buried treasure?
Yes, as an optional exploration aid. Feed a dolphin raw cod or raw salmon and it may swim toward the nearest buried treasure, shipwreck, or ocean ruin, according to Minecraft’s Heart of the Sea article. Because it can lead to several kinds of destination, a dolphin is not a guaranteed direct locator for a buried chest.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Version caveat: maps are not guaranteed
Map availability can depend on the build you are playing. Java Edition 26.3 Snapshot 7 release notes document a bug in which shipwrecks and ocean ruins could generate with empty buried treasure maps; Snapshot 10 is identified as a Java snapshot. See the official Snapshot 7 notes and Snapshot 10 notes. These are snapshot-specific notes, not evidence that every edition or released version has the same issue. If a map chest is empty, check the notes for your exact edition and version before treating it as expected behavior.
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