Nether Fossil

Nether Fossil

Biomes	Soul Sand Valley
Consists of	Bone Block Dried Ghast​

{
    "title": "Nether Fossil",
    "rows": [
        {
            "field": "<span class=\"nowrap\"><span class=\"sprite-file\" style=\"\">(link to File:BiomeSprite soul-sand-valley.png article, displayed as 16x16px|link=Soul Sand Valley|alt=|class=pixel-image|)</span>(link to Soul Sand Valley article, displayed as <span class=\"sprite-text\">Soul Sand Valley</span>)</span>",
            "label": "(link to Biome article, displayed as Biomes)"
        },
        {
            "field": "<span class=\"nowrap\"><span class=\"sprite-file\" style=\"\">(link to File:BlockSprite bone-block.png article, displayed as 16x16px|link=Bone Block|alt=|class=pixel-image|)</span>(link to Bone Block article, displayed as <span class=\"sprite-text\">Bone Block</span>)</span>\n*<span class=\"nowrap\"><span class=\"sprite-file\" style=\"\">(link to File:BlockSprite dried-ghast.png article, displayed as 16x16px|link=Dried Ghast|alt=|class=pixel-image|)</span>(link to Dried Ghast article, displayed as <span class=\"sprite-text\">Dried Ghast</span>)</span>​<sup class=\"noprint nowrap Inline-Template \" title=\"\">[<i>(link to Planned versions article, displayed as <span title=\"This statement applies only to upcoming versions of Minecraft.\">upcoming</span>)</i>]</sup>",
            "label": "Consists of"
        }
    ],
    "invimages": [],
    "images": [
        "Nether fossil 1.png"
    ]
}

Nether fossils are fossils that generate in soul sand valleys.

Generation

Nether fossils generate randomly throughout the Nether in soul sand valleys.

Structure

Nether fossils are composed of 5 to 27 bone blocks. Unlike regular fossils, they do not have a lowered structure integrity and no blocks are replaced with coal or diamond ore. They are made with the NBT structure block format and the NBT files for each fossil are stored in the folder minecraft.jar/data/minecraft/structures/nether_fossils.

There are 14 different variants of nether fossils:

Structure name	Description	Consists of	[hide]Images
nether_fossils/fossil_1	Small ribs.	10 Bone Block
nether_fossils/fossil_2	A horizontal sternum.	10 Bone Block
nether_fossils/fossil_3	Small partial ribcage.	6 Bone Block
nether_fossils/fossil_4	Small ribcage structure.	6 Bone Block
nether_fossils/fossil_5	One medium rib.	5 Bone Block
nether_fossils/fossil_6	Large ribcage structure.	21 Bone Block
nether_fossils/fossil_7	Three sets of large ribs.	18 Bone Block
nether_fossils/fossil_8	One large rib.	6 Bone Block
nether_fossils/fossil_9	Three ascending sets of medium ribs.	15 Bone Block
nether_fossils/fossil_10	One large rib.	8 Bone Block
nether_fossils/fossil_11	Medium ribcage structure.	24 Bone Block
nether_fossils/fossil_12	Medium ribcage structure.	11 Bone Block
nether_fossils/fossil_13	Three large ribs.	17 Bone Block
nether_fossils/fossil_14	Large ribcage structure.	26 Bone Block

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Structure type	[hide]Identifier
Nether Fossil	nether_fossil

Structure	[hide]Identifier
Nether Fossil	nether_fossil

In Bedrock Edition, nether fossils are not a structure.

Config

Java Edition:

• [NBT Compound / JSON Object] Structure configuration
  • [String] type: minecraft:nether_fossil
  • Fields common to all structures see Template:Nbt inherit/structure/template[show]
  • [Int][NBT Compound / JSON Object] start_height: The y-value where the structure starts.
    • Height provider see Template:Nbt inherit/height provider/template[show]

History

September 28, 2019							Nether fossils shown unnamed as part of soul sand valley biome at Minecon 2019.
March 22, 2025							Dried ghasts are shown to generate as part of nether fossils at Minecraft LIVE - March 2025
[hide]Java Edition
1.16			20w06a				Added nether fossils.
			20w11a				Nether fossils can now be located with /locate.
[hide]Upcoming Java Edition
1.21.6			25w15a				Can now contain dried ghasts.
[hide]Bedrock Edition
1.16.0			beta 1.16.0.57				Added nether fossils.

Issues

Issues relating to "Nether Fossil" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

• Nether fossils are one of the 3 generated structures that never generate with loot chests (the others being swamp huts and ocean monuments).
• Nether fossils do not have coal ore (or deepslate diamond ore) variants like Overworld fossils.
• Interestingly, while Overworld fossils are considered features like Trees, Nether fossils are considered structures instead.
• If it is in the 0,0 chunk, it can be used to find the rough Stronghold location

Gallery

• 

  A fossil in a soul sand valley.

• 

  A nether fossil with a dried ghast.

See also

• Generated structures
• Fossil