Launch status: Graveyard Keeper 2 is out now worldwide (September 22, 2026) on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch & Switch 2 — full details in the release date & platform schedule.
On this page 7 sections
Core Data & Verification Matrix
| Clay Pit Location | South of Cemetery & Church Stone Wall |
| River Sand Location | Northern Riverbank across the Church Footbridge |
| Tool Required | Standard or Steel Shovel |
| Key Workshop Stations | Potter's Wheel & Furnace I / II / III |
| Primary Clay Products | Ceramic Bowls, Clay Bricks, Cremation Ash Urns |
| Primary Sand Products | Glass, Conical Flasks, Advanced Laboratory Glassware |
| Update 1.009 Fix | Fixed zombies at clay and sand pits freezing after delivery; caretakers can now be inspected on-site |
Clay Pits & Potter's Wheel Manufacturing
Harvesting mineral-rich earth to fuel your mortuary pottery and masonry infrastructure.
Clay is a foundational material for mid-game architecture. The primary clay pit is located just a few steps south of your cemetery gates, marked by exposed terra-cotta earth. Once you unlock Clay Gathering, each excavation with a shovel yields clumps of damp clay.
At the Potter's Wheel, clay is shaped into Ceramic Bowls (used to craft communion dishes and embalming fluids) and shaped into wet bricks that are subsequently fired in your furnace.
| Crafted Clay Item | Ingredients Consumed | Workstation Used | Gameplay Utility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceramic Bowl (x3) | 1 Clay + 1 Clean Water | Potter's Wheel | Required for church incense and alchemy mixes |
| Clay Brick | 2 Clay + 1 Firewood | Furnace I / II | Basic building block for crematoriums and kiln upgrades |
| Polished Ceramic Tile | 1 Clay Brick + 1 White Polish | Stone Cutter II | Refines interior church flooring (+5 Church Rating) |
| Cremation Ash Urn | 2 Clay + 1 Carved Stone | Potter's Wheel | Houses cremated remains in Columbarium walls |
| Refractory Kiln Brick | 2 Clay + 1 River Sand | Furnace II | Component required to assemble high-heat Furnace III |
Digging a batch of 20 clay takes less than two minutes and provides enough raw pottery stock for dozens of alchemy flasks and columbarium urns.
Clay pits never run dry. You can dig hundreds of clay units from the same mound as long as you have the stamina and shovel durability.
River Sand Digging & Glassblowing Science
Extracting clean quartz sand to supply the laboratory glassware revolution.
River Sand deposits line the pristine freshwater creek flowing just north of your church. Armed with a shovel, you can excavate bags of golden silica sand from the shore. This sand cannot be used in its raw form; it must be brought to a high-heat furnace.
Smelting 2 River Sand with Coal produces molten Glass, which is then blown into Conical Flasks and Laboratory Beakers. Without these glass containers, advanced alchemy and embalming injections are physically impossible to brew.
| Glass Product | Raw Materials Formula | Smelting Temperature | Laboratory / Construction Utility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Glass | 2 River Sand + 4 Coal | Furnace I / II | Base material for church windows and lanterns |
| Conical Flasks (x4) | 1 Glass + 2 Water | Furnace II | Mandatory container for all liquid alchemy solutions |
| Advanced Beaker Set | 2 Glass + 1 Polished Stone | Furnace III | Required to construct Alchemy Workbench II |
| Stained Glass Pane | 2 Glass + 1 Gold Nugget | Glazier Bench | Upgrades Church Windows for +10 Sunday Mass Faith |
| Lantern Glass Core | 1 Glass + 1 Complex Part | Anvil II | Crafts streetlights to illuminate cemetery grounds |
Flask shortages are the #1 blocker in mid-game alchemy; smelting 10 glass yields 40 conical flasks, completely satisfying your laboratory container demands.
Digging sand degrades shovel durability rapidly; bring a Whetstone or spare Shovel when heading to the northern riverbank for large excavation sessions.
Zombie Automation at Pits: Farming vs Hammer Perk Trees (Update 1.009)
Clarifying tech tree perks, shovel tool scaling, and official patch fixes for automated earth and sand excavation.
A frequent source of community confusion revolves around which tech tree governs zombie excavators at the Clay Pit and River Sand deposit. Because the Keeper uses a Shovel to dig earth, players frequently assume that agriculture and farming perks dictate excavation speed. However, in Graveyard Keeper 2's underlying skill tree, earth and sand quarrying are categorized as Masonry and Excavation, producing Red Technology points upon manual extraction.
Automated zombie caretakers stationed at these pits scale strictly with their White Skull rating (each White Skull granting +2.5% work speed) rather than farming perks. Most critically, official Update 1.009 resolved an issue where zombies at the clay pit and sand pit froze after carrying goods to the output chest. The update also allows Keepers to inspect or retrieve caretakers directly while they are working in the field.
| Extraction Node | Tool Type Used | Primary Tech Point Color | Governing Perk Branch | Update 1.009 Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Clay Pit | Shovel | Red Tech (Building) | Masonry / Excavation | Hauler loop fixed; caretakers no longer freeze |
| Northern Sand Bank | Shovel | Red Tech (Building) | Masonry / Excavation | Hauler loop fixed; infinite silica delivery |
| Mountain Stone Quarry | Pickaxe | Red Tech (Building) | Masonry & Mining | Collision cleared; uninterrupted stone carving |
| Logging Sawmill Camp | Axe | Red Tech (Building) | Woodworking | Lumber hauling return loop restored |
Prioritize White Skull upgrades on zombie excavators rather than unlocking agricultural field perks; a 12-skull worker will continuously fill clay and sand stockpiles without manual intervention.
In Update 1.009, you can now press the inspect button directly on an active caretaker at the pit to review their current efficiency skull count without unassigning them.
Step-by-Step Strategic Walkthrough
- Unlock Clay Gathering and Sand Digging in the Building and Architecture tech branch.
- Equip a Shovel and head south of the cemetery to locate reddish-brown Clay mound pits.
- Cross the wooden footbridge north of the church to find golden River Sand banks along the water's edge.
- Dig Clay to craft Polished Clay Bricks and Ceramic Bowls at the Potter's Wheel in your yard.
- Smelt River Sand with Coal in your Furnace to blow Glass Panes, Flasks, and Church Windows.
- Automate extraction by assigning zombie caretakers to the pits; Update 1.009 enables inspecting and picking up active workers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the clay pit in Graveyard Keeper 2?
Directly south of the cemetery perimeter wall, marked by reddish-brown exposed earth mounds.
Where do you find River Sand in GK2?
Along the riverbank just north across the wooden bridge behind the church.
What tech do you need to dig clay and sand?
Unlock Clay Gathering and Sand Digging in the Building and Architecture tech branch.
How do you make Glass Flasks for alchemy?
Smelt River Sand into Glass in a furnace, then blow Glass into Conical Flasks at Furnace II or III.
Should I level the farming or hammer perk tree for clay and sand zombies?
Clay and sand extraction is classified under Building and Masonry (generating Red Tech points). Zombie speed at extraction pits scales with White Skull efficiency rather than agricultural farming perks.
Why did my zombie caretaker stop working at the clay or sand pit?
Prior to Update 1.009, zombies at the clay pit, sand pit, sawmill, and mine could get stuck after carrying their haul back. Update 1.009 fixed this delivery stall so jobs cycle continuously, and added the ability to inspect caretakers while in the field.
Related Strategy Guides
Crematorium & Ash Urn Guide
Morgue & GraveyardEmbalming Injections Cheat Sheet
Workyard & AutomationIron & Coal Fast Guide
Workyard & AutomationMarble & Carved Stone Guide
Church & TheologyRed & Green Tech Points Guide
Church & TheologyScience Points & Study Table Guide
Workyard & AutomationZombie Automation Setup
Workyard & AutomationConveyors & Factory