Dwemer Ruins In The Reach

Dear Uncle Calcelmo

As you already know, the Reach holds a wealth of Dwemer history, epitomized by the city of Markarth- one of the largest known above-ground cities they built. Ruins of what was once even more of the city have recently been unearthed, showing just how large it once was. I believe it to be even bigger than what we have found.

Scattered throughout the wilderness of the Reach are small, ruined pieces of Dwemer architecture. Stone pillars, steam pipes and other such things poke out of the ground all over the countryside. Could these be part of something deeper underground? A large Dwemer city might exist deep beneath the Reach, completely unknown. However, I never managed to find a possible entrance to this unknown city. This could indicate that it is just a forgotten part of an already-known site. One such as Nchuand-Zel under Markarth, maybe? I went to the excavation site here, under Understone keep to see if there was any evidence of this, and found that the whole of the Eastern end of the site had collapsed! Towers lay fallen on the ground and passageways were unreachable due to cave-ins. Those passages have to lead somewhere though. The small ruins in the wilderness could be remnants of a forgotten part of Nchuand Zel, stretching out for miles under the Reach

Also of note is the ancient city of Bthardamz, to the North. This was a surprisingly large site, with huge caverns going deep underground, with paved roads and even an arena. This was clearly an important city. It also lay in close proximity to a number of small ruins in the wilderness. Bthardamz definitely could have once taken up a larger amount of space since areas of the site are in a state of disrepair due to cave-ins over time. Numerous passages are blocked off, making it hard to tell where they end. It seems likely that they are joined to the local wilderness ruins in what was once an even larger city.

These findings paint a picture of a prosperous, metropolitan Dwemer Reach. Huge cities dwarfing any that the Nords built may exist under our feet, with most of the passages forgotten by time. If any of these areas can be uncovered, there could be countless artifacts and wonders waiting for our examination.

Aicantar