Skyrim Dwemer ruins: every Dwarven ruin and what is inside
The Skyrim Dwemer ruins are the remains of the Dwarves, an elven race that vanished from Tamriel in a single moment thousands of years before the game. Their brass-and-stone cities still run: steam pipes hiss, lifts work and mechanical guardians patrol the halls. Our dataset holds 14 Dwemer locations in Skyrim, including three great lifts and the underground cavern of Blackreach, plus three more ruins on Solstheim.
Below is every ruin with its quest, what lives inside and the loot worth carrying out. All of them are pinned on the map.
Dwemer ruins in Skyrim and Solstheim
| Ruin | Where | Quest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alftand | Glacier southwest of Winterhold | Elder Knowledge | Main entrance to Blackreach; expedition camp on the surface |
| Avanchnzel | West of Riften | Unfathomable Depths | Return the Lexicon; ghost scenes replay the last expedition |
| Bthardamz | Northern Reach, west of Karthwasten | The Only Cure | Full of the Afflicted; Peryite's quest |
| Irkngthand | West of Windhelm | Blindsighted | Thieves Guild finale, Eyes of the Falmer, Mercer Frey |
| Kagrenzel | Southeast of Windhelm in the mountains | None | Small ruin with a trapdoor drop into a Falmer cave |
| Mzinchaleft | Southwest of Dawnstar | Mjoll's Grimsever | Bandits above, Falmer below; a way into Blackreach |
| Mzulft | South-southeast of Windhelm | Revealing the Unseen | College quest ending at the Oculory |
| Raldbthar | West-southwest of Windhelm | Mourning Never Comes | Alain Dufont's bandits; another Blackreach entrance |
| Arkngthamz | Mountains southeast of Dushnikh Yal | Lost to the Ages (Dawnguard) | Katria's ghost and the first Aetherium shard |
| Blackreach | Beneath the ruins above | Elder Knowledge | Vast cavern with the Silent City and crimson nirnroot |
| Tower of Mzark | Blackreach, surface exit in Hjaalmarch | Elder Knowledge | The Oculory that holds the Elder Scroll |
| Great Lift at Alftand | Winterhold | None | Surface lift into Blackreach, opened from below |
| Great Lift at Mzinchaleft | Hjaalmarch | None | Surface lift into Blackreach, opened from below |
| Great Lift at Raldbthar | The Pale | None | Surface lift into Blackreach, opened from below |
| Nchuand-Zel | Under Markarth, via Understone Keep | The Lost Expedition | Calcelmo's excavation; the city Markarth is built on |
| Nchardak | Solstheim, east coast | The Path of Knowledge | Half-sunken city explored with Neloth; a Black Book |
| Kagrumez | Solstheim, centre | None | Arena opened with resonance gems |
| Fahlbtharz | Solstheim, north | None | Boilery puzzle; Visage of Mzund helmet |
Who the Dwemer were
The Dwemer, called Dwarves by men, were a race of Mer who built underground cities across Skyrim, Morrowind and Hammerfell. They were engineers and scholars who rejected the gods and experimented on the heart of a dead god, and in the First Era every one of them disappeared at once. Nobody in the game knows where they went. What remains are their cities, still powered by steam and geothermal heat, and the Falmer, the blinded snow elves the Dwemer once enslaved, who now live in the deep halls.
Calcelmo in Understone Keep at Markarth is the game's leading Dwemer scholar, and his museum is the best place to see their artefacts in one room.
What lives in the ruins
Every ruin has the same three kinds of guardian. Dwarven spiders are small, fast and shoot sparks. Dwarven spheres roll out of wall ports and fight with a blade and a crossbow. Dwarven centurions are the bosses: huge steam-powered statues that step out of alcoves and hit hard, but they are slow and cannot be poisoned or drained of stamina.
Automatons resist frost and take extra damage from shock, and they are immune to Illusion spells, so a Destruction mage should switch to lightning. The deeper halls belong to Falmer, who are blind but hear well, and their pet chaurus, which spit poison. Sneaking past Falmer is easier than sneaking past most humans.
Loot worth carrying out
Dwemer ruins are the only source of Dwarven metal. Broken pieces such as bent scrap metal, large decorative struts and gears can be smelted into Dwarven metal ingots, which smith into Dwarven armour and weapons at Smithing 30. The heavy pieces are worth the weight if you plan to level Smithing. Soul gems, Dwarven weapons and Dwarven oil for alchemy are common in the chests.
Unique finds include the Blackreach crimson nirnroot for Sinderion's quest, the Aetherium shards from Arkngthamz and three other ruins that forge into the Aetherial Crown, Staff or Shield, and the Eyes of the Falmer in Irkngthand, two giant gems worth thousands of gold to a fence.
Blackreach and the great lifts
Three of the surface ruins, Alftand, Mzinchaleft and Raldbthar, all lead down into the same place: Blackreach, a cavern so large it has its own weather and a city in the middle. The three great lifts on the surface are locked from above and can only be opened from inside Blackreach, but once opened they give fast routes back down. The Tower of Mzark is the fourth exit and holds the Oculory where the main quest's Elder Scroll is stored.
On the map: 17 locations
The Reach 2
The Rift 1
Winterhold 3
Solstheim 3
Skyrim Dwemer ruins: every Dwarven ruin and what is inside: FAQ
How many Dwemer ruins are in Skyrim?
Our map pins 14 Dwemer locations in Skyrim, including Blackreach, the Tower of Mzark and three great lifts, and three more ruins on Solstheim. Nchuand-Zel under Markarth is reached through Understone Keep.
What is the biggest Dwemer ruin in Skyrim?
Blackreach, the underground cavern connected to Alftand, Mzinchaleft and Raldbthar. Among the surface ruins Alftand, Irkngthand and Mzulft are the largest.
What is the best weapon against Dwarven automatons?
Shock damage. Automatons resist frost and are immune to poison and Illusion spells. Heavy melee weapons also work well against centurions, which are slow.
Where do I get Dwarven metal ingots?
Smelt Dwemer scrap found in any ruin: bent scrap metal, large and small decorative struts, cogs and solid metal pieces all become Dwarven metal ingots at a smelter.
Which Dwemer ruin has the Elder Scroll?
The Tower of Mzark, reached through Blackreach during the main quest Elder Knowledge. Enter Blackreach through Alftand.
Are there Dwemer ruins on Solstheim?
Yes, three: Nchardak on the east coast, Kagrumez in the centre and Fahlbtharz in the north. Nchardak is part of the Dragonborn main quest.