MineArchiveKolskeggr Mine
Fictional record. This page describes a mine from a fictional setting, not a real place. Information is based on the cited canon, with adaptations and interpretation distinguished where necessary. It is kept separate from the real MineArchive corpus — see Fictional.
| Setting | The Elder Scrolls (Bethesda Game Studios) |
|---|---|
| Location | In the Reach, east-north-east of Markarth and south of the Lover Stone, up a dirt track past Pavo's house and under a stone arch. |
| Type | Metal |
| Worked | Not dated. The mine is long-established and working when the game opens. – Not closed so much as overrun: a Forsworn attack drives the miners out, and it stands abandoned until they are cleared. |
| Extent | A single-level working with seventeen gold ore veins, a smelter at the entrance and — with the Hearthfire expansion — a stone quarry between the mine and Pavo's house. |
Overview
Skyrim's richest gold mine, in the Reach east of Markarth: seventeen gold veins, a smelter at the mouth and a single family working it, until the Forsworn drive the miners out and the place stands empty until somebody clears them.
History
Kolskeggr is a small gold mine and settlement in the Reach, the mountainous western province around Markarth where the Forsworn — the dispossessed native clans of the region — are in open revolt. The mine is worked by Pavo Attius and Gat gro-Shargakh, who live in the house on the track below it. When the player first comes to the Reach the mine is not being worked at all. A Forsworn raid has driven the miners out; they have taken refuge at Left Hand Mine, further east, where Skaggi Scar-Face asks the player to clear Kolskeggr so the men can go back. Three Forsworn hold the approach and more are inside. Once they are killed, Pavo returns, reopens the mine and will buy gold ore from the player — the small, ordinary economic consequence that the game's mines all carry.
Workings
One zone, entered past a smelter with a bucket beneath it. Seventeen gold ore veins are worked from the walls, the richest concentration of gold anywhere in Skyrim; ore veins in the province replenish after ten or thirty days, so the working is effectively perpetual.
Closure
Abandonment rather than closure: the Forsworn attack empties the mine, and it is reoccupied only when they are driven out again.
What became of it
Working again once the Forsworn are cleared, with Pavo Attius buying ore at the mine mouth and a Markarth guard sometimes posted at the arch.
Canon & adaptations
The stone quarry beside the mine exists only with the Hearthfire expansion installed, which adds quarries generally for building materials — an expansion addition rather than an in-fiction change.
Recorded claims
Each claim is marked with its basis — explicit canon, MineArchive inference, adaptation only, or fandom interpretation — and attached to the source(s) below. Where tellings disagree, both are kept.
- Kolskeggr Mine is a small gold mine and settlement east-north-east of Markarth in the Reach, containing seventeen gold ore veins and a smelter. (explicit canon)
- A Forsworn invasion caused the miners to flee to Left Hand Mine, from where Skaggi Scar-Face asks the player to free the mine; after the quest Pavo Attius relocates back to Kolskeggr and buys gold ore. (explicit canon)
- The mine's residents are Pavo Attius and Gat gro-Shargakh, who live in Pavo's house on the track below the workings. (explicit canon)
- With the Hearthfire expansion a stone quarry can be found between Pavo's house and the mine itself. (adaptation only)
Sources
- (interpretation) Skyrim:Kolskeggr Mine — The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)
- (interpretation) Skyrim:Kolskeggr Mine (quest) — The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)
Record created: 6 September 2026 · Last researched: 6 September 2026