Category: Studies in Skyrim
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Vampires of Skyrim (and in Real Life Archaeology): Yesterday and Today
In the Elder Scrolls video game series, there are many fantastical creatures and monsters inhabiting the world, both friendly and hostile to the player character. One of these monsters (or perhaps that’s a bit too judgemental?) is the vampire, whose curse (or blessing?) is passed to others through a disease called “sanguinare vampiris”, also known
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Big Game Collector: Collecting Animal Remains in Skyrim (and in Real Life!)
With the addition of Hearthfire as downloadable content, Skyrim allowed players to build and live in their own customisable homes. One of the options for buildable rooms included a “trophy room”, where players can erect trophy versions of some of the creatures that can be killed in-game. This ranges from real world game like bears
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Studies in Skyrim: Lessons in Typologies, from Dwarven Fortresses to Nord Ruins (Part II)
Today’s blog post is the second part of our discussion of archaeological typologies as seen in Skyrim. Last week we started off the conversation with an example of using typology to differentiate between ancient Nord and Dwemer ruins in Blackreach (you can read Part One here!). For today, we’ll be continuing this conversation by looking
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Studies in Skyrim: Lessons in Typologies, from Dwarven Fortresses to Nord Ruins (Part I)
Today’s blog post is actually the first of a two-parter – there’s just too much to talk about in one post! The second part of this post will be published sometime next week…until then, enjoy reading about how (thanks again to YouTuber Camelworks for inspiring this post with his own Skyrim-based series, Curating Curious Curiosities). At
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Werewolf? Therewolf! Lycanthropy in Skyrim (and Real Life!)
Content Warning: Photo of human remains included in this post. “Legends can take a life of their own, particularly when there are grains of truth, as here we have the very real threat of werewolves” – Lycanthropic Legends of Skyrim, Lentulus Invenitus In the world of Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios 2011), werewolves (and other lyncanthropes
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Written in Stone: Standing Stones in Skyrim (and in Real Life!)
In Skyrim, one of the first game mechanics you’re introduced to after the initial tutorial quest is the Standing Stone. By using a Standing Stone, the player character gains bonuses to certain traits and/or extra abilities. However, a player character can only receive one “blessing” at a time – if another Standing Stone is chosen,
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On the Chopping Block: Decapitation in Archaeology
Content Warning: Photo of human remains included in this post. In Skyrim (Bioware 2011), capital punishment usually consists of a swift beheading – this is seen in the game’s opening, where you watch as a Stormcloak, deemed to be traitorous to the Empire, is beheaded by the Imperial army’s executioner. You luckily manage to escape
Animal Archaeology 