Raven Rock Mine is an old ebony mine at the northern edge of Raven Rock on Solstheim, added with the Dragonborn expansion. The East Empire Company claimed the ebony had run out and shut it down – but in truth the miners had dug into an ancient tomb, Bloodskal Barrow, woke the draugr and paid dearly for it. Today it’s one of the best dungeons on the island.
What you’ll find
- The upper mine – Crescius Caerellius and Aphia Velothi arguing near the entrance, wooden ramps winding down, and a few frostbite spiders waiting along the way.
- Breakable planks – smash them to reach an expert-locked East Empire Company strongbox and the gate that the Raven Rock Mine Key opens.
- Flooded crypts – leveled draugr, a swinging spiked gate, a large round hall full of throned dead that suddenly aren’t, and an alchemy lab.
- Traps galore – soul gem shock traps, a poison dart trap and swinging blades. Followers struggle with them.
- A pedestal puzzle – by the arcane enchanter, a pedestal opens a gate you passed earlier.
- The Bloodskal door – a glowing red door near Gratian Caerellius’ bones, and beyond it the dragon priest Zahkriisos.
Quests
In The Final Descent, Crescius asks you to find his great-grandfather Gratian’s journal and remains deep in the mine. During An Axe to Find, Glover Mallory wants an Ancient Nordic Pickaxe that Crescius has.
Notable items
- Bloodskal Blade and the Zahkriisos mask
- Black Book: The Winds of Change
- Word Wall: Dragon Aspect
- Spell tome: Ice Spike
- Two stalhrim deposits (one behind an apprentice-locked door by the waterfall)
- Nine ebony ore veins, active only after the quest
- Four Potions of Waterwalking
Tips
Mine the stalhrim with care – both deposits hide a dead draugr behind them. Even disease immunity from lycanthropy or vampirism reportedly won’t save you from catching something off the blade traps, so pack a cure. Behind the shock trap in the upper ramp room, a chain next to the left torch opens a false wall with an adept-locked chest. The big waterfall chamber can only be crossed by dropping down, so finish your business above first. And that tempting chest near the dragon priest? Walking up to it is how you meet him.
Good to know
Once the quest is done, the mine reopens and its ebony veins come to life – Raven Rock’s economy gets a second chance, thanks to you.
Map position and editor ID read from the Dragonborn game files; details checked against community wiki articles and summarised in our own words.
