Facial reconstruction of a Merethic Era Atmoran from Saarthal Founded by Ysgramor, Saarthal was the first city of the Atmorans, who would later be known as Nords. After their arrival, the Atmorans lived peacefully with the local Falmer. However, fearing that the Atmoran expansion would surpass their own, the Falmer destroyed the city, and only Ysgramor and his two sons escaped the carnage. The destruction of the city was later avenged when Ysgramor returned with his famed warriors, the Five Hundred Companions. Several expeditions have been carried out by archaeologists from the College of Winterhold to study the ancient ruins of Saarthal. During these excavations, several cranial series were uncovered. Anthropologists from the College of Winterhold have noted increased hypermorphy in the ancient Atmorans relative to their modern Nord descendants, including larger brow ridges, much larger teeth, very wide bigonial and bicondylar widths, wider and taller faces, a more archaic low orbital shape, more defined upper facial relief, slightly wider nasal apertures, and slightly weaker chin protrusion. The skulls were predominantly dolichocephalic and very thick, but interestingly had relatively small mastoid processes. Later morphogenetic processes, including admixture with the Mer, and environmental factors such as a more agriculture-based lifestyle, played a role in the gracilization of the Atmorans. Among modern cranial series, the Nords of the Pale, Winterhold, and northern Eastmarch cluster closest to the Atmorans of Saarthal, along with some cranial series from Colovia. The reconstructed man, about 40 years old, stood around 190 cm tall and was massively built. He was found in the lower layers of Saarthal along with some Ancient Nord gear, including a full set of ancient Nord armor, an ancient Nord sword and an ancient Nord amulet with a One-Handed enchantment. Postcranial data shows magicka-related trauma, which was likely the cause of his demise. #nord - @ancestralwhispersdotorg