This mod adds more content to the otherwise spartan and uncomfortable archaeological excavation site of Saarthal, once the first capital of Nord civilization but for a time buried and forgotten under meters of ice and snow. 

I've read and seen how an archaeological site is set up, both to ensure the survival of any obtained specimens/artifacts so that they eventually be transported safely to an institution for further study and preservation, as well as the well-being of the scientists and laborers who have to spend days or even months at a time trying to unearth any important finds in very hostile environments, whether in the scorching desert or teeth-chattering cold of the far north.

However, looking at Saarthal, would anyone want to work there without any sort of protection, be it from the raging ice and snow? Or from hostile intruders who are interested in pillaging the site and killing anyone who stands in their way? And if you're in a bind, freezing and bleeding to death, chased by an angry snow cat, running out of food and water and much-needed potions in the middle of this wasteland, where can you go to?

If you enjoy playing the game with immersion mods, this should be able to remedy the problems noted above, by turning Saarthal into a safe haven where, behind walls you can warm up, get some decent rest, cook food, trade with the resident guardian hunters (who can also protect you from a determined assassin), and even pick up a new canine companion.

Feature List

• Free bedrolls for you and followers when spending the night at the site
• Blacksmithing workstation and alchemy lab by the main overseer's hut
• Cooking spit at the guards' shelter
• Open fires for those using Frostfall and other similar immersion mods
• You can trade with any of the resident veteran hunters hired to protect the excavation site; they do often have to hunt and sell.
• Recruitable dog named Catbane; has some slightly better stats than Vigilance.
• Site is protected by walls and gates, guarded by the aforementioned hunters (mind that these are high-level NPCs with perks, unlike vanilla hunters)
  

And as always, the mod has been checked and cleaned with SSEedit . Should be compatible with most mods, except for some mods that could potentially modify the Saarthal exterior space.

Installation -- beforehand, please make a hard save inside any interior (except Saarthal's dungeon), then install the mod using any mod manager.

WARNING: completely uninstall the ESP version, run the game, make a new gamesave, then install the ESL version.

Uninstallation -- make a hard save in any interior (except Saarthal's dungeon), and then deactivate and uninstall this mod.

Copyright Notice: this mod is released exclusively for Nexus Mods and TES Alliance. Any alteration or upload to other sites requires my permission beforehand.