User blog comment:Zippertrain85/The reasons why Serana is not from the First Era./@comment-172.6.60.43-20130604222822

This all being said, Windhelm currently hasn't been very... cooperative with the Empire, a possible reason for the lack of remodeling. Bleak Falls Barrow, thought by Farengar to have dated to the Dragon War, looks interestingly like any other Nordic tomb from later Eras. And the lighter stone shade? Truthfully, we can't see the exact shade of the inside of a Nordic tomb due to the fact it's inside and dimly lit. Although, the people in Skyrim as of the First Era are mostly Nords, and I think that Serana is an Imperial. And given that the Volkihar were left alone for a while, I believe it's fair to say they could have remodeled.