Scaling the Walls of War in Middle-Earth - Page 2
© Michael Martinez
Huge walls, such as the Rammas Echor of the Pelennor Fields, and the unnamed fortification north of the Barrow-downs, further denoted Numenorean territoriality. It wasn't enough to set up boundary stones, the Numenoreans had to close off huge areas of land.
Such customs are not mentioned in "Aldarion and Erendis" and the description of Numenor, both of which were published in Unfinished Tales. One easily gets the impression that Numenor had few if any fortifications, and there were no imperial trappings such as walls and dykes across the landscape. Of course, Numenor was never threatened by war, and it was colonized by a united people. The threat of barbarism did not gather on the frontiers of the heartland. Nonetheless, Armenelos, the royal city of the Kings of Numenor, may have been crowded with massive buildings: palaces, arenas, stables, schools, granaries, and monuments. Towers may have arisen as the Numenoreans vied for prestige or knowledge of the stars.
The martial architecture of Numenorean civilization is therefore probably peculiar to Middle-earth. Slaves captured in war and transported to Numenor must have been overawed by the wonders they beheld there, but they must also have been surprised to find few if any fortifications. The only soldiers in Numenor would be Numenorean soldiers. The only navies in Numenor would be Numenorean navies.
The ability to build massive fortifications and harbors implies that Numenor did not undertake any endeavor half-heartedly. Aldarion's problems in keeping the seasonal haven of Vinyamar operational must have impressed upon his heirs the necessity of sending enough men to do the job right. Within only a few generations of Aldarion's first voyage to Middle-earth, Numenor began establishing permanent havens in southern Middle-earth. Those early havens may not have been as large and massive as the later cities built in the north.
Time and circumstance also had to influence the development of Numenorean culture and architecture. In the year 1200 of the Second Age, Sauron ruled Mordor but he was not yet sending armies across Middle-earth. He was building up his power, but also working to seduce the Elves into slavery. Numenor had little if any need for huge fortresses. The Numenoreans were bringing enlightenment and culture to the men of Middle-earth, though eventually those men would turn upon them.
The first Numenorean forts were built along the Gwathlo river. They were apparently set up to protect the logging industry Numenor had established in the region. As more and more trees were felled, and the forests began to recede from the riverline, the Gwathuirim began attacking and harrassing the Numenoreans. The Gwathuirim had, in fact, been attacking the Numenoreans since Aldarion's day, but they clearly became a serious threat in the centuries after Aldarion's time. There must have been hundreds or thousands of Gwathuirim in the raiding parties.
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