The Menn-i-Naugrim, the Old Forest Road or Forest Road, was the main route of the Dwarves that originally ran from Khazad-dûm to the Iron Hills.
Starting at Khazad-dûm, the Menn-i-Naugrim ran from the Great Gates north along the Misty Mountains over the upper course of the Gladden in the Gladden Fields and then turned east to the lowest point of the Anduin where a stone-bridge could be supported and then straight east across the Vales of Anduin and through Mirkwood. The road then crossed another bridge over the River Running and then turned north-east over open land to the Iron Mines in the Iron Hills. This part of the Menn-i-Naugrim eventually fell into disrepair and the Dwarves of the Iron Hills lost contact with Khazad-dûm. A road descending from the High Pass of Rivendel was also part of the Dwarf Road. The latitude of the eastern part of the road was halfway between the ancient Dwarven meeting-place at Mount Gundabad to the north, and Khazad-dûm to the south.
In the late Third Age, the surviving section through Mirkwood was around three hundred miles in length.
History
The Menn-i-Naugrim was laid out during the First Age to connect the Dwarves of the Iron Hills with their kin in the Misty Mountains. The Longbeards built the stone-bridge over the Anduin and the first miles of the road through the Greenwood while the Dwarves of the Iron Hills built the bridge over the River Running. The road was completed early on in the Second Age and saw its greatest use in that time when many Dwarves emigrated from the Blue Mountains to Khazad-dûm and to the Iron Hills.
The Menn-i-Naugrim continued to experience a large amount of use until around the year 1693 during the War of the Elves and Sauron.
Between the years 3431 and 3434 near the end of the Second Age, the Last Alliance of Elves and Men strengthened and enlarged the stone bridge across the Anduin specifically to allow their armies to cross the river.
After Sauron's occupation of Dol Guldur in the Third Age, the forest of Mirkwood became more and more dark and dangerous, so most chose not to travel upon it for fear of being attacked. The fall of Khazad-dûm to the Balrog also decreased traffic. The result was that by the time of the late Third Age large stretches of the road had fallen out of use and did not appear on maps.[citation needed]
By the time of the Quest of Erebor in the year 2941, the stone bridge over the Anduin had been lost and the river had to be crossed at the Old Ford. Thorin and Company intended to use the Menn-i-Naugrim to travel through Mirkwood, but Beorn warned them that the road from the High Pass of Imladris to the Forest Gate at the western edge of Mirkwood was often used by Northern Orcs and that he had heard that the road was overgrown and disused at the eastern end which led to the impassable Long Marshes near the River Running where the paths had long been lost. He instead recommended that they use the Elf-path, a secret path made by the Wood-elves of Mirkwood.
After the destruction of Dol Guldur near the end of the War of the Ring in the year 3019, the Menn-i-Naugrim may have been repaired. The road may have saw use again by the Beornings and the Woodmen of Western Mirkwood because they were given the land between the Mountains of Mirkwood and the Narrows of the Forest.
Etymology
Menn-i-Naugrim is a name in Sindarin meaning "Way of the Dwarves" or "Dwarf Road", being a compound of menn ("road, way"), i ("the") and Naugrim ("dwarves").
External links
Translations
References
Description
The Menn-i-Naugrim , the Old Forest Road or Forest Road , was the main route of the Dwarves that originally ran from Khazad-dûm to the Iron Hills .
