Dol Guldur

[Stoatly Grimes]

Evening all,

I've always been fascinated by the idea of Dol Guldur; perhaps because it is only described in the scantest detail in LOTR and The Silmarillion (I've not read HoME <gasp!>), and therefore it remains very mysterious to me, sitting just outside my comprehension, beckoning my curiosity. Do any of you knowledgeable Tolkienites have an opinion on the appearance of Sauron's forest stronghold? For instance, was it a vast tower akin in appearance to the Barad-dur (seems unlikely), or was it more of an underground affair like Utumno/Angband? Perhaps it was more of a system of well-ventilated caves like the palace of the Elves of Mirkwood?

I'm thinking there may be some obscure passage written by Tolkien that more clearly illustrates the appearance of Dol Guldur, and if so, this is the best place to find it, I reckons.

Rightly or wrongly, I've always viewed it as a tower, but a more subtle tower than the Barad-dur. Though I expect it would have to be fairly capacious considering whole armies were barracked there. Any help with this matter would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Welcome, Stoatly Grimes! You have knocked at the right door, at least concerning the discussion, because I am not sure whether there is anything about the appearance of Dol Guldur anywhere. Indeed, it's very mysterious and personally, I find it also a very intriguing topic (and if you look at my screenname here, you may find out why). I always imagined - but only imagined, and it has nothing to do with any evidence, because I don't know of any - Dol Guldur as an above-ground structure, rather flat than tower-like, something similar to Minas Tirith, if I had to use an example. A walled structure, a "little city", with some fortress, but not a high one, like a tower, but low one, like a simple keep. Actually, in the Appendices to LotR, it is said that after the War of the Ring, Galadriel "threw down its walls and laid bare its pits". So we can conclude that it was some above-ground structure with walls, and there were some pits underground, probably dungeons like the one where Thráin was imprisoned and where Gandalf found him. Other details, like whether Sauron during his stay there dwelt in the highest tower or somewhere underground, are probably left to speculation. And don't gasp about not reading HoME, I haven't either (though only because it's impossible to obtain it where I live), and I believe many haven't, so hereby I call anyone who did to tell us if there is anything written in there about Dol Guldur.

[Nazgûl-king]

I have not read the History of Middle-earth books either. This probably isn’t considered cannon but here is an artwork image of Dol Guldur from Battle for Middle-Earth II -

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Looks nice. I have imagined it similarly, only less red and less... horned.

I have seen several paintings of Dol Guldur, but I did not post them here, mainly because I don't know about links to them on the internet, and partially because I have them on M-E collectible cards (and it does not look that nice even when scanned, though if you wanted for the sake of this thread...). And partially because they are not still 100% how I imagine Dol Guldur - just a little more than this one.

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

Looks nice. I have imagined it similarly, only less red and less... horned.

Yeah. . .what is it with those horns, I thought it seemed weird on some strucktures in the movies as well.

It kind of annoys me that people feel a need to make the buildings look evil in such an obviouse way. . .I would not mind if they looked like any other building or you could just make them a bit sinicter or simply dark. . .

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Rune Son of Bjarne

Yeah. . .what is it with those horns, I thought it seemed weird on some strucktures in the movies as well.

It kind of annoys me that people feel a need to make the buildings look evil in such an obviouse way. . .I would not mind if they looked like any other building or you could just make them a bit sinicter or simply dark. . .

My words. I even thought this picture up here resembles the movie Minas Morgul, only in a different light. I mean come on, why to build these horns on every building? I can understand some administrative building, like the tower where Sauron lives, might have some more interesting architecture (though I'd expect Sauron having a better taste than this), but why should every wall look like barbed wire.

[Gordis]

Dol Guldur was originally known as Amon Lanc

"Amon Lanc, "Naked Hill," was the highest point in the highland at the south-west corner of the Greenwood, and was so called because no trees grew on its summit. In later days it was Dol Guldur, the first stronghold of Sauron after his awakening. [Author's note #12 to the Disaster of the Gladden -UT]

It has been the capital of Oropher's Silvan Elves:

Long before the War of the Alliance, Oropher, King of the Silvan Elves east of Anduin, being disturbed by rumours of the rising power of Sauron, had left their ancient dwellings about Amon Lanc, across the river from their kin in Lórien. ... Oropher's retreat northwards within the Greenwood is ascribed to his desire to move out of range of the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm and of Celeborn and Galadriel in Lórien.ibid #14

Anyway, as it used to be a dwelling of Thranduil's father Oropher, it may well be that the Elves had dwelt in the caves within the hill in the manner of Doriath. At least it seems to be implied in this quote:

Thranduil established his realm in the north-east of the forest and delved there a fortress and great halls underground. Oropher was of Sindarin origin, and no doubt Thranduil his son was following the example of King Thingol long before, in Doriath; though his halls were not to be compared with Menegroth. App B to the History of Galadriel and Celeborn in UT.

Sauron the Necromancer likely used the caves for store-rooms and dungeons and also constructed a small fortress above ground.
I don't think it was ever that flashy and revealing ("This way to the Evil Overlord!") as in the picture posted above. Most likely it has been quite ordinary and seemingly of no great strength or importance. After all the Wise let it be for a thousand years and were very slow in comprehending the identity of the Necromancer.