The Bridge of Khazad-dum

[Mithadan]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Shade of Carn Dûm
Posts: 270</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
Re: The Bridge of Khazad-dum

The Dwarves didn't settle in desolate places. They settled where there were neighbors. Moria was not remote, it had neighbors to both the East and the West until Sauron tore through Eregion and Eriador. And yes, the quote from JRRT does imply that Dwarves or at least Durin's folk intentionally settled near Mannish settlements.

The quote I provided was not the one I was looking for, but the rest of the pages cited establish clearly that Dwarves prefer to dedicate their time to mining, building, manufacturing, etc. rather than farming and tending livestock. No, the quote doesn't establish that Dwarves never produced their own food, only that they prefer not to. After Eregion fell and Eriador laid waste, Durin's folk would have traded to the East rather than becoming farmers. You can't grow crops in underground caverns of rock and there is no evidence that Dwarves took land to the East (or West) to use for farming.

So we have: the Dwarvish preference to trade for food; no evidence that they did or did not farm, etc.; an absence of trading partners to the West; and the existence of trading partners to the East. This suggests that at least some trade to the East took place after the fall of Eregion and trade would require adequate ingress/egress in the East.

Also, the trading pattern of Durin's folk is also evidenced in the Lonely Mountain - Dale/Laketown relationship.

--Mithadan--
"The Silmarils with living light
were kindled clear, and waxing bright
shone like stars that in the North
above the reek of earth leap forth." </p>