Misc. Questions

[Marky Lazer]

Who awoke Durin's Bane?

Where it Durin's mithril diggers?
Or was it Sauron?

In Appendix A III (Durin's Folk) of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien hints that the Dwarves may in fact not have awoken the Balrog, but that instead it was the growing power of Sauron in nearby Dol Guldur that returned it to life. If this is true, then the Dwarves did no more than release the creature from its subterranean tomb. It is certainly notable that Durin's Bane appeared in the same year that the Nazgûl returned to Mordor.

"Moria! Moria! Wonder of the Northern world! Too deep we delved there, and woke the nameless fear."
Words of Glóin from
The Lord of the Rings 2 II The Council of Elrond