Places in Middle-earth
Uttermost Foundations of Stone, The
Type: Valleys, Caves, Tunnels
Region: Rhovanion/Misty Mtns
Location: The darkness underneath the Mountains of Moria, below the mines, far under the living earth; the long home of Durin's Bane, the Balrog of Moria, that was awakened by the Dwarves in 1980 III.
Description:
1980 A Balrog appears in Moria, and slays Durin VI.
1981 Náin I slain. The Dwarves flee from Moria. Many of the Silvan Elves of Lórien flee south. Amroth and Nimrodel are lost.
The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix B, The Tale of Years: The Third Age
[Said Gandalf,] 'The wealth of Moria was not in gold and jewels.... For here alone in the world was found ... mithril ... Its worth ... is beyond price; for ... even the Orcs dare not delve here for it. The lodes lead away north towards Caradhras, and down to darkness. The Dwarves tell no tale; but even as mithril was the foundation of their wealth, so also it was their destruction: they delved too greedily and too deep, and disturbed that from which they fled, Durin's Bane.
The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Book 2, Ch 4, A Journey in the Dark
'Long I fell, and he fell with me. ... Then we plunged into the deep water and all was dark. Cold it was as the tide of death: almost it froze my heart.'
'Deep is the abyss that is spanned by Durin's Bridge, and none has measured it,' said Gimli.
'Yet it has a bottom, beyond light and knowledge,' said Gandalf. 'Thither I came at last, to the uttermost foundations of stone. He was with me still. ...
'We fought far under the living earth, where time is not counted. ... at last he fled into dark tunnels. They were not made by Durin's folk.... Far, far below the deepest delving of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things. Even Sauron knows them not. They are older than he. Now I have walked there, but I will bring no report to darken the light of day. ... my enemy was my only hope, and I pursued him.... Thus he brought me back at last to the secret ways of Khazad-dûm....
The Two Towers, LoTR Book 3, Ch 5, The White Rider
Contributors: Elena Tiriel 4Jul04