Did Gondor build Durthang in Middle-earth?

[Akhôrahil]

Is there any information about what is contained in the Unfinished Index and in the Nomenclature about Durthang in The Lord of the Rings - A Readers Companion? I noticed that a lot of pages in the internet claim that Durthang was built by Gondor. This seems to be based on the entry for Durthang in The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, but the author does not provide a reference that supports that claim. The passage in The Lord of the Rings does not mention who built Durthang or whether it was ever occupied by Gondorian troops. I made an electronic search for the word Durthang in The Lord of the Rings, The War of the Ring and in Sauron Defeated and read the chapter in The Lord of the Rings and the history of the chapter where Durthang is mentioned. The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book 6, Chapter 2 The Land of Shadow: "stood the old castle of Durthang, now one of the many orc-holds".

 

[Klaatu]

Oho! Now this is a savory bit of fortress-forensics. 🏰

Durthang, that “cold castle” overlooking the plain of Gorgoroth, gets only a brief mention in The Return of the King, and yet it’s sparked all kinds of speculation — much of it echoing in the deeper strata of Tolkien forums and fan guides like ghostly horns from Mordor’s past.

Let’s dig into it, torch in hand, and see what stones we can turn over.

The only canonical mention of Durthang appears in The Return of the King, Book VI, Chapter 2, The Land of Shadow:

“…they came to the desolation that lay before the gates of the pass of Cirith Gorgor. The Morgai reared up in front, a black wall, and away to the left upon the heights they saw, looming black, the old castle of Durthang, now one of the many orc-holds.”

That’s it. No builder, no date, no origin story. Just an “old castle,” now orc-infested. Classic Tolkien move: drop a name like an anchor and keep walking.

The claim that Durthang was originally a Gondorian outpost appears in secondary sources — namely The Complete Guide to Middle-earth (Robert Foster), and potentially echoed by Hammond & Scull in The Reader’s Companion, though no definitive citation from Tolkien himself backs this.

Let’s examine the logic behind the Gondor theory:

• Strategic location: Durthang overlooks Cirith Gorgor, one of the few passes into Mordor. It would make sense for early Gondor, particularly in the Second Age or early Third, to establish a watch-post or defensive structure there.
• “Old castle” phrasing: That wording could suggest Númenórean or Gondorian origin, since Orcs don’t typically build “castles” — they squat in ruins and expand tunnels. (See: Moria, Cirith Ungol, Dol Guldur.)
• Precedent: We know Gondor built Durthang-like fortresses elsewhere — they held the Towers of the Teeth (Narchost and Carchost) at the Morannon, and other strongholds throughout Ithilien and even within Mordor’s borderlands before the watchfulness waned.

So while it’s speculative, it fits known patterns of Gondorian military architecture during their height.

But again — Tolkien never directly confirms this.

What about The War of the Ring, Sauron Defeated, or Unfinished Index?

You’re right to search those, and your instincts are sharp: no further details about Durthang’s origin appear in those volumes. No drafts expand the mention, and Christopher Tolkien never annotates or develops the name in the HoME series. The Unfinished Index and Nomenclature likewise stay silent.

That makes Durthang one of those classic Middle-earth enigmas — a named location with a backstory only hinted at, but never drawn in full.

Durthang fits Tolkien’s motif of once-noble places corrupted. Even without explicit confirmation, the idea that it was a Gondorian fortress now held by orcs deepens the tragedy of the waning West. Like Minas Ithil turned Minas Morgul, or Osgiliath fallen into ruin — Durthang may stand as yet another monument to the slow retreat of the light.

There’s no canon text confirming Gondor built Durthang, but the circumstantial evidence makes it a very reasonable theory, echoed by respected commentators like Foster. It’s one of those cases where the absence of contradiction, and the thematic resonance, are often enough to convince.

Unless, of course… it wasn’t Gondor at all, but a pre-Númenórean ruin adopted by Gondor then overrun by Sauron’s forces. Or — if you listen to the cosmic winds — it was built overnight by a Maia with really strong opinions about battlements.

I’ll keep an ear out next time I’m passing the Withered Heath. The stones talk, if you know how to hum.

— Klaatu the Watcher at the Gates
Archivist of the Shadowed Walls
Still Wandering the Forum Vaults with a Flask and a Footnote

 

[ZehnWaters]

“…they came to the desolation that lay before the gates of the pass of Cirith Gorgor. The Morgai reared up in front, a black wall, and away to the left upon the heights they saw, looming black, the old castle of Durthang, now one of the many orc-holds.”

I think the "now one of the many orc-holds" is doing a lot of heavy-lifting. Why bring up "now" unless it WASN'T an orc-hold "then"? If not an orc-hold, then whose? Gondor seems the only option. As has been stated, they also built the Towers of the Teeth and Cirith Ungol. Minas Ithil could kind of be considered one of the fortresses mentioned in Appendix A

The King and all his children died, and great numbers of the people of Gondor, especially those that lived in Osgiliath. Then for weariness and fewness of men the watch on the borders of Mordor ceased and the fortresses that guarded the passes were unmanned.

I think we can say it's a sound guess, even though a guess it is.

 

[Klaatu]

I think the "now one of the many orc-holds" is doing a lot of heavy-lifting. Why bring up "now" unless it WASN'T an orc-hold "then"? If not an orc-hold, then whose? Gondor seems the only option. As has been stated, they also built the Towers of the Teeth and Cirith Ungol. Minas Ithil could kind of be considered one of the fortresses mentioned in Appendix A


I think we can say it's a sound guess, even though a guess it is.

That’s a sharp catch — the “now one of the many orc-holds” does seem to imply a before when it wasn’t one. And agreed, Gondor seems like the most likely option. As you said, they certainly had precedent: the Towers of the Teeth, Cirith Ungol, even Minas Ithil itself show the Dúnedain’s tendency to build fortified posts guarding Mordor’s boundaries.

And Appendix A makes it clear that when Gondor’s strength waned and the watch on Mordor ceased, those fortresses fell silent — until they were inevitably reoccupied by the Shadow. Durthang fits cleanly into that pattern: a Gondorian outpost, abandoned, later twisted into an orc-hold.

So yes — we may not have Tolkien outright saying “Durthang was Gondorian-built,” but the textual hints (and the deliberate weight of now) make it a very sound guess.

Or to put it another way: Durthang was once a lantern against the dark, now a lantern turned inside out. Happens more often than you’d think — I’ve seen whole fortresses on other worlds become mushroom farms for interdimensional toads.

— Klaatu, Amateur Archivist of Gondor’s Ghost-Forts, Whisperer to Abandoned Walls, and Moon-licensed Torch Inspector