Tower of Amon Sûl

The Tower of Amon Sûl was a great watch-tower built upon the flattened hill-top of Weathertop Hill within the Weather Hills of Eriador.The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Ch. XI: "A Knife in the Dark" The watch-tower overlooked the East-West Road in central Eriador, east of Bree, about halfway between the Shire and Rivendell.
As represented in The Atlas of Middle-earth, a path led from the watch-tower on Weathertop Hill northward to the other Weather Hills.The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, "Weathertop"
== History ==
The strategic importance of Weathertop Hill was recognized early on, as during the first days of the North Kingdom, the Dúnedain of Arnor slightly flattened its conical summit in order to build the Tower of Amon Sûl upon it. The Stone of Amon Sûl, the most powerful of Arnor's three palantíri was installed within the watch-tower. This palantír further enhanced Weathertop Hill's value, as it could be used for intelligence gathering and rapid communication with the King in Annúminas, or later in Fornost Erain. It is said that in SA 3431, Elendil and Gil-galad created their Last Alliance against Sauron on Weathertop Hill, though it is unknown if they were inside the watch-tower or outside the watch-tower when they did.
In TA 861, after After King Eärendur passed away and Arnor was divided into Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur, the Tower of Amon Sûl upon Weathertop Hill was desired by all three of his sons due to the palantír within the watch-tower. Nonetheless, during this time, the Tower of Amon Sûl may have changed hands on several occasions.The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenórean Kings", "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur"
In the days of Argeleb I, the royal lines of Cardolan and Rhudaur had failed and Rhudaur was now largely ruled by Hill-men allied with the Witch-king of Angmar. As tensions with Rhudaur and Angmar increased, Argeleb fortified his border, particularly the Tower of Amon Sûl. By the latter part of the 14th century, the line of defence was held by Arthedain and Cardolan, though Argeleb lost his life in battle with the Hillmen. The Tower of Amon Sûl become the chief fortress on their fortified border with Rhudaur.
In TA 1409, the forces of the Witch-king attacked Weathertop Hill, burned the watch-tower, and destroyed the fortifications on and around it. King Arveleg I was slain in the defense of the Tower of Amon Sûl alongside, or concurrent with, the last prince of Cardolan;The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "Fog on the Barrow-downs", pp. 144-5; Index, "Cardolan, last prince of" the remaining Dúnedain of Arthedain were able to secure and save the Stone of Amon Sûl before retreating to their capital, Fornost Erain.The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, The Third Age
By the time of the Great War of the Ring many centuries later, only a ring of broken stonework remained of the Tower of Amon Sûl atop Weathertop Hill. The Bree-landers paid little heed to it, and it faded into obscurity.
On October 3 of TA 3018,The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, The Third Age, The Great Years Gandalf and Shadowfax were discreetly stalked by the Ringwraiths until the night of October 3, when he was attacked by sixThe Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "Flight to the Ford", pp. 187-9 or nineThe Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "The Council of Elrond", pp. 251-3 of them, including the Witch King, inside the Tower of Amon Sûl. Gandalf left a message on a cairn while putting up a fiery battle against them. Frodo Baggins and Aragorn saw a glimpse of the lights of that battle from their camp in the Midgewater Marshes.The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "A Knife in the Dark", pp. 167-9 The Witch King, Khamûl, and three others remained, watching the watch-tower and waiting for the Ring Bearer to come for two days thereafter.The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "A Knife in the Dark", p. 169 On October 6, Aragorn, Frodo, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck, and Peregrin Took arrived at the Tower of Amon Sûl from the north, discovering the cairn with the message. They made camp in a dell below the watch-tower, and that evening, Aragorn sang to the hobbits of the tale of Tinúviel. At dusk, the five Ringwraiths who had been awaiting the Ring-bearer ascended Weathertop Hill to attack them. During the skirmish below the watch-tower, Frodo received his everlasting wound from the Morgul-knife of the Witch-king. As Frodo suffered from the spell of the wound, they rode hastily away from Weathertop Hill the next day, but were soon pursued again by the Nazgûl. After fourteen days, they reached and crossed the Ford of Bruinen with Glorfindel, and were free of the Ringwraiths' pursuit.The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Ch. XII: "Flight to the Ford"
== Adaptations ==
=== The Lord of the Rings (1978 film) ===
Aragorn and the hobbits do not actually enter the ruins of the Tower of Amon Sûl. However, moments before the attack of the Ringwraiths, a tall tower can be seen in the background, possibly being the Tower of Amon Sûl itself, though Weathertop Hill is nowhere to be seen neither below nor around it.
=== The Lord of the Rings film trilogy ===
The Tower of Amon Sûl upon Weathertop Hill is a place of action in Peter Jackson's 2001 film The Fellowship of the Ring. The ruins and the path to them are simplified from their description in the book. When Aragorn and the four hobbits arrive, they make camp below the top of the hill, and Aragorn gives them a few daggers and swords, before he leaves to scout the surroundings. After nightfall, the hobbits cook food at a campfire. The fire alerts the Ringwraiths to their presence, who soon ascend the hill and attack the helpless hobbits amid the ruins at the summit rather than the dell below. The Witch-king stabs Frodo with his Morgul-knife, immediately before Aragorn returns and drives the Ringwraiths away with a torch.
=== The Hobbit film trilogy ===
In the film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey the ruins of the Tower of Amon Sûl appears briefly as a meeting place for Yazneg, Fimbul, Azog and his Warg-riding hunters.
==== Filming location ====
The Tower of Amon Sûl was filmed upon a hill in a large farm near Port Waikato, in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The surrounding area has many limestone cliffs and boulders, some of which contain fossils.
===The Lord of the Rings Online===
The Tower of Amon Sûl is a playable location in The Lord of the Rings Online, portrayed as a significant ruin of the Lone-lands region.
== Gallery ==
Weathertop.jpg|Artist's portrayal of the Tower of Amon Sûl.
Nazgul at Weathertop.png|The Hobbits confront the Nazgûl in the ruins of the Tower of Amon Sûl.
An Unexpected Journey Weathertop.jpg|The ruins of the Tower of Amon Sûl in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
== Translations ==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Weertop
Basque 	Haizeen tontorra
Catalan 	Pica del Vent
Chinese (Hong Kong) 	風雲頂
Croatian 	Vjetrovrh
Czech 	Větrov
Danish 	Vindhøj
Dutch 	Weertop
Esperanto 	Veterverto
Finnish 	Viimapää
French 	Mont Venteux
Georgian 	ვეზერტოპი ? (Weathertop) ამონ სული (Amon Sûl)
German 	Wetterspitze
Hebrew 	פסגת הרוחות
Hindi 	मौसम का शीर्ष
Hungarian 	Széltető
Italian 	Colle Vento
Marathi 	हवामानशाळा
Nepalese 	मौसम शीर्ष
Norwegian 	Værhø
Blåstertopp
Persian 	ودرتاپ
Polish 	Wichrowy Czub
Portuguese 	Monte do Vento (Portugal) Topo do Vento (Brazil)
Romanian 	Țancul Vremii
Russian 	Ваветрень, Заверть
Slovak 	Vetristá
Spanish (Spain and Latin America)	Cima de los Vientos
Swedish 	Väderklint
Thai 	อะมอนซูล (Amon Sûl)
Turkish 	Fırtınabaşı
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Вітровий пагорб
==References==
Category:Places having held a palantír
Category:Arnor
Category:Eriador
Category:Towers
Category:Ruins
ca:Amon sûl
de:Amon Sûl
es:Amon Sûl
fr:Amon Sûl
it:Amon Sûl
nl:Amon Sûl
pl:Amon Sûl
ru:Амон Сул
Category:Sindarin names & words