Hill of Erech

The Hill of Erech was the location of the black Stone of Erech in the northwest of Gondor, looking out upon the Ered Nimrais and the Vale of Morthond in the north and the Neck of Tarlang some forty miles to the south-east. The Hill of Erech had a murky reputation, as the people who dwelt in the nearby lands said it was a meeting place for the Restless Dead, who whispered in the shadows of the Mountains.
== History ==
Erech was a hill in Gondor situated in the far north of the province of Lamedon at the mouth of the Blackroot Vale, far to the west of Minas Tirith. It lay near to the southern entrance to the Paths of the Dead. Upon the summit stood a smooth black globe, the Stone of Erech.
In the Second Age, Isildur brought with him the stone as a symbol of his lineage and Gondor. He set it upon the hill of Erech and made the local hill tribes swear an oath of loyalty on the stone. The hill tribes later broke their oath and were doomed to haunt the place as the Dead Men.
The area was completely abandoned by the end of the Third Age. On 8 March, TA 3019, at midnight, the heir of Isildur, Aragorn, came to Erech to hold the Dead to their oath again, promising that upon its fulfillment they would have peace. Several days later, they held true to their oath and formed the Host of the Dead to help Aragorn defeat the Corsairs of Umbar at Pelargir. After the battle at Pelargir, Aragorn released them from their oath and they were allowed to rest.