Cirith Ungol: The Spider's Pass Into Mordor | Tolkien Lore Explained
What is Cirith Ungol, and why did Gondor build a fortress facing its own land instead of Mordor? This deep dive climbs the Spider's Pass to explain how the most consequential ground in The Lord of the Rings ended up unguarded.Gondor cut the tower into the Ephel Duath to keep evil in, not out. The Great Plague of Third Age 1636 emptied it - no siege ever took Cirith Ungol - and in the year 2000 the Nazgul came out through the pass nobody was watching.Guarding it instead is Shelob, last child of Ungoliant, older than Barad-dur, loyal to nobody. Sauron feeds her; he has never commanded her. Then…
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