Corgonin

'Corgonin (S. "Circle of Stones") was a small town that lay beside a tributary of the River Morthond in the eastern Pinnath Gelin. It was a major collecting point for the Mesta droves during winter-time. For this reason, the wool trade was important and during spring a large part of the population, as well as many of the peasants in the neighborhood, were engaged as shearers.

Most of Corgonin's houses were small, rising only one or (rarely) two stories over unpaved streets.There was a small market on the main square once a week. Alter the sheep- shearing, there was a fair with non-local traders. This fair was held outside the town to the north, since the main square could not possibly hold all the people and stalls. Corgonin got its name from a place of mystery: on a small knoll nearby the town stood a square-cut obelisk of black stone. It was about twenty feet tall, and there were no signs at all on its four faces. It stood in the middle of a circle of twelve other menhirs of ordinary grey rock. These stood thirty feet from the black stone and were roughly cut, each between ten and twelve feet tall, and as unmarked as their centerpiece. In front of the black obelisk, there was a stone lab, two feet square.

According to the locals, the stones had always been there. No one could tell anything for sure, bur There were rumors that they were magical in some way or another, or that they were erected by the Dark Lord in his great war with the men from the West.In any case, the place was generally avoided, only visited when sheep had strayed into the ring.

The purposes and origins of the stones were unknown, and there were no signs of anything magical, despite the local rumors. In fact, if a traveler dared to camp inside the circle, nothing supernatural transpired. Since the place was holy to the Orodbedhrim, some young brave would try to avenge the sacrilege, if he could do so without being caught.

Note:

The obelisk's association with Orodbedhron religious scruples suggest that it was of a late origin, given the fact that the Oroabedhrim did not emerge as a distinct ethnic group until the time of the Ship-kings in the eighth century of the Third Age.