


Setmaenen (Dn. "Seven Stones") was the ancient cluster of grave-mounds and standing stones in Lamedon which gave the nearby town of Ossarnen its name. Situated in a mountain valley about a mile and a half east of that town, the Seven Stones complex was one of the most imposing remnants of Daen Coentis culture in central Gondor. This admirable feat of public architecture was founded upon the wealth gained from the first working of the Ossarnen ore deposit around the twenty-fifth century of the Second Age. Setmaenen functioned as a ceremonial complex until Isildur's curse drove the Oathbreakers into the White Mountains at the close of the age. At the center of Setmaenen rose an artificial, stone-cut dome encircled by seven monoliths, each more than twice the height of a man. An open passageway on its eastern face led inward to the center of the mound, where simple stone altars could be found. Local legends were at variance as to the exact purpose of this dome. Some claimed that it served a calendrical function, while others said that it had been raised as a sanctuary for the veneration of the Valië Estë, whom the Danan Lin called "Fois". With the exception of a few archaic runes carved into the walls of the passageway inside the dome, however, no solid evidence had yet been brought forth to confirm either theory. Ever since their occupation of Lamedon from the early centuries of the Third Age, the Danan Lin had shunned the Seven Stones for fear of the Dead. Although no sheep grazed there, the site remained free from encroachments of the forest that covered the neighboring mountain slopes. The grave-mounds scattered around Setmaenen were the resting places for the prominent chieftains and headmen of the ancient tribe that once inhabited the region, much of whose prestige and wealth was originally founded upon the nearby mines. The mounds were simple burial sites and did not contain any barrow chambers.