Rammas Echor

The Lord of the Rings tells us only that the Rammas was built 'after Ithilien fell under the shadow of [Sauron]' (The Return of the King V 1, Minas Tirith). In itself this is somewhat ambiguous, but in his unfinished detailed index to the book, Tolkien states that the wall was built during Denethor's time as Steward. The fall of Ithilien must therefore refer to the events of III 2954, when Mount Doom erupted and Ithilien's last inhabitants abandoned it. Denethor became Steward thirty years later, so the earliest point at which the wall could have been built was III 2984, the year of his accession. The fact that it had fallen into a partly ruinous state by III 3019 implies that it was created early in Denethor's reign, perhaps even in the year he become Ruling Steward.