Lazy/newbie question, perhaps somebody can help me - my wife wants to know why there was Elvish writing on the entrance door to the caves of Moria? Why not something in the dwarven tongue if it was their home? Did the elves build it first?
Thanks!
Oh cool, a question I can answer...I think. The reason it was written in elvish was because the door/gate to Moria was built so that the Elves that lived in Hollin could visit the dwarves that lived inside the mountain. Hollin was the area surrounding that side of the mountain where the gate was. The dwarves, if they wanted to visit the elves, would just go out the door--it opened outward without any password or anything. And the elves were the only ones who would be passing into Moria from the other side, so they would be the only ones speaking a password to get inside that way.
Does that make sense?
(Jen, please correct me and fill in any relevant data, okay?)