Odd question: that lighty torch tower signal thingy

[thehefner]

Okay, remember in Lord of the Rings, Return of the King, when they lit the fire at the signal tower in Minas Tirith, which sent the singal to light the fire at another tower, and so on and so forth until the signal reached its way to Rohan? Okay, what was it called exactly? How did it work? What was being set on fire how would it keep the whole tower from burning down? Was this technique applied to any real civilizations in history, and if so, who were they and how did it work?

Like I said, odd question. And it's too vague to simply google. I'm kinda embarrassed to even ask, but I need to know and I have no idea where else to turn. Any help would be much appreciated.

Comments

[shadowcaptain.livejournal.com]

Fire of the night, that brings my spirit day,
Shedding on Argos light, and dance, and song,
Greetings to fortune, hail!

Let my loud summons ring within the ears
Of Agamemnon's queen, that she anon
Start from her couch and with a shrill voice cry
A joyous welcome to the beacon-blaze,
For Ilion's fall; such fiery message gleams
From yon high flame; and I, before the rest,
Will foot the lightsome measure of our joy;
For I can say, My master's dice fell fair-
Behold! the triple sice, the lucky flame!
Now be my lot to clasp, in loyal love,
The hand of him restored, who rules our home:
Home-but I say no more: upon my tongue
Treads hard the ox o' the adage.

aeschylus, agamemnon (http://classics.mit.edu/Aeschylus/agamemnon.html)

This is from the fandom, but it should work in Ancient times.

[jayel4192.livejournal.com]

From http://fan.theonering.net/writing/reviews/files/pearson_gondor.html

Concerning the Beacons of Gondor by Robert Pearson

After the loss of the Palantír of Osgiliath, and the capture of the Ithil Stone by the Dark Lord, the Lords of The Southern Kingdom were in want of a means of summoning the aid of Rohan in times of desperate need. So it was that the Beacons of the North were conceived and constructed along the line of the Ered Nimrais.

Built atop the best vantage points from Minus Tirith to the borders of Rohan, these were no ordinary pyres heaped for the amusement and warmth of revelers on days of celebration. Need dictated that they must be large and bright enough to pierce even the heaviest of mountain storms, and all but the thickest of mists, penetrating to the eyes of the Wardens who were posted to keep vigil and light their own beacons in turn.

In form they resembled great round barns, such as might be used to house cattle or keep store of grain. Their foundations were laid of stone, tall as a large man, wide as a great draft horse, twenty five yards from one edge to the opposite side. Like the spokes of a great wheel they spread out from the central post, forming wedge shaped gaps to permit the inflow of air. Atop these footings were constructed wooden frameworks of square hewn timbers cut from the boles of enormous oaks, pegged together with wooden pins and forming a circular wall the height of three men. The roofs then sloped upward towards central peaks, fully twenty yards above the top of the foundations, and the structures were clad in oak planking, thus protecting the fuel within from the elements.

Inside, a large grid of heavy iron bars lay atop the stones of the foundations, and were overlaid with planking of more seasoned oak, laid loosely with many gaps between. The whole of the inside of this space was filled with pieces of oak, beech and elm, cut and split, each faggot coated along its length with pitch, and laid in criss-cross fashion to leave space between each. On one wall of the structures were fashioned two large doors that could be swung open to allow men to bring in fuel to fill the interior, up earthen ramps from ground level. From those doors to the center of the piles of dry tinder, narrow corridors were formed leading to small chambers in the midst of the beacons. Here were stacked quantities of wood more finely cut than the rest and mixed with dry straw. Near at hand were kept large ewers of oil, to be poured upon the wood and aid the lighting of the fire.

too long for one post

[jayel4192.livejournal.com]

Thus were the great signal lights of Gondor erected as buildings to keep all inside dry and quick to burn, while they themselves perished in the consuming fire. Being covered in pitch, the tinder within would belch forth great clouds of black smoke to be seen from a great distance during the day, and put forth a fury of flame and light that could be seen at great distance after the coming of nightfall. Once lit, even the heaviest of downpours could not quench the inferno and left alone, could burn unreplenished for more than a full day.

Such impressive hoards of fuel needed protection from unwanted sparks and bolts of lightning as often struck out from the terrible storms of the high peaks. Long ago, the engineers of the King had discovered that laying thick strips of copper on the tops of wooden halls and running them down into the earth would guard them from these perils. As an extra measure of protection, deep cisterns were carved into the rocky ground near at hand and filled with rain water collected by gutters of copper running round the eaves of the buildings. The Wardens of the Beacons could then endeavor to quench the flames with buckets and helms. In the event that a new beacon needed to be constructed quickly, this water would also serve to cool the ashes of the ruined hall to allow the work to proceed apace.

Not too great a distance from each Beacon were an assortment of smaller stone workshops and storage sheds. Here were kept the complete frameworks of new beacons, ready to be erected in a few short days after the old ones had been consumed. As well, enough store of dry wood was contained within to replenish what had been used and scores of jars full of pitch waited to be poured.

Early in their history, the Beacons of Gondor were kept manned by seldom fewer than four score of men apiece. These were housed in lodges amongst the trees a little ways down from the summits. The greatest number were Men of arms, posted there to protect both the wardens and the lights themselves from attacks, and lend aid in dousing unplanned fires. Carpenters were sent at whiles to keep the structures in good repair, and masons as well, to maintain the foundations and tend the other buildings. The Watch wardens were charged with the task of keeping constant vigil both night and day on the fires of the other heights so that they might act without delay in the lighting of their own. Only the Wardens of Amon Din were free of this chore, being instructed to light the fire only by the messenger of the Lord of the city.

As the years passed, the might of Gondor waned and was drawn ever more towards the eastern peril, causing the Rulers of the Southern Kingdom to send fewer and fewer to man and maintain the Beacons. By the time of Denethor II, fewer than fifteen at a time could be counted at those closest to Rohan, and of these, most were men of long service. At Amon Din, Eilenach and Nardol could be found no more than six or eight of the oldest still fit to serve. The Beacon at Nardol had come dangerously close to going up in flames in the fifth year of the rule of Ecthelion II due to a lapse of vigilance and was only just saved in time by the buckets of the Wardens before causing the whole of the signal line to be lit and destroyed without need. For a while the line was bolstered with greater manpower but need elsewhere once again put an end to this. After the last defeat of the great enemy, many felt that the Palantír of Minus Anor had played a major role in this policy of neglect, owing to The Lord Denethor’s growing dependence on the visions of the stone and the incomplete views that were directed his way.

–Robert Pearson

[jasminedragon.livejournal.com]

Great question. From a historical account... 1588 AD - Arrival of the Spanish Armada announced by signal fires.

"A scholar named Piotr Gasiorowski reports that the ancient British were in the custom of lighting fires on the hilltops that could be seen out to sea: Piotr Gasiorowski: <

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Great question. From a historical account... 1588 AD - Arrival of the Spanish Armada announced by signal fires.

"A scholar named Piotr Gasiorowski reports that the ancient British were in the custom of lighting fires on the hilltops that could be seen out to sea: Piotr Gasiorowski: <<I think the tradition of erecting hilltop cairns and mounds as orientation marks, and of using beacon fires for long-distance communication was very strong in Celtic (also Roman) Britain; the landscape of much of the country is as suitable for this purpose as could be. One trace of that is the occurrence of the Brythonic element tan- 'fire' (Welsh tân) in hill names (there are many Tan Hills in England). -- not only in ancient times but all through history down to the invention of the telegraph. For example, a network of beacons set up on hilltops was used in England in 1588 to signal the approach of the Spanish Armada, and once it was spotted off the Scillies the news reached the English commanders in no time at all.>>"

[morganashkevron.livejournal.com]

The Chinese used something very similar along the Great Wall. They had guard towers at intervals along the wall and would light the signal fires (usually tightly bound kindling and branches coated in pitch until they figured out how to do it with bowls of oil). Anyway, the point was for it to light quickly and alert the whole contingent of soldiers stationed on the wall that something was happening.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's wonderful. Thank you! (and I've been meaning to tell you, rock on for using Bloom County).

Re: too long for one post

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

No, this was great! It's so in-depth, that's great. Gives me plenty to work with. Much appreciated!

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Ooh, very interesting indeed! Hmm! That's perfect, thanks!

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Oil, now that's different. That actually could change things, since all I was thinking uniformly were bales, kindling, that sort of thing. Hmm. Thankee!