The events of Lord of the Rings actually took place far in the past of our own world. As stupid as that sounds, it was the author's intent I guess. It doesn't really make archaeological sense but :shrug-outta-hecks:
Eh, if you take it at face value there wouldn't be an archeological record. The original "framing tale" (I guess) of all of the Tolkien Legendarium was that some Anglo-Saxon sailor washed up on Tol Eressea, learned Elvish from the locals, and translated the books he found there, and then Tolkien got hold of those and translated them into Modern English. "Lost Lands" were fertile ground for fantasy works at a time when plate tectonics weren't really understood. The idea is that the part of Middle Earth that the Noldor live in in the Second and Third Ages is gone or destroyed for this or that reason, like Beleriand before it. Lovecraft, Howard, and Smith did this kind of thing too with their constant references to each other, though Lovecraft was at least aware of the concept of continental drift.
The events of Lord of the Rings actually took place far in the past of our own world. As stupid as that sounds, it was the author's intent I guess. It doesn't really make archaeological sense but :shrug-outta-hecks:
Eh, if you take it at face value there wouldn't be an archeological record. The original "framing tale" (I guess) of all of the Tolkien Legendarium was that some Anglo-Saxon sailor washed up on Tol Eressea, learned Elvish from the locals, and translated the books he found there, and then Tolkien got hold of those and translated them into Modern English. "Lost Lands" were fertile ground for fantasy works at a time when plate tectonics weren't really understood. The idea is that the part of Middle Earth that the Noldor live in in the Second and Third Ages is gone or destroyed for this or that reason, like Beleriand before it. Lovecraft, Howard, and Smith did this kind of thing too with their constant references to each other, though Lovecraft was at least aware of the concept of continental drift.