Gouache and gold leaf on goatskin velum. The creatures are described in The Two Towers. Samwise Gamgee expresses a desire to see one and tells of Hobbit-lore of their being “big as a house” (see below). Later, Sam then sees one as big as a “moving hill”. Employed as a beast of burden by the Haradrim, the mûmakil were also used in battle during the wars of the Third Age. In the War of the Ring, they were used by troops in Ithilien and in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, much like war elephants of the real world. In battle, they carried tower-like structures (corresponding to howdahs), bearing Haradrim archers.