# Another version of the Farum Azula Elden Ring design has been right below our noses (literally) A stone-tiled road runs throughout the majority of the Lands Between. Each of the stone tiles making up the road has the same sigil carved into it. This sigil bears resemblance to the Erdtree sigil, but instead of an Elden Ring design that is three rings surrounding a center ring (triangle-shaped), this design is four rings arranged in a _diamond shape_. This diamond-shaped Elden Ring looks similar to the one in Maliketh’s boss room in Farum Azula.  We believe that this sigil depicts the Elden Ring as it existed during the era of the Ancient Dragons, pre-Erdtree, because both have the four rings in a diamond shape. _However_, this is not certain. We do not know what or who caused the shape of the Elden Ring to change from its four-ring diamond shape to its four-ring triangle shape. We do not know for certain that the ring in Maliketh’s boss room is the ring as it existed during the time of the Ancient Dragons. It could be that this was the shape of the Elden Ring during the time of Godfrey. To explore these possibilities, we are going to look at where the network of roads extends, other motifs associated with the Goldroad, and when the symbol and road may have been created. # Follow the Goldroad This symbol appears on a network of roads stretching from the northern edge of the Consecrated Snowfield to the southern edge of the Weeping Peninsula, even all the way over to Sellia in Caelid (maybe even to Farum Azula). We have dubbed this network of roads “the Goldroad”, for the gold coloring of the artwork on the tiles. By looking at the places linked via the Goldroad, we may begin to understand who built them and what the Lands Between were like when they were built. ## Goldroad tiles We looked for all of the places where we could find these tiles. We found them stretching from Castle Morne, to Leyndell, the the Lift of Rold, all the way to Apostate Church in Northern Consecrated Snowfields. A map is below, and here is an [imgur link](https://imgur.com/a/uI2uQok) to screengrabs of each of the individual locations, in case you want to see the evidence for yourself (some photos have been artificially brightened). [  1) Altus Highway Junction, road design continues within Leyndell’s walls 2) Liurnia Highway south of Bridge to Raya Lucaria 3) Caelid Highway south of Heart of Aeonia 4) Apostate Church in Consecrated Snowfields Some of the more interesting locations include the Apostate Church in the northern Consecrated Snowfields (where Latenna’s sister is). The floors at both the Grand Lift of Dectus _and_ the Grand Lift of Rold contain these tiles, with the markings. This may suggest that the architects of the Grand Lifts were a part of the civilization that built this road. Notably, there is a Goldroad bridge on Mt. Gelmir. It goes directly to the Dead Minor Erdtree that exists there, which then leads up a path to the Volcano Manor. This implies that the Goldroad was built when Mt. Gelmir/Volcano Manor was a desirable destination (or at least, that the Minor Erdtree was). Perhaps prior to the serpent being considered a traitor to the Erdtree (the dead Minor Erdtree there looks to have been suffocated with poison, which is linked with the serpents), or even far earlier than that, perhaps at the time of the ancient serpent cult on Mt. Gelmir. # Map of the Goldroad  Yellow is the square aligned stone tiles that is seen throughout most of TLB. Orange is the hypothesized “Old Goldroad”, a unique stretch of road characterized by drainage channels, diamond-oriented stone tiles with the four-ring diamond shaped ER design, and unique architectural motifs (stone circle design, man with flowers statue). We discuss more about the old Goldroad below. The orange dotted is hypothesized Old Goldroad, which is pretty much just the Grand Lift of Rold. We presume that both Grand Lifts were created at the same time, and since the Dectus lift is along the Old Goldroad, we think the Rold lift was as well. White dotted is unpaved, no stone tiles but hypothesized to be a part of the network because they join parts of the Goldroad together. UPDATE 6/22: MAP UPDATED. [u/ZAKMagnus](https://www.reddit.com/user/ZAKMagnus/) has made a great discovery. He found Goldroad tiles both in the Shaded Castle and Liurnia. In Liurnia there is a partially sunken road running north-south starting in Gatetown which stretches nearly all the way to the Church of Irith near Stormveil (passing right through Laskyar Ruins). The Liurnian section of road has a stone wall running alongside it, which is topped with blue lanterns. The stone wall with blue lanterns also runs north of Gatetown, but we couldn't find Goldroad tiles along this stretch, so it may or may not be part of the original road. This stretch has been added to the map as a blue-dotted line.  ## The Roman Empire’s network of roads may have inspired the Goldroad The Romans are famous for building a network of roads across Europe, North Africa & Western Asia to link their empire together. In ASOIAF’s history, the Valyrians did the same thing. Given that GRRM did this game’s worldbuilding, and he is a gigantic history nerd with a habit of borrowing IRL historical events to use in his stories, we believe that this is exactly the type of thing that he would do. This also implies that the civilization who built the Goldroad could be classified as an _empire_. There is evidence that the Romans’ road network was the inspiration for the Goldroad. Some notes on the Roman network of roads, pulled from the [Roman roads Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_roads): > “Roman roads were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. They provided efficient means for the overland movement of armies, officials, civilians, inland carriage of official communications, and trade goods. Roman roads were of several kinds, ranging from small local roads to broad, long-distance highways built to connect cities, major towns and military bases. These major roads were often stone-paved and metaled, cambered for drainage, and were flanked by footpaths, bridleways and drainage ditches.” Similarities of the Goldroad: - The roads are stone-paved (as seen in pics from previous section) and stretch across nearly all of the Lands Between (see above map of the extent of the Goldroad) - Roads include both local roads and long distance highways. Coming out of Leyndell, we have Altus Highway. In Liurnia, we have the Bellum Highway and the Liurnian Highway, both of which are paved with Goldroad tiles. We also have local, unpaved roads, like a stretch of dirt road that connects the two Goldroad sections in Stormhill and Caelid. - There appear to be drainage channels in the road (though only along the road from the main gate of Leyndell to the Grand Lift of Dectus, & down along the Bellum highway to the main gate of Raya Lucaria) **The most important fact that we learn about the Roman Empire’s roads is that the roads were built over centuries “through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.”** As we discuss below, certain parts of the road are probably older than others. This is because the roads were likely built over a long time; perhaps over many campaigns of war. _Whose_ campaigns of war and _when_ are the most interesting questions. Let’s look at _when_ first. # Dating the Goldroad ## The Goldroad may have been built as part of the expansion of an empire over many years The roads of the Roman Empire were built over many centuries “through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire.” The roads being built over many years could account for certain differences in the design of the Goldroad throughout the Lands Between. Specifically, the road stretching from the main gate of Leyndell to the main gate of Raya Lucaria (following the Altus & Bellum Highways) has a number of unique details, different from any of the other sections of the Goldroad. - Along this stretch of road, the tiles are laid in a _diamond_ formation and with a drainage channel running through the middle. Most of the other parts of the Goldroad have the tiles aligned with just squares and no drainage channel. - Built into the road is a stone circle design. You can see that the curved drainage channels are specifically built around the stone circle, meaning it is a part of the original road design. We find this stone circle design at the Elden Throne, Erdtree Sanctuary, Queen’s Bedchamber, both Grand Lifts, Farum Azula, and Bestial Sanctum. - This section of the road contains multiple instances of the statue of the man with flowers, which is similarly built into the road and seems part of its original design. Its base depicts a tree motif, the same one found above the gates of the main entrance to Leyndell, at the Grand Lift of Rold, and on both the Erdtree Sanctuary and Queen’s Bedchamber. Both the man with flowers and this tree motif seem to be important to the civilization that built the road.  Top left: old Goldroad ending at main gate of Raya Lucaria. Top right: stone circle show to be part of the design of the road. Bottom: Man with flowers statue is also part of the original design **One explanation for why only this single stretch of road contains these unique motifs is that this may have been the extent of the empire at the time in history the road was built. We believe this part of the Goldroad is the oldest, for this reason, and refer to it as the “old Goldroad”. This stretch specifically includes Leyndell, the Grand Lift of Rold, Altus Highway to the Grand Lift of Dectus, Bellum Highway, & Raya Lucaria. The second stretch of road (the yellow lines on the map) could have been part of a second military expansion.** We’d like to point out that the Banished Knights were sent to the fringes when they were banished, and their armor description mentions that they suffered “losses of territory”. We find Banished Knights in Stormveil, wearing a red hood (symbol of exile, undesirable, outcast). Fringefolk Hero’s Grave is in Limgrave. It may be that the places defined as “fringes” were places outside of the territory of the empire at that point in history. If Stormveil/Limgrave were considered to be “fringe”, this would explain why we find the Banished Knights there. However, there are many Banished Knight motifs in many places, and more investigation is needed. # Marika sealed off part of the Goldroad post the War Against the Giants  Left: Goldroad tiles at top of Grand Lift of Rold. Right: Erdtree Sigil cast in light within Giant-Conquering Hero's Grave. The fact that the Grand Lift of Rold was built with these tiles likely means that this was the version of the Elden Ring at the time of its construction. The War Against the Giants began the Age of the Erdtree, we know from the Stonesword Monuments. Marika sealed off the Mountaintops after the War; the Rold Medallion depicts the frozen fire giants on it. This picture of the Erdtree sigil is from the Giants’ Conquering Hero’s Grave, which is located on the Mountaintops of the Giants. The fact that this sigil appears here may mean that at the time of construction of this grave, _this_ was the sigil of the Erdtree. By this point, then, the Erdtree design would have shifted from its four-ring diamond-shape of the Goldroad era to its four-ring triangle shape of the Erdtree era. However, this sigil being here is also part of a puzzle and _may_ just be a game mechanic, weakening its strength as evidence. If this _were_ considered to be acceptable evidence, then it would have big implications. It would confirm that the Goldroad was built pre-War Against the Giants. It would confirm that the ER shape changed around or before the Giant-Conquering Hero’s Grave was built. Even without this evidence being acceptable, I believe the leading theory is that the new Elden Ring shape was from the beginning of the Age of the Erdtree, which started with Marika’s victory after the War Against the Giants. This increases the possibility that the Farum Azula Elden Ring, and therefore the Goldroad Elden Ring & Goldroad itself, are from the pre-Erdtree Age of the Dragons when Placidusax was Elden Lord. ## The Goldroad may have been built before the Farum Azula ruins were destroyed Here are some screenshots of a few places where ruins seem to have fallen on top of the Goldroad.  Top in order from left to right: Bellum Highway, Liurnian Highway, road near Waypoint Ruins, Weeping Peninsula by Castle Morne. Below is a shot of Liurnian Highway where we can see that the ruins have fallen on top of the road. Here, the Goldroad is covered by a piece of Crumbling Farum Azula. Now, it might be that because of Farum Azula’s weird time stuff, perhaps it really has “always been crumbling” and occasionally poops out another piece onto the ground from out of time. _However_, there is an incredibly compelling possibility here. **If pieces of Farum Azula have fallen on top of the Goldroad, this would imply that the Goldroad was built** _**before Farum Azula was crumbling.**_ _Before_ it got hit with a meteor (Ruins Greatsword description). If this were true, it would help us date when Farum Azula got hit by the meteor, as well as helping us date when the Goldroad was built. # So who built the Goldroad and why? Our takeaways from our previous analyses are the following: - There is a stone paved road that connects many parts of the Lands Between, including places like Mt. Gelmir, Apostate Church, and Sellia. - The stone tiles of this road bear a four-ring diamond shaped Elden Ring design that looks like the Elden Ring we see in Farum Azula. This is different from the design of the current era’s Elden Ring, suggesting that the road was built during a different era, possibly while the Farum Azula Elden Ring was in power. This links the road to Farum Azula & the dragons. - We know from the Roman Empire that their network of roads was created to link an empire and allow for easier transport of armies & trade goods, and the construction was a centuries long process of consolidating the empire. This road might have been built during a similar expansion of an empire. - There appears to be a part of this road that is older than the rest, connecting Leyndell to Raya Lucaria, suggesting that this may have been the first boundaries of the empire, prior to a larger, second expansion. This implies a Raya Lucaria/Leyndell alliance at some point in the past (or whatever Leyndell & Raya Lucaria were called, back then). - Parts of the Goldroad have pieces of the Farum Azula-like ruins fallen on them. We know those ruins were hit by a meteor and crumbled; since the Goldroad is _underneath_ those pieces of the ruins, it implies that the Goldroad was built _before_ the meteor hit, and this may help us date the impact as well as the Goldroad’s construction. We do not know if the meteor was the meteor which carried Astel, or the meteor (aka star) which carried the Elden Beast, or another meteor altogether. Given that the design of the stone tile carving is extraordinarily similar to the design of the Farum Azula Elden Ring, the construction of the Goldroad seems to be linked to the Dragons. Since it seems like Farum Azula crumbled _after_ the Goldroad’s construction, it could have been around as a functioning location while the Goldroad was being built; meaning that the Dragons _could have_ played a role in its construction. On the other hand, Godfrey went on a campaign across the Lands Between that matches up vaguely with where the Goldroad was constructed, and we do know that Marika’s territory was referred to as an “empire” (ER Story Trailer). This could be the “empire” that the roads were consolidating. We do not hear of an “empire of the dragons”, explicitly. However, the Banished Knights equipment (which features dragon & beast motifs) is found in many places throughout the Lands Between, and we are told they suffered “territorial losses”, which could hint at the remains of an empire. What do you think, dear reader? # TL;DR **An Elden Ring design similar to the design of the ring in Farum Azula can be found on stone tiles across the Lands Between. The roads which bear these stone tiles stretch across the entire landmass, from Sellia to the Consecrated Snowfields. We have dubbed this road “the Goldroad”. The network of roads may serve the same purpose as the network of roads built by the ancient Romans: to consolidate an empire. Part of the road has unique architectural motifs that hint it may have been built at a different time in history than the rest of the road, perhaps during the first expansion of the empire. Some of the Farum Azula ruins have fallen on top of sections of the road, suggesting that the road may have been built before the meteor hit FA. While Marika was known to have reigned over an empire, there are hints that the empire who built the Goldroad may have been from the pre-Erdtree Age, when Placidusax was Elden Lord. EDIT 6/22: See end of post for important lore update on these possibilities.** This essay was written in collaboration with [u/elflandersx](https://www.reddit.com/user/elflandersx/) and [u/CriticalGameMastery](https://www.reddit.com/user/CriticalGameMastery/). Special thanks to my fellow Elden Ring Archaeologists who provided feedback: [u/Venator_IV](https://www.reddit.com/user/Venator_IV/), [u/ValerioLP](https://www.reddit.com/user/ValerioLP/), and Canada. EDIT: To clear up some confusion, we want to clarify what we mean by "the Goldroad Sigil bears a resemblance to the Farum Azula Elden Ring." We mean it bears a resemblance in the same way that the Erdtree Sigil bears a resemblance to the current era's Elden Ring. The Goldroad Sigil is not a 1:1 representation. Here's a picture:  UPDATED 6/22: [u/ZAKMagnus](https://www.reddit.com/user/ZAKMagnus/) made a fantastic discovery. They found Goldroad tiles both in the Shaded Castle and in Liurnia, a partially sunken road running north-south from Gatetown nearly to the Church of Irith (see above section Map of the Goldroad for updated map & pics of the new areas). This has important lore implications. The Shaded Castle is the home of House Marais and the services they provide as executioners serving royalty. They do the dirty work of Leyndell, basically. For the life of me, I cannot fathom a reason why House Marais would be associated with the dragons, or anyone from their proposed empire. I feel that the discovery of the Shaded Castle Goldroad tiles pushes the likelihood of the Goldroad being part of the expansion of Marika's empire up. **That would mean that this sigil was important during that era, and may be depicting what the Elden Ring looked like during the Age of Godfrey as Elden Lord.** We have assumed that because the Elden Ring we find in Farum Azula is in Farum Azula, that it is inherently associated with the Dragons and the pre-Erdtree Age. We were hesitant to believe that the FA ER could be from anytime _but_ the time of the dragons, pre-Erdtree. We though that the Elden Ring changed shape when the Age of the Erdtree began. However, if this truly was the shape of the Elden Ring during the Age of Godfrey, then the Elden Ring may have changed shape to the current Elden Ring at some point _after_ the beginning of the Age of the Erdtree. Possibly when Radagon became Elden Lord. The sigil of the Golden Order incantations do all depict the current era ER, and a number of the GO fundamentalist incantations mention Radagon & Miquella, strengthening the association between that version of the ER and Miquella. Update 6/23: To clarify based on some comments we've received: it is still not clear which Age the Goldroad was built in, or when the Farum Azula Elden Ring became the shape it is in now. It could have been the Elden Ring just during the pre-Erdtree era, or it could have been the shape during the early days of the Age of the Erdtree, during the time of Godfrey. There may have been overlap in the era of the dragons and the era of the Erdtree. More investigation is required. #reddit #text