In general, the word 'downlands' refers to any region of low, rolling hills, but as a proper name the Downlands was used as a less common term for the Barrow-downs. This hilly region lay eastward of the Old Forest and southward of the Great Road that ran across Eriador. These Downlands had been used as a burial place since Men arrived in this part of Middle-earth during the late First Age, and the ancient barrows or burial mounds that dotted the hills give them the more common name of the Barrow-downs.