The Gate of Bronze was not simply constructed from bronze, but also intricately decorated in bronze and copper. The Gate itself bore engraved metal shields, and along the top of the wall enclosing the Gate stood three copper spheres, shimmering in red lantern light. The Gate was guarded by its own company of soldiers, mostly SindarinElves, each bearing an axe that was the traditional weapon of that people.
After the Gate of Bronze, the pass of the Orfalch began to stretch upward into the Encircling Mountains. After this Gate the road toward Gondolin was a long and difficult climb until the pass reached its highest point, guarded by the next of the Seven Gates, the Gate of Writhen Iron.