386 ON THE SETEIA AND 
to have been, from the canoes that were found, 
when this mere was drained, above one hundred 
years ago. Under similar circumstances the pen- 
insula of Wirral would be separated from the 
main land by one or more aqueous communica- 
tions between the Dee and the Mersey, and be 
further constituted into two unequal islands, lying 
it may be said, at the mouth of one common 
estuary. Reverting then to the topography of 
the coast, as laid down by Ptolemy, we shall make 
some approach towards an explication of the dif- 
ferent interpretations that have been made by 
succeeding antiquaries as to this part of his geo- 
graphy of Britain. 
Mr. Ormerod, in his notice of this part of 
Cheshire, seems fully aware how the difficulties 
that have arisen on this subject will perfectly 
vanish, by allowing such a rise in the sea-level to 
have once taken place, “as,” he says, ‘the two 
rivers mingling through the channels of Thur- 
stanton and Wallasey, would present conjointly 
one mouth, broken only by two inconsiderable 
islands, they would together form the Seteia 
Af stuarium, and leave no impeachment on the 
accuracy of the informants of Ptolemy.” We 
may, therefore, conclude, that in the days of 
