BELISAMA OF PTOLEMY. 387 
Ptolemy, the mean tide-level was at least twenty 
to thirty feet above what it has been in later pe- 
riods, and that the mouths of the Dee and Mer- 
sey had a common outlet or commingled delta. 
In this view, which may be considered well 
corroborated. The Seteia Ast. will include the 
mouths of both rivers—having an island at their 
outward confluence, somewhat similar to what is 
faintly depicted in Ptolemy’s map. The Belis- 
ama Ast. will then be placed at the mouth of the 
Ribble, and the Portus Setwntiorum, will be the 
port on the Alawna or Lune. To further 
strengthen this last appropriation, it may be 
remarked, that of the four designations, this is 
the only one called Portus, xn, the other three 
are all termed Astwaries, showing that this one 
was a port or haven, not a mere outlet of a river. 
We may further notice, that Alawna or the Lune 
run through the middle of the Sistuntian country, 
and therefore, it is highly probable that their 
principal haven would be near the centre of their 
territory. The location of Moricambe Aistua- 
rium has never been disputed. 
Though we cannot agree with one or two more 
speculative writers on this subject, that at the 
