TOPOGRAPHICAL ETYMOLOGY. 85 
disappeared, being supplanted by those of more modern 
origin. Thus, in ancient Welch literature, ihe eity of 
BRISTOL is known as CAER-ODOR-NANT—“ the city of 
the rent valley”—a name which the appearance of St. 
Vincent's Rocks on each side of the Avon fully justifies. 
UxELA, likewise, the Latin form of the old British name 
by which the estuary of the Parret was called, and which 
oceurs in the old geographers, has disappeared, and has 
left no representative in the language of the people. The 
term would seem to have been applied to the land-locked 
estuary covering the Bridgwater levels, and is evidently 
derived from the British WYsc-HELI, implying the free 
access to it of the “ sea-water ”—HELI. 
AD UxeLam was a Roman station lying on the shore of 
this estuary. It has usually been supposed to have oceu- 
pied the site of the present town of Bridgwater; but the 
extensive Roman remains found by Mr. Stradling about 
the Poldon Hills, would lead us rather to look for it on 
the other side of the river. And if we are justified in 
identifying with Ad Uxellam and Avallonia the Uxellu- 
diano and Avallano which occur im the Excerpta ex 
Ravennate Geographo, as connected together—* recto 
tramite”—by a direct line of road, this view is greatly 
confirmed. 
The PARRET is a modern form of the Peönedan 
of the Saxon chronicles : and Pedredan is evidently 
a modification of PERYDDON, the name which was 
applied to the river by the ancient Britons. There is 
a peculiarity in this word Peryddon, deserving of notice. 
It has the plural termination. This may have arisen from 
its being applied not only to the river itself, but to the 
united waters of the Tone, the Ivel, and the Parret 
proper. It occurs ina Welsh poem of the seventh century, 
