Dr. Beke on the Alluvia of Babylonia and Ckaldaa. 427 



outline of the sea of Oman, or Gulf of Persia, at the earliest 

 times of authentic history, [?. e. as appears from the context, 

 at the time of Nearchus's voyage,] as to trace it from the 

 territory of Ghorein, by Jebel Sinam or Teredon, Zobeir, 

 Spasinus Charax, and the Vallum Pasini in an undefined 

 line across Dorakstan or Ka'ban, to the Arosis or Indiyan*;" 

 and he also " finds evidence of the former existence of a lake, 

 formed by the junction of the Tigris and the Choaspes or 

 Eulaeus, and extending from the neighbourhood of Diridotis 

 to that of Aginis (Hawaz), and bounded to the north by the 

 territory of Arape, Aphle, and Apamea, and to the south by 

 that of Mesene and Charax f." His conclusion as to the 

 advance of the land in this locality generally, is, that it may 

 be calculated at about 30 yards per annum ; which gives about 

 35 miles of increase since the time of Nearchus, and about 

 double that quantity, or 70 miles, for the entire advance since 

 the earliest post-diluvian periods % • 



Hence it follows, as Mr. Ains worth himself states §, that 

 " Nearchus's fleet must have taken a diagonal or north-west 

 course across the country which now forms part of Dorakstan 

 and Mahersi;" a conclusion in direct opposition to the opi- 

 nion entertained by Dr. Vincent, that " the pilot on board 

 Nearchus's ship steered exactly the same course as M^Cluer's 

 Karack pilot 2000 years afterwards ||;" and a sufficient con- 

 firmation of the correctness of the former of the two proposi- 

 tions advanced by me in my dispute with Mr. Carter, namely, 

 " that, within the period of history, an advance of the land 

 upon the sea has taken place of sufficient importance to affect 

 materially the geography of the localities in question *f[," — 

 "and such, therefore, as to render the descriptions of ancient 

 writers inapplicable to the present state of the country **." 



The other of my propositions was, " that, within the same 

 period of history, the advance of the land upon the sea has 

 been so great as (independently of all other arguments,) to 

 warrant my conclusion with respect to the non-identity of the 

 Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babel of Genesisff." On 

 this point Mr. Ainsworth differs entirely from me ; inasmuch 

 as he makes the total advance of the land since the Flood 

 only about 70 miles, whereas according to my hypothesis it 

 must have been at least four times as much. 



* Sec Lond. & Edinb. Phil. Mag., vol. xi. pp. 193, 194. t Ibid. 

 X Seep. 194. § p. 187. 



II CoiTiineice and Navigation of the Ancients in the Indian Ocean, 

 vol. i. p. 4fif; ; and see Lond. and Edinb. Phil. Mag., vol. v. p. 248. 

 1 L. & 1-:. Phil. Mag., vol. viii. p. 506, ** Ibid, vol, ix. p. 42. 



tt lf>id., vol. viii. p. 500'. 



