Having now passed that part of the country affected by Ptolemy’s mistakes, as to its direction, the relative distances correspond more closely with those of the places meant. North of the Tava, or Tay, is the river ‘Leva,’[[58]] and farther north the promontory of the ‘Taexali.’ These correspond in distance exactly with the mouth of the North Esk and with Kinnaird’s Head—the north-east point of Aberdeenshire. Here the coast forms a bend in a direction at right angles, corresponding to the entrance of the Moray Firth; and proceeding along the south shore we have the river ‘Celnius’ or Devern, the ‘Tuessis’ or Spey, the ‘Loxa’[[59]] or Lossy, and the Varar estuary, or that part of the Moray Firth usually termed the Firth of Beauly, and separated from it by the narrow channel at Kessock. After this the distances, if measured in a straight line, are found to be too great, but if the windings of the coast, which is here greatly indented, are followed, they are sufficiently correct, showing that they are derived from the itineraries of coasting vessels, and that the Moray Firth had been in fact explored. Looking across the lowlands of Easter Ross, the first landmark noticed are the high hills on the north of the Dornoch Firth, and two stand prominently out, forming the two sides of Strathfleet or Little Ferry. One of these great landmarks is noted as Ὄχθη ὑψηλή, ‘Ripa alta,’ or the high bank. Beyond these to the north is the mouth of the river ‘Ila,’ corresponding in situation with the Helmsdale river, termed by the Highlanders the Ulie. We have then three promontories noticed—the ‘Veruvium,’ the ‘Vervedrum,’ and the ‘Orcas’ or ‘Tarvedrum.’ The editions of Ptolemy vary as to their relative positions, but it is impossible not to recognise the three prominent headlands of Caithness,—the Noss Head, Duncansby Head, and Dunnet Head.
On the west coast, proceeding north from the Firth of Clyde, Ptolemy notices the ‘Lemannonius’ Bay or Loch, which corresponds in situation with Loch Long,[[60]] although the resemblance of name would almost lead us to infer that the geographer believed that Loch Lomond opened upon the sea. He next mentions the promontory, early known to the Romans as that of Caledonia, under the name of the Epidium promontory, which is obviously Kintyre. North of the Mull of Kintyre he places exactly in Crinan Bay, which must always have been a well-known shelter for vessels, the mouth of the ‘Longus’ river, where we now find the river Add,[[61]] known to the Highlanders as the Avon Fhada or long river.
THE FIVE EBUDŒ
OF PTOLEMY
Compared with
THE ISLANDS
South of
ARDNAMURCHAN POINT
W. & A.K. Johnston, Edinburgh & London.
The Ebudæ.
Between Scotland and Ireland Ptolemy places the five islands which he terms the ‘Ebudæ,’ and the island of ‘Monarina;’ but these islands are attached to his map of Ireland, to which country he held them to belong, and their situation is not affected by the great mistake he committed in the direction of Scotland. The most northerly of the five he terms ‘Maleus,’ which is so obviously the island of Mull that it gives us a clue to the situation of the rest, and shows that the islands meant were those south of the point of Ardnamurchan. The remaining four, placed in a line on the same degree of latitude, and lying from west to east, are termed the two ‘Ebudas,’ ‘Engaricenna’ and ‘Epidium.’ The relative situation of the western ‘Ebuda’ towards Ireland corresponds closely with that of Isla, and the two ‘Ebudas’ were probably Isla and Jura. Scarba corresponds with ‘Engaricenna,’ and the more distant Lismore with ‘Epidium.’ These islands all lie in one line from south-west to north-east. ‘Monarina’ corresponds in its position towards Ireland with the island of Arran.[[62]]
Beyond the point of Ardnamurchan the western islands seem to have been comparatively unknown. No islands are mentioned which correspond with the Outer Hebrides, and the island of Skye seems only to have been known by name, as it is probably meant by Ptolemy’s island of ‘Scetis,’ which however he places apparently at random near the north-east promontory of Scotland. On the mainland three points only are noticed,—the mouth of the Itys river, which is probably the river Carron flowing into Loch Carron; the Volsas Bay or Loch, which can only be the great arm of the sea termed Loch Broom; and the mouth of the river ‘Nabarus,’ obviously the Naver; but these points must have apparently been taken from report, as it is difficult otherwise to account for his ignorance of the true position of Skye, and for the absence of all mention of the great headland of Cape Wrath, forming the north-west point of Scotland.
Along the east coast he denominates the sea the Germanic Ocean, and along the west, from the Mull of Galloway to Dunnet Head, the Deucaledonian.
The tribes and their towns.
Such is the wonderfully accurate notice of the salient features of the coasts of Scotland given by a geographer of the second century; but his description of the tribes of the interior of the country, and the position of what he denominates towns, as compared with the physical appearance of the country, is no less so. To these tribes Ptolemy assigns definite names, and to some the possession of what he terms πόλεις in Greek, and in Latin ‘oppida.’ That these towns were not exclusively Roman stations is plain from their being mentioned in a part of the country to which the Roman arms had not yet penetrated; neither could they have been simply the rude hill-forts, or primitive shelters in the woods, such as are mentioned by Cæsar; for they are only to be found in the southern and eastern districts, and none are noticed as we approach the rude tribes of the hill country. They certainly implied a regularly fortified town, in which the habitations of the natives were collected together, and formed the great defences of their territories, as we almost invariably find them placed near the frontiers of each tribe, or the great passes from one district to another. They would naturally form the main points of attack in any assault upon the tribe; and accordingly we usually find, within the sphere of the Roman operations, a Roman camp placed in the immediate vicinity of the remains of these towns; and the Roman stations or roads are useful in assisting the accurate identification of these within the range of their campaigns.