Essay on the Theory of the Earth

by baron Georges Cuvier

“The thigh-bones, and the bones of the leg of the right side, are in good preservation, but being considerably turned outwards, the fibula lies buried in the stone, and is not seen. The lower part of the femur of this side is indicated only by a bony outline, and appears to have been distended by the compact limestone that fills the cavities both of the bones of the leg and thigh, and to the expansion of which, these bones probably owe their present shattered condition. The lower end of the left thigh-bone appears to have been broken and lost in the operation of detaching the block; the two bones of the leg, however, on this side, are nearly complete; the tibia was split almost the whole of its length a little below the external edge, and the fissure being filled up with limestone, now presents itself as a dark-coloured straight line. The portion of the stone which contained part of the bones of the tarsus and metatarsus, was unfortunately broken; but the separate fragments are preserved.

“The whole of the bones, when first laid bare, had a mouldering appearance, and the hard surrounding stone could not be detached without frequently injuring their surface; but after an exposure for some days to the air, they acquired a considerable degree of hardness. Sir H. Davy, who subjected a small portion of them to chemical analysis, found that they contained part of their animal matter, and all their phosphate of lime.”

Note M, [p. 128.]

Account of the Displacement of that part of the Coast of the Adriatic which is occupied by the Mouths of the Po.

That portion of the shore of the Adriatic which lies between the lake, or rather lagune, of Commachio, and the lagunes of Venice, has undergone considerable alterations since ancient times, as is attested by authors worthy of entire credit, and as is still evinced by the actual state of the soil in the districts near the coast; but it is impossible now to give any exact detail of the successive progress of these changes, and more especially of their precise measures during the ages which preceded the twelfth century of our era.

We are, however, certain, that the city of Hatria, now called Adria, was formerly situated on the edge of the coast; and by this we attain a known fixed point upon the primitive shore, whence the nearest part of the present coast, at the mouth of the Adige, is at the distance of 25,000 metres[386]; and it will be seen in the sequel, that the extreme point of the alluvial promontory formed by the Po, is farther advanced into the sea than the mouth of the Adige by nearly 10,000 metres[387].

The inhabitants of Adria have formed exaggerated pretensions, in many respects, as to the high antiquity of their city, though it is undeniably one of the most ancient in Italy, as it gave name to the sea which once washed its walls. By some researches made in its interior and its environs, a stratum of earth has been found mixed with fragments of Etruscan pottery, and with nothing whatever of Roman manufacture. Etruscan and Roman pottery are found mixed together in a superior bed, on the top of which the vestiges of a theatre have been discovered. Both of these beds are far below the level of the present soil. I have seen at Adria very curious collections, in which these remains of antiquity are separately classed; and having, some years ago, observed to the viceroy, that it would be of great importance, both to history and geology, to make a thorough search into these buried remains at Adria, carefully noticing the levels in comparison with the sea, both of the primitive soil, and of the successive alluvial beds, his Highness entered warmly into my ideas; but I know not whether these propositions have been since carried into effect.

Following the coast, after leaving Hatria, which was situated at the bottom of a small bay or gulf, we find to the south a branch of the Athesis or Adige, and of the Fossa Philistina, of which the remaining trace corresponds to what might have been the Mincio and Tartaro united, if the Po had still run to the south of Ferrara. We next find the Delta Venetum, which seems to have occupied the place where the lake or lagune of Commachio is now situated. This delta was traversed by seven branches of the Eridanus or Po, formerly called also the Vadis Padus or Podincus; which river, at the diramification of these seven branches, and upon its left or northern bank, had a city named Trigoboli, whose site could not be far from where Ferrara now stands. Seven lakes, inclosed within this delta, were called Septem Maria, and Hatria was sometimes denominated Urbs Septem Marium, or the city of the seven seas or lakes.

Following the coast from Hatria to the northwards, we come to the principal mouth of the Athesis or Adige, formerly named Fossa Philistina, and afterwards Estuarium Altini, an interior sea, separated by a range of small islands from the Adriatic Gulf, in the middle of which was a cluster of other small isles, called Rialtum, and upon this archipelago the city of Venice is now seated. The Estuarium Altini is what is now called the Lagune of Venice, and no longer communicates with the sea, except by five passages, the small islands of the Archipelago having been united into a continuous dike.