Fossils from Sicily and Malta

La Vana Speculazione Disingannata dal Senso, Plate XII, 1670
Agostino Scilla
In his book on fossils (entitled Vain Speculation Undeceived by Sense) Scilla observed fossils from Sicily and Malta and compared them with living animals from the sea. At the time it was not clear what fossils were, and many scholars thought that they simply grew in stones. Scilla’s observations and careful drawings were therefore of great importance
for the understanding of the history of the earth.
The illustrations in his printed book were copied from
Scilla’s own hand drawings.