Caves have always fascinated people. Tales of strange or extraordinary
large bones found in them may have also inspired legends that referred
to caves as gateways to an underground world of fear, perhaps still
inhabited by monsters and demons...Read On
Of Dragons and Geology
Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1672-1733)
was a Swiss physician, but also quite interested in travels and natural
sciences. He published his observations on the culture and natural
world of the Alps as “Itinera per Helvetiae alpinas regiones facta annis 1702-1711“.
In the introduction by the editor we read:
“The name of Scheuchzer will be
famous …[] The author was in the best conditions to make valid
discoveries during his explorations. He worked with incredible
determination.., [] no danger, no costs, no difficulty were too large
for this great man.“
Despite the work was intended to dispel of myths and superstitions so common in the Alps, Scheuchzer, like many other naturalists of his time, did not see a contradiction in publishing own and exact observation and rumors... Read On