Gradual Change over
Time:
The Temple of Jupiter Serapis at Puzzuoli, Naples, Italy
The 2,000-year-old Roman
temple was partially submerged after construction, and was
subsequently uplifted. The smooth portion of each column was
buried in sediment. The roughened area immediately above was
immersed in seawater and shows the effect of marine rock-boring
clams (Lithodomus).
Charles Lyell used this image as the frontispiece for his Principles
of Geology to demonstrate
that ongoing geological processes can have significant effects
over long period of time.
