A Book of Mediterranean Food

cement, like plaister of Paris,
which contain a kind of muscle,
called la datte, from its resemblance
to a date. These petrifications are
commonly of a triangular form,
and may weigh about twelve or
fifteen pounds each; and one of
them may contain a dozen of these
muscles, which have nothing
extraordinary in the taste or
flavour, though extremely curious,
as found alive and juicy in the
heart of a rock, almost as hard as
marble, without any visible
communication with the air or
water. I take it for granted,
however, that the inclosing cement