Caratacus Stone

The Caratacus Stone, sometimes known as the Caractacus Stone, is an inscribed stone on Exmoor in Somerset, England. It is thought to date from the 6th century,[2] and it has been a scheduled monument since 1925.[1]

Caratacus Stone
Caratacus Stone, showing the inscription CARAACI NEPVS
Location	Winsford Hill, Exmoor, Somerset, England
Coordinates	51.090527°N 3.586698°W
OS grid reference	SS88973355
Built	Sub-Roman period (approximately sixth century)
Scheduled monument
Official name	Caratacus Stone
Reference no.	1021228[1]
Location of Caratacus Stone in Somerset

The inscription, in Latin, appears to read CARAACI NEPVS,[2] though experts have stated that a bar above the second A forms a ligature meaning that it should be read as CARATACI NEPVS.[3][4] It is possible that there was more text on the stone that has weathered away.[2]

The inscription, which can be translated as "grandson or immediate descendant of Caratacus",[3] has led to the general opinion that the stone was probably erected as a memorial to a person who claimed the first-century British chieftain Caratacus as an ancestor.[2]

The first mention of the stone was in 1219, when it was described in a perambulation of the Royal Forest of Exmoor as "the Langeston".[2] In 1890 the letter N (which is reversed) was missing from the inscription, but by 1919 the missing piece had been found and was cemented back in place.[4] In 1906 a shelter was erected over the stone, and an excavation in 1937 revealed that the stone was not associated with a burial site.[2]

Image gallery

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  The Early Medieval Caratacus Stone on Exmoor, Somerset.
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  The Early Medieval Caratacus Stone on Exmoor, Somerset.
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  The Early Medieval Caratacus Stone on Exmoor, Somerset.
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  The Early Medieval Caratacus Stone on Exmoor, Somerset.
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  The Early Medieval Caratacus Stone on Exmoor, Somerset.
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  The Early Medieval Caratacus Stone on Exmoor, Somerset.

References

1. Historic England. "Caratacus Stone (1021228)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
2. Historic England. "Caratacus Stone (35777)". PastScape. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
3. Thomas, Charles (1994). And Shall These Mute Stones Speak? Post Roman Inscriptions in Western Britain. University of Wales Press. pp. 288–9. ISBN 0-7083-1160-1.
4. Bruton, F. A. (1919). "The Caratacus Stone on Exmoor" (PDF). The Journal of Roman Studies. 9: 208–210. doi:10.2307/296006.

External links

• Caratacus Stone on the Megalithic Portal

Media related to Caratacus Stone at Wikimedia Commons