'Geta' Stone

This is the 'Geta stone' sketched by Bishop Godwin:
This inscription originally honoured the emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons, Caracalla (officially called Antoninus) and Geta.

After their father's death in York, Caracalla murdered Geta. Geta's name, images and memory were erased across the whole empire. This act of obliteration is called damnatio memoriae. It was considered a crime to mention Geta's name.

In this example from Caerleon, Geta's name and title have been chiselled off, leaving a gap.

Bishop Godwin's Latin note states that 'Geta's name has been erased'.

Caracalla cunningly cemented his position within the army by raising their pay and giving them honours - this was expensive! He also extended Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire in AD 212. This may have been to enable him to collect more inheritance taxes in order to pay the army.

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