DataCons

The Digital Database of Late Roman Consular Dates

Guidelines for Navigating the DataCons Dataset

Guidelines

In principle, each document page includes the following information:

Main details Description
Edition Reference Key bibliographic references for each entry, serving as the primary reference source for every item in the dataset.
Unique identifier The database’s unique identifier for each single formula.
Class of material Currently there are three classes: epigraphic (Epi.), papyrological (Papy.), and literary (Lit.)
Carrier The carrier of the text, such as, for instance, inscriptions, sarcophaguses, altars, wooden tablets, tiles, mosaics, papyri, ostraca and others.
Text class The overall character of the text (i.e. ‘funerary’, ‘administrative’, ‘legal/fiscal’, ‘military’, ‘monumental’, and ‘others’ encompassing unofficial or miscellaneous content), also indicating when the general character is unknown.
Text type Offers further granularity on the nature of the text, categorising papyri as wills, dowries, or receipts; discerning inscriptions as epitaphs, honorary inscriptions, or legal texts, such as diplomas or edicts, and so on.
Text language The language of the dated text.
Formula language The language of the dating formula.
People The name of people mentioned in the document, if any. These are generally the dedicatee(s) and dedicants within inscriptions, or the contracting parties within papyri.
Scribe The names of scribes/notaries mentioned within a papyrus, if any.
Formula details
Normalised Version A very simplified version of the formula which does not show any errors, and that restores names wherever it can be confidently concluded that this is what was actually meant (in the case the restoration is uncertain, this will be underlined in some way). It is given in Latin (the Greek is translated into Latin) following the practice in CLRE.
Abridged Version Key details of the original formula, including aberrations (e.g. inversion of names, wrong names and numerals). As with the formula above, it is always given in Latin.
Original Version A strict transcription of the formula as found in the source material, i.e. in its original language and with all the elements of the dating clause (the titulary, day, month, indiction, provincial era and place of dating), if given. Abbreviations, errors and restorations are detailed using the Leiden convention.
Errors and Aberrations A further section allows users to search by errors found in text. NA signifies that the reviewed evidence contains no errors.
Date details
Possible Dating The full range of dates that in principle could be assigned to a formula, including those proposed by previous editors.
Dating Assigned The database’s chosen date. Often, this reflects the ‘most likely date’ (see ‘4. Dating Documents’ below)
Day The diurnal date, when mentioned in the formula.
Month The month designation in Roman numerals, when mentioned in the formula.
Year m.l.d. (e.app.) The ‘most likely date (early appearance)’ (see ‘4. Dating Documents’ below)
Accuracy Information as to how each piece of evidence is classified (e.g. ‘perfect’; ‘p.c. poss.’, ‘m.l.d.’, ‘frg.’ etc. see ‘3. Dating of Documents: Perfect and Imperfect Material’);
Other supporting dating elements Any additional chronological elements supporting the dating of the evidence. These may include the archaeological context, archive affiliation, elements of the titulary, textual cues, and local dating systems, extracted from either the dating clause or the text.
Location details
Longitude The findspot’s longitude.
Latitude The findspot’s latitude.
Place name The findspot and or place of provenance.
Region The ancient region where the findspot is located.
Marco-Region The ancient marco-region (west, east) where the findspot is located.
External references
Images Digital images of the original text or its transcription when the former is no longer preserved.
Database Entries provides the link to the web page of the document published on the following databases:

People and scribes referenced into documents, have their own page, which may include the following details:

Attribute Description
Name The name of the person mentioned within the document
Designation The role of the referenced person, i.e. ‘Contracting party’, ‘Dedicant’, ‘Dedicatee’, ‘Scribe’, ‘Notary’ etc.
Age The age.
Profession The profession.
Associated Text The reference to the texts mentioning the person.

Data Range Notation

When indicating a range of dates, the use of ‘/’, ‘,’, or ‘or’ is interchangeable and conveys the same meaning. For example, a document that could date from either 476 or 477 can be listed as ‘476/477’, ‘476, 477’, or ‘476 or 477’ without implying any difference. Similarly, a document with possible dates of 510, 513, or 516 can be represented as ‘510/513/516’, ‘510, 513, 516’, or ‘510, 513 or 516’, all of which are equivalent.

Dating of Documents: Perfect and Imperfect Material

At the current stage of the project, the dataset does not offer a detailed discussion of the dating for each formula. This will be provided in due course.
However, there are some preliminary notes that can be made.
Texts with clear and identifiable formulae are classified as ‘Perfect’. Due to damage, errors or consular homonymy, however, the identification and dating of a number of formulae is uncertain. The dataset uses several labels assigned to each piece of evidence to express this uncertainty. These include: For a full treatment, see Dosi 2022: 399—402.

Dating of Documents: Years m.l.d. & m.l.d. (e.app.)

The dataset also uses the labels “m.l.d.” and “m.l.d.(e.app.)” to indicate the level of reliability of the dating assigned to each piece of evidence. This notion is an essential part of the methodology for determining dates based on consular formulae. It is used to classify dates that are deemed the most probable (yet not absolutely certain!) based on a combination of three assumptions. A summary of reconcilable and irreconcilable m.l.d. & m.l.d. (e. app.) dates is given below. For a fuller (yet provisional) treatment, see Dosi 2022: 397—460.

Most Likely Dates
Reconcilable iunior dates as m.l.d.
Reconcilable dates (without iun.) as m.l.d.:

Most-Likely Dates (e.app.)
Reconcilable dates (without iun.) as m.l.d. (e.app.):

Irreconcilable dates (without iun.) as m.l.d. (e.app.):

Perfect iunior dates

Regional Classification

The regional labels for classifying evidence are based on the administrative boundaries of the late Roman Empire. These include:

How to Search the Database

The database offers three primary search methods: Quick Search, Advanced Search and Browse Search.

Quick Search: Accessible directly from the homepage, the Quick Search function enables users to swiftly look up information by entering an edition reference, word, person, place, or text type.
For example, to find “ICUR n.s. I 1476 = ILCV 318,” simply enter the full edition reference, “ICUR n.s. I 1476” or “ILCV 318,” into the Quick Search bar, and the relevant text will be displayed.
If you are searching for a specific name or word, like “Παυλίνου,” typing it into the Quick Search bar will return all texts containing that word, including instances where it appears in a restored form, such as “[Παυ]λίνου.” Similarly, searching for “Orestis” will yield results for “Orestis,” as well as partial or restored occurrences like “O[restis - - -]” or “Lampad[i et Orestis---].”

Advanced Search: This feature, which can be accessed from the navigation menu on the homepage, allows for more intricate queries. Users can access the same functionality offered by the Quick Search bar and refine their searches by applying and combining various filters, such as dates or date ranges, language, classes of material, text type, and so on. For instance, you may want to search for all the formulae dating funerary texts dating from 476 to 530 and coming from the East, and the query will return the full body of the evidence.

Browse Search Page: Additionally, the homepage features a Browse search page, accessible via the navigation menu. This page facilitates quick, category-based searches, allowing users to explore the database by Year, Region, Place, Carrier, People, or the entire dataset. This option is particularly useful for users who wish to browse the database in a more structured manner. Each of these search tools is designed to cater to different user needs, from quick lookups to more detailed and specific research queries.