The DataCons Project: An Open-Access Archive of Late Roman Consular Dates

The DataCons Project offers an open-access dataset of late Roman consular dating formulae from CE 284 to 541. Aimed at aggregating consular materials discovered globally, presently it contains over 4800 documents penned in three distinct scripts, originating from ten regions of the late Roman world and categorised by material type and textual content.

With its roots in prominent scholarly references, every entry undergoes rigorous verification, including palaeographical assessments and exact transcription of dating formulae. Distinct columns highlight potential dating, the author’s selected date, and further specificity, ensuring the dataset’s precision. Its evolution promises broader temporal coverage, and its structure facilitates ease of use and extensive potential for interdisciplinary research.

The current version of the dataset (1.0.0) presents the Latin and Greek documentation dated CE 476 to 526, exclusively comprising papyri and inscriptions. It is anticipated that there will be periodic updates and an upcoming release of an online database titled DataCons: The Digital Database of Late Roman Consular Dates. This will enhance and support research utilising the DataCons dataset.