DBMNT Texts has been designed to include, first of all, all the necessary metadata of a medieval Nubian text, those pertaining to its provenance and present whereabouts, form and contents, date and language, and full bibliography. It also has place for photos or drawings, but their inclusion is regulated by the copyrights, and at present, only some of those illustrations have been made available that either are available in open access at the web pages of respective collections or are included in publications that are out of copyrights. Apart from the metadata and illustrations, DBMNT Texts also displays information on the names of individuals occurring in a given text, designations of offices and titles, as well as topo- and ethnonyms. As a long-term goal, DBMNT Texts will include the transcriptions and translations of all the texts. There are currently 4,518 texts in the database (including 26 empty records, result of combining some objects into a single item, and 4 texts labelled as ‘not Nubian’, which are of unknown provenance and were previously believed to come from the Middle Nile Valley).
Each object in DBMNT Texts has a Trismegistos identifier and is linked with TM Texts. As the TM numbers are not given on an ongoing basis, but only once there are enough new records in DBMNT to do it in a substantial batch, it may happen that some new records are devoid of this value.
From the starting site of DBMNT Texts you can either go directly to a particular record (by entering its DBMNT number in the field ‘Text no.’), launch a search, or simply browse the list of all records. Clicking on the item on the list will display the detailed card of the object beneath the list.
Description of the fields
The detailed view of DBMNT Texts is displayed in a set of tabs which include the following data:
- 'Basic info':
- Provenance – the location in which the object was discovered or which is a surmised place of discovery for otherwise unprovenanced texts (list)
- Kingdom/region – a basic distinction between Nobadian, Makurian, and Alwan sources; several Nubian texts have been found on Egyptian sites as well (list)
- Findspot – exact spot (if known) in which the object was discovered
- Excavation no. – if known, according to the inventory of excavators
- Present location – if known, reference to the museum or collection in which the object is/was stored (list)
- Museum no. – if known, according to the inventory of the museum/collection
- Medium – classification of the support on which the text was written (list)
- Technique – classification of the way in which the text was executed (list)
- Type of text –classification of the textual genre to which the text belongs (list)
- Language – classification of the linguistic appartenance of the text (list)
- Contents – summary description of the contents of the text
- Date – either exact (e.g. 17 February 1159, February 1159, or 1159) or a date-range (in the format 700–799, 1025–1050,
1250–1450, etc.)
- Notes – additional pieces of information of potential interest
- 'Technical info':
- Material – classification of the material of the textual medium (list)
- Object dimensions – if known, in the order height x width x thickness
- Text dimensions – if known, in the order height x width
- Object colour – if known
- Text colour – if applicable or known
- Lines – if known
- Height of letters – if known
- Description – information on the shape of the object, the placement and layout of inscription, etc.
- Decorative elements – description of decorative elements, if any, of the text and the object (if somehow connected
with the text)
- State of preservation – description of the (in)completeness of both the object and the text
- 'Chronology':
- Date – see above
- Chronological systems – list of eras and calendars used in the text (list)
- Dating formulae – translation of dating formulae
- Transcription – transcription of dating formulae
- Months – list of Egyptian months found in the text (in transcription)
- Weekdays – list of weekdays found in the text (in transcription)
- Feasts – list of Christian feasts found in the text (in transcription)
- ‘Names’ – list of all names occurring in the text, displaying the basic data for each attestation, all linked
to the corresponding items in the database
- ‘Offices & titles’ – list of all designations of functions, civil and ecclesiastical,
and titles occurring in the text
- ‘Toponyms & ethnonyms’ – list of all designations of places and peoples occurring in the text
- 'Illustration' – this tab will ultimately include photos and/or drawings of particular objects/texts; for the time being,
in most cases the user can find here only references to the best illustrations published so far
- 'Bibliography':
- Latest edition
- Other editions
- Other publications
(All references are given according to the system employed in
G. Ochała & G. R. Ruffini, A Guide to the Texts
of Medieval Nubia.)
- 'Concordances' – list of simplified references to different publications of a particular text
- ‘Related’ – list of all IM references and persons occurring in a given text, all linked to the corresponding items
in the database
DBMNT Text search
The following search fields are accessible:
- DBMNT Text no.
- TM no.
- Provenance (list)
- Kingdom/region (list)
- Findspot
- Excavation no.
- Present location (list)
- Museum no.
- Date – the search of dates offers three options:
- ‘contains’ is destined for searching for concrete dates, e.g. 17 February 1159, February 1159, or 1159; however, the search will also return all records that have a given numeral as their date-range limits (e.g. searching for 999 will produce results for the exact year 999 CE, but also those for the period 700–999, 800–999, etc.
- ‘strict’ can be used for searching for texts dated to a precise time-range, meaning also dates that fall within the requested period; e.g. searching for texts dated to 700–799 will also return records dated to 786, 700–750, and 750–775
- ‘non-strict’ search works like the previous option, but the results also include records with dates that overlap with either end of the searched time-period; e.g. searching for texts dated to 700–999 will also return those with the dates in 600–899, 650–1050, or 900–1399
The ranges should be typed in as two numerals separated by a space. Following the Trismegistos usage,
full centuries should be given in the format ‘700 799’, ‘800 1299’. For ranges starting or ending in the middle of a century
the formats ‘900 950’ and ‘950 999’ work; those representing the beginning or ending of a century are rendered as ‘1125 1175’ and
‘1175 1199’; for objects dated at the turn of two centuries, the format ‘1075 1125’ is applied.
- Medium (list)
- Material (list)
- Technique (list)
- Type of text (list)
- Language (list)
- Contents
- Chronological systems (list)
- Bibliography – search in the fields ‘Latest edition’, ‘Other editions’, and ‘Other publications’
- Offices & titles
- Toponyms & ethnonyms
- DBMNT Person no. – search for texts in which a given person occurs
- Person – search for texts in which a given person occurs
- DBMNT Name no. – search for texts in which a given name occurs, regardless of its variant
- Name – search for texts in which a given name occurs, regardless of its variant
- DBMNT Identity Marker Variant no. – search for texts in which a given name variant occurs
- IM Variant (list) – search for texts in which a given identity marker variant occurs
- IMReference attestation – the search covers transcriptions, transliterations, and translations of identity markers; for standards of transcribing and transliterating, see here