Squeeze paper

A squeeze or squeeze paper is a reverse copy of an inscription, made by applying moist filter paper and pushing into the indentations by percussive use of a stiff brush. The paper is allowed to dry and then removed. The image is reversed from the inscription, and protrudes from the squeeze paper.

The use of a squeeze allows more information to be gleaned than examining the original inscription, for example curves inside the cuts can identify the scribe who originally carved the inscription.^[1]

Squeezes can also (and some have been since the 1950s) be made by applying layers of liquid latex. This method works best on horizontal surfaces.^[1]

Modern digitising methods mean that the image can be restored to its original orientation.

Large collections of squeezes are held by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities^[2] and other epigraphic collections.