{{Short description|Archaeological technique}} [[File:Athenian Tribute List 15 (23110023429).jpg|thumb|An epigraphic squeeze of the Athenian tribute lists (reversed).]] 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.<ref name="TIH">Taking Inscriptions Home University of Reading, Ure Museum</ref>
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.<ref name="TIH" />
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<ref>(i) Archive of the Academies project ''Inscriptiones Graecae'' project (ca. 120,000), (i) the Lepsius archive and Berlin Dictionary project archive at the ''Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae'' project, https://www.bbaw.de/en/research/vocabulary-of-the-egyptian-language, https://aaew.bbaw.de; see https://aaew.bbaw.de/archive/lepsius-archiv/papierabdruecke (ca. 30,000), (iii) ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' project (ca. 20,000).</ref> and other epigraphic collections.
==See also== *Rubbing (art) ** Brass rubbing
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.asia.si.edu/research/squeezeproject/sq_making.asp Squeeze making] at the Smithsonian Institution ([https://web.archive.org/web/20151117014942/http://www.asia.si.edu/research/squeezeproject/sq_making.asp Archived here]) * [https://fromstonetoscreen.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/squeeze-making-in-the-athenian-agora/ Squeeze Making in the Athenian Agora] * Video showing how squeezes are made: "Wissens | Räume – Antikenforschung in Berlin", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFOsb7QRM2A (last accessed: March 1, 2026).
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Category:Epigraphy
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