Research Note: Paper Squeeze Acquisition & Fragmentation Event

Project: Moabite Stone Research Initiative
Phase: Phase 1 - Discovery, Provenance & Physical History

1. The 1869 Squeeze Expedition

In November 1869, Charles Clermont-Ganneau, dragoman at the French Consulate in Jerusalem, commissioned Ya'qub Karavaca (an Arab agent) and Sheikh Jamil (Selim) to obtain a paper impression or "squeeze" (estampage) of the intact Moabite Stone at Dhiban before it could be damaged or seized by Ottoman authorities.

Karavaca was equipped with thick, absorbent filter paper, sponges, and water. The squeeze technique required soaking the paper pulp, applying it directly onto the inscribed face of the stone, and pounding it firmly into the carved characters using stiff brushes to create a three-dimensional reverse relief mold.

2. The Conflict and Tearing of the Squeeze

While Karavaca was pressing the wet paper pulp onto the basalt surface, a fierce brawl erupted between local Bedouin clans of the Bani Hamida tribe over expected monetary payouts and fears of impending Ottoman military reprisal. As weapons were drawn and spears used in the melee surrounding the monument, Karavaca and his escorts attempted a desperate rescue of the paper record.

While the paper squeeze was still damp and adhering to the stone, Karavaca forcibly peeled the wet sheets away, tearing the impression into seven primary ragged fragments. Karavaca sustained a spear wound to his thigh during the struggle, but mounted his horse, concealed the crumpled, damp paper fragments inside his robes, and escaped under fire back to Jerusalem. These seven torn, crumpled paper fragments constituted the sole complete textual record of the unbroken 34-line inscription.

3. Thermal Destruction of the Stele

Shortly after the squeeze expedition, Ottoman administrative pressure intensified when the Governor of Nablus and the Pasha of Damascus ordered the local Bedouin to surrender the stone to the government. Driven by resentment of Ottoman coercion, internal clan rivalries, and fear of losing their asset without payment, the Bani Hamida resolved to destroy the monument.

In late 1869, the tribe gathered at Dhiban and executed a process of thermal shock destruction:

1. Building a large wood bonfire directly beneath and around the black basalt slab until the stone reached a white-hot temperature.
2. Pouring cold water over the heated basalt, causing severe thermal contraction and shattering the monolith into fragments.
3. Striking the cracked pieces with heavy boulders and sledgehammers to break it into dozens of larger pieces and hundreds of small shards.
4. Distributing the fragments among clan elders to be placed in wheat granaries as fertility/protection talismans (barakah) or held as high-value assets for future negotiations.

4. Recovery of the Scattered Fragments

Following the stele's destruction, a multi-national rescue campaign commenced in early 1870:

• Charles Clermont-Ganneau (France): Working through Syrian Christian antiquities dealer Selim al-Qari, Clermont-Ganneau acquired 2 large basalt fragments and 36 smaller pieces, securing 613 letters on original stone.
• Captain Charles Warren (Britain / PEF): Acquired 18 small fragments containing 59 letters. Demonstrating academic collegiality, Warren transferred these pieces to Clermont-Ganneau to enable a unified restoration in Paris.
• Selah Merrill (APES): Documented tribal oral histories and mapped fragment distributions across Transjordan.