“Terracotta …, Amulet in the form of a cylinder seal … This terracotta object is an example of the kind of thing that is so crude that no one wants to publish it, with the incidental result that we probably have a somewhat distorted idea of the average standard of production in some periods; many authentic amulets or seals of this quality have probably been presumed to be fakes.”
Julian Reade's comment defines precisely the opinion held by archaeologists regarding clay seals. It also helps to explain why museums and private collectors have not acquired clay seals which were generally regarded to be, if not crude and insignificant, possible forgeries. The number of clay seals excavated in archaeological sites impels us to examine them more thoroughly than has been the case so far.