Over 40, 000 lead seals from the early Byzantine Empire remain today. Apart from the rare cases where the seal authenticated a document of special importance, most seals had served their purpose when the document was opened. Lead was not expensive, but it was not free: most lead seals would have been recast once they had served their purpose. Thus the number of early Byzantine documents sealed in such a fashion must have been many times the number of remaining lead seals. Which one of the following statements, if true, most strengthens the argument?
A: Most of the lead seals produced during the early Byzantine Empire were affixed to documents that have since been destroyed.
B: During the time of the early Byzantine Empire there were fewer than 40, 000 seals affixed to documents at any given time.
C: Most of the lead seals produced during the early Byzantine Empire were affixed to documents that were then opened during that period.
D: During the time of the early Byzantine Empire there were at most 40, 000 documents of enough importance to prevent the removing and recycling of the seal.
Choose A, B, C or D as your solution.
C