Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
An 1832 traveler’s account of rural Ireland remarks on the use of pottery called “redware" produced by small, local potteries. The traveler predicted that this pottery would be replaced by factory-made pottery. As a matter of fact, economic historians have assumed that all the redware potteries closed during the 1840‘s. The recent discovery, through archaeological investigation, that redware was still in use in the 1860‘s does not disprove the historians’ assumption, because ________.
So basically, we need to find a strengthener which would substantiate the fact that usage of redware is not equal to production of redware. Because, "Economic historians have assumed that all the redware potteries closed during the 1840‘s."
A. the redware potteries are not mentioned in any government tax records from the 1800‘s, and none of the potteries’ own records, if there were any, survive - irrelevant.
B. factory-made pottery was found at the sites where redware was found, and it was in use there at the same time as redware - irrelevant.
C. the few nineteenth-century writings that mention redware all predate the 1840‘s - irrelevant.
D. redware pottery was known for its exceptional durability - ok. They were not produced after 1840's but the one produced in or before 1940's was very durable and people kept using it.
E. the sites where the redware was found were cottages that were abandoned about the middle of the 1860‘s - But still doesnt clear weather it was produced after 1940's or not.