pottery was essential for cooking food in antiquity. although metal utensils made of bronze or iron were widely available in the roman period, simple, functional earthenware bowls, pans, casseroles and jars were an inexpensive and standard part of the equipment of every kitchen. from britain to egypt, from spain to syria, over the length and breadth of a vast empire, local pre-roman pottery traditions in simple cooking wares often continued without major changes for centuries. roman cooking pots therefore have to be studied on a regional basis. as well as the ordinary bowls and pans used for cooking, ceramic utensils were made for many specialised uses, such as the small cheese-press illustrated to the left of the group photograph of roman pottery from britain above. the two black jars to the left behind the cheese-press in the same photograph are examples of romano-british black-burnished ware, first made in south-west england in the late iron age, before the roman conquest: this ware continued to be popular throughout the roman period, and was made in greater quantities, and marketed more widely, under roman influence. other wares made in roman britain were crambeck ware, huntcliff ware, and nene valley colour coated ware, which was often decorated.