Before 50 BC, glassware was scarce for Romans because production methods were time-consuming and expensive. One technique, called mould-cast glass, involved the laborious process of pouring molten glass into prepared moulds; the bowls shown here are most typical of this early Roman glass production. But around 50 BC, glass-blowing was invented in the Syria–Palestine region, revolutionizing the glass industry. Glass vessels could now be made cheaply and quickly, in vast quantities. Glassware for everyday use was soon mass-produced in factories throughout the Roman Empire.