The pie is a very old dish, with some of the oldest dating back over 11,000 years, although pie pastry is rather more recent. Pies are also very versatile, coming in a whole range of types, and they can be both sweet and savoury. The pie served the original purpose of a foodstuff that was easy to transport - the casing surrounding the interior protected it and made it easier to transport. The pie as we know it today is a rather more recent invention. Some earlier pies used earthen pie cases, rather than pastry ones, which could then be reused. The pie would be used to keep food fresh for periods of time, or clean in unsanitary conditions. In the latter case, if the pie was made of pastry, the pie crust itself would be disposed of and only the actual filling would be eaten.
There are today different types of pies. The top crust pie, known as the cobbler, has the filling at the bottom of the dish, which is then covered by the crust. A filled pie is the reverse; the pastry is at the bottom of the dish and the filling is put into it. Two crust pies have pastry on both the top and the bottom of the pie, enclosing the filling, although it isn't unknown for the top crust to be a lattice of pastry rather than a complete crust. There are many different varieties of pie, used as desserts, snacks and savoury meals, with many different regional variations.
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