Created by digging, or drilling downwards, wells obviously brought ease of access to cleaner and fresh water for villages. Some of the oldest known water wells of the world are located in Cyprus, Greece, dating as far back as 8,500 BC. In places such as Egypt, as well as India, irrigation tools such as the 'sakieh' were used to pull water up from a drive shaft and turning wheel. These could pull water from about 10 meters deep.