sakia, mechanical device used to raise water from wells or pits. A sakia consists of buckets fastened to a vertical wheel or to a rope belt about the wheel, which is itself attached by a shaft to a horizontal wheel turned by horses, oxen, or asses.
Sakias made of metal, wood, and stone are found throughout the Middle East, especially in Egypt, where they provide the steady streams of water required for irrigation. Historically, they have also been used in palaces and gardens to fill fountains. Earthen pots used as sakia buckets, identified by fastening knobs and by marks from rubbing against the wheels, guard rods, or walls of wells, have been dated to the 2nd century ad.