[bert]

Here is a modern brass drill that uses corundum as a cutting agent. They are used in glass shops everywhere to cut round holes in glass.

[steveab]

here’s another article

‘The builders in ancient Egypt shaped many kinds of stone with consummate mastery. They were adept with the use of a variety of tools for manufacturing housewares, building stone and statuary; tube drills, straight saws, circular saws, lathes, and polishers. The marks left in the stone by these tools are the only available reliable source of information about these tools and how they were used. To date, no surviving examples of the actual tools used have been found. Neither have any written or pictorial records come to light which mention or describe their use.’

http://www.theglobaleducationproject.org/egypt/articles/stonetech.php

What did they use for power?