What ancient lifting machine did Leonardo da Vinci redesign with a screw mechanism?

Leonardo da Vinci redesigned Archimedes’ screw as a screw-based lifting machine.

An Archimedes’ screw consists of a helical surface inside a cylinder or wrapped around a shaft. When the screw rotates, water or another material is carried upward along the spiral. Leonardo studied and drew versions of this mechanism while investigating pumps, hydraulics, and the movement of fluids.

The machine was not originally Leonardo’s invention. It is traditionally associated with Archimedes of Syracuse, who lived in the third century BCE, although the exact history of the device is debated. Leonardo’s contribution was to analyze, adapt, and illustrate screw mechanisms for Renaissance engineering purposes.

The device is often confused with an ordinary screw or a modern propeller because both have spiral forms. Their functions differ: an Archimedes’ screw transports material along its axis, while a propeller pushes fluid or a vehicle through a medium. Leonardo’s studies also included other pumps, so the specific answer depends on the helical lifting design.