What kind of machine did Leonardo da Vinci design to lift water using rotating screws?

Leonardo da Vinci designed an Archimedes’ screw pump to lift water using rotating screws.

The Archimedes’ screw is an ancient water-lifting device consisting of a helical surface inside a tube or cylinder. As the screw rotates, water is carried upward along the spiral. Leonardo studied and redesigned versions of the mechanism, applying his characteristic interest in geometry, gearing, and hydraulic engineering.

The device was not Leonardo’s invention: ancient sources associate the screw with Archimedes, who lived in the third century BCE. Leonardo’s contribution was to analyze, draw, and adapt hydraulic machines for Renaissance engineering projects. His notebooks contain many studies of water flow, canals, pumps, and mills.

An Archimedes’ screw pump differs from a water turbine. A screw pump uses mechanical power to move water upward, while a turbine extracts energy from moving water to drive machinery. Modern screw pumps still appear in drainage, wastewater, irrigation, and low-head hydropower systems.