What Leonardo da Vinci design used a screw mechanism to press water upward?

Leonardo da Vinci studied and designed versions of Archimedes’ screw to press water upward.

An Archimedes’ screw is a helical surface wrapped around a central shaft inside a tube or trough. When the shaft turns, pockets of water are carried upward along the spiral. The device can lift water for irrigation, drainage, and other engineering tasks. Leonardo’s notebooks contain studies of screw-based mechanisms and hydraulic machines.

The underlying principle was not invented by Leonardo. It is traditionally attributed to Archimedes, the ancient Greek mathematician and engineer, although the exact origin of the device is debated. Leonardo’s contribution was to examine, draw, and adapt mechanical principles with characteristic attention to geometry and practical construction.

This water-lifting screw is different from Leonardo’s aerial screw, which was a proposed flying machine. Both use a helical form, but the hydraulic device moves water and the aerial design was intended to generate lift. The shared shape can therefore cause a common mix-up.