What Leonardo da Vinci machine was designed to lift water using a helical screw?

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

An Archimedes’ screw is a rotating helical surface inside a tube or trough. As the screw turns, pockets of water are carried upward along the spiral and discharged at a higher level. Leonardo explored this ancient hydraulic principle in his notebooks and considered applications for moving water.

The invention was not originally Leonardo’s: ancient Greek tradition associates the screw with Archimedes. Leonardo’s contribution was to study, draw, and adapt mechanical devices within his broader work on water engineering.

The screw differs from a water wheel. A water wheel is turned by moving water and can drive machinery, while an Archimedes’ screw uses rotation to raise water. Similar screw pumps remain useful today for drainage, irrigation, and wastewater handling because they can move large volumes at relatively low lift.