Leonardo da Vinci designed a water screw to lift water, building on the ancient Archimedes screw.
The water screw uses a helical surface arranged around a central shaft. When the screw turns, water is carried upward along the spiral and discharged at a higher level. Leonardo studied and drew screw-based water-lifting mechanisms as part of his broader interest in hydraulics and canal engineering.
The underlying principle was not invented by Leonardo. It is traditionally associated with Archimedes, who is said to have developed the device in the third century BCE. Leonardo’s contribution was to examine, adapt, and depict such mechanisms in Renaissance engineering studies.
This device is distinct from Leonardo’s aerial screw, a proposed flying machine with a vertical spiral surface. The water screw moves liquid upward; the aerial design was intended to generate lift in air. Similar screw pumps remain useful for drainage and wastewater systems.