What machine did Leonardo da Vinci design to raise water using a screw-shaped pump?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a machine based on Archimedes’ screw to raise water.

An Archimedes’ screw uses a helical surface inside a cylinder or around a shaft. When the screw turns, water is carried upward through the spaces between the helix and the surrounding casing. Leonardo studied and drew screw-based water-lifting machinery as part of his interest in hydraulics.

The underlying principle is much older than Leonardo. The device is traditionally associated with Archimedes of Syracuse, who lived in the third century BCE. Leonardo’s contribution was to study, adapt, and illustrate mechanical forms rather than invent the basic screw pump.

The machine could be useful for irrigation, drainage, and moving water through canals. It is distinct from Leonardo’s screw-operated lifting devices for heavy loads, which use mechanical advantage to raise objects rather than transport water.