What rotating device did Leonardo da Vinci design to lift water from a lower level?

Leonardo da Vinci studied and designed versions of the Archimedes’ screw for lifting water.

An Archimedes’ screw is a helical surface inside a tube or trough. As the screw rotates, water trapped between the spiral and its casing moves upward. Leonardo examined this ancient machine and drew improved forms as part of his wider investigations into hydraulics and mechanical power.

The device was not invented by Leonardo. It is traditionally associated with Archimedes of Syracuse, who lived in the third century BCE. Leonardo’s contribution was to study, depict, and adapt the mechanism within Renaissance engineering practice.

The screw could be useful for irrigation, drainage, and moving water through construction or industrial systems. It should not be confused with Leonardo’s aerial screw, which was a proposed flight machine. Although both use spiral geometry, the Archimedes’ screw transports water, while the aerial screw was intended to generate upward motion through air.