What rotating device did Leonardo da Vinci design to pump water from one level to another?

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

An Archimedes’ screw consists of a helical surface inside a tube or around a shaft. As the screw rotates, water is carried upward along the spiral. Leonardo’s engineering notebooks contain studies of water-lifting machines and screw mechanisms, showing how he applied the ancient principle to Renaissance hydraulic problems.

The device was useful for irrigation, drainage, and construction. Its operation is continuous rather than a single lift: each turn moves a new portion of water upward. The design also demonstrates Leonardo’s broader interest in canals, pumps, mills, and the controlled movement of fluids.

Leonardo did not invent the underlying principle. The device is traditionally associated with Archimedes, who lived in the third century BCE. Leonardo’s contribution was studying, adapting, and documenting mechanical versions rather than originating the ancient screw.