What simple lifting device did Leonardo da Vinci study using a threaded shaft to raise water?

Leonardo da Vinci studied the Archimedes’ screw, a threaded shaft used to lift water.

An Archimedes’ screw consists of a helical surface wrapped around a central shaft inside a cylinder or trough. As the screw turns, water is carried upward along the spiral. Leonardo drew and examined screw-based lifting machines as part of his broader studies of water engineering and hydraulic mechanisms.

The device was not Leonardo’s invention. It is traditionally associated with Archimedes of Syracuse, who lived in the third century BCE, although the exact early history of the machine is debated. Leonardo’s contribution was to analyze, depict, and adapt hydraulic devices in detailed Renaissance engineering studies.

The screw remains useful today for drainage, irrigation, and moving granular materials. Its operation is different from a water wheel: a water wheel is driven by flowing water, while an Archimedes’ screw is typically rotated to move water upward.