What type of machine did Leonardo da Vinci design to lift water using a rotating screw?

Leonardo da Vinci studied and designed versions of Archimedes’ screw to lift water using a rotating screw.

An Archimedes’ screw consists of a helical surface inside a cylinder or around a shaft. As the screw turns, water is carried upward along the helix. Leonardo drew water-lifting machines based on this ancient principle while investigating irrigation, drainage, and hydraulic engineering.

The key historical point is that Leonardo did not invent the underlying screw. The device is traditionally associated with Archimedes of Syracuse, who lived more than a millennium before Leonardo. Leonardo’s contribution was studying, adapting, and illustrating mechanical forms suited to Renaissance engineering problems.

The machine is sometimes confused with a water wheel because both can appear in pumping systems. A water wheel converts flowing water into rotary motion, while an Archimedes’ screw uses rotation to move water upward.