What type of machine did Leonardo da Vinci design to lift water?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a water screw as a machine for lifting water.

Leonardo studied and drew screw-based devices for moving water, building on the much older principle associated with the Archimedes screw. A rotating helical surface traps water and carries it upward along an inclined tube or trough. The mechanism can be powered by a person, animal, or other source of rotation.

Leonardo’s contribution was not the original invention of the water screw; ancient Greek tradition credits Archimedes with the basic device. Leonardo’s notebooks show his continuing interest in improving machines for irrigation, drainage, and hydraulic engineering.

The water screw remains useful because it can lift water gently and handle solids better than some pumps. Modern versions are used in wastewater treatment and low-head pumping. This makes Leonardo’s study part of a long engineering tradition rather than an isolated Renaissance invention.