What type of machine did Leonardo da Vinci design to move water by rotating screw-shaped blades?

Leonardo da Vinci designed and studied an Archimedes’ screw, a machine that moves water upward through a rotating helical surface inside a tube or trough. The device is named after the ancient Greek mathematician and engineer Archimedes.

Leonardo’s notebooks contain studies of screw pumps and related hydraulic machinery. In operation, water enters at the lower end, and rotation carries it upward in the spaces formed by the spiral. The machine can be powered by people, animals, wind, or another source of rotation.

The Archimedes’ screw was not Leonardo’s original invention. Ancient sources traditionally connect it with Archimedes, who lived in the third century BCE. Leonardo’s contribution was to analyze, draw, and adapt screw mechanisms within his broader investigations of water engineering.

The device remains useful because it is simple, robust, and capable of handling water containing sediment or debris. It is used in drainage, irrigation, wastewater treatment, and fish-friendly pumping systems. Its operation is different from a water wheel: a wheel extracts energy from moving water, while a screw pump uses mechanical energy to move water upward.