What type of mechanical device did Leonardo da Vinci design to lift water using a screw?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a version of Archimedes’ screw to lift water using a rotating spiral.

The device consists of a helical surface inside a cylinder or wrapped around a shaft. As the screw turns, water is carried upward along the spiral. Leonardo studied and drew screw-based water-lifting machines as part of his broader investigations into hydraulics and mechanical engineering.

The underlying invention was not originally Leonardo’s: the device is traditionally attributed to Archimedes, who lived in the third century BCE. Leonardo’s contribution was to examine, adapt, and document hydraulic machinery in detail. This distinction matters because Renaissance notebooks contain both original inventions and careful studies of much older technologies.