What type of pump did Leonardo da Vinci study for raising water using a rotating screw?

Leonardo da Vinci studied the Archimedes’ screw, a rotating screw used to raise water.

An Archimedes’ screw consists of a helical surface or flighting inside a cylinder or trough. When the screw turns, water is carried upward in the spaces between the helical surface and the housing. The device is traditionally associated with Archimedes of Syracuse, who lived in the 3rd century BCE, although the exact early history of the mechanism is debated.

Leonardo examined water-lifting machines and hydraulic systems in detail. His notebooks include studies of screws, channels, pumps, and the movement of water. These investigations helped him reason about flow and mechanical power, but they do not mean he invented the ancient Archimedes’ screw.

The device is often confused with Leonardo’s own hydraulic inventions. The precise answer here is Archimedes’ screw because the defining feature is the rotating helix that transports water upward. Modern versions remain useful for drainage, irrigation, wastewater treatment, and low-head pumping.