What water-engineering device did Leonardo da Vinci study to raise water from a lower level?

Leonardo da Vinci studied the Archimedes’ screw as a device for raising water from a lower level.

An Archimedes’ screw uses a helical surface inside a cylindrical tube or trough. As the screw turns, pockets of water are carried upward along the spiral and released at a higher point. The machine can operate continuously, making it useful for drainage and irrigation.

The device is traditionally associated with Archimedes, the Greek mathematician who lived in the third century BCE. Leonardo did not originate the ancient principle, but his notebooks contain careful studies of water screws and related hydraulic machines, showing how Renaissance engineers revisited classical technology.

It should not be confused with a water wheel, which uses moving water to produce rotation. The Archimedes’ screw uses rotation to move water upward.