What water-lifting machine did Leonardo da Vinci adapt from an ancient screw principle?

Leonardo da Vinci studied and drew Archimedes’ screw as a water-lifting machine.

An Archimedes’ screw consists of a helical surface inside a tube or around a cylinder. When the screw turns, pockets of water move upward along the spiral. The device can raise water for irrigation, drainage, or other hydraulic work.

The principle is traditionally associated with Archimedes of Syracuse, who lived in the third century BCE. Leonardo did not originate the ancient concept, but his notebooks show detailed interest in screws, pumps, and machines for moving water.

The Archimedes’ screw is different from Leonardo’s aerial screw. The former transports water along a spiral; the latter was a proposed flying machine intended to push against air.