What water-lifting machine did Leonardo da Vinci design using a helical screw inside a tube?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a water-lifting machine based on Archimedes’ screw, a helical surface inside a tube.

Leonardo studied and drew screw-based devices for raising water, adapting an ancient principle in his engineering investigations. When the screw turns, water is carried upward along the spiral and discharged at a higher level. Such machines can be used for irrigation, drainage, and moving water through canals.

The invention is not generally credited to Leonardo: the principle is traditionally associated with Archimedes of Syracuse, who lived in the third century BCE. Leonardo’s importance lies in his detailed Renaissance studies and proposed improvements, not in originating the mechanism. This water screw should also not be confused with his aerial screw, whose purpose was theoretical flight rather than pumping water.