What water-lifting machine did Leonardo da Vinci design using a screw-shaped spiral?

Leonardo da Vinci studied and designed versions of the Archimedes’ screw for lifting water.

An Archimedes’ screw consists of a helical surface inside a tube or around a cylinder. When the screw rotates, water is carried upward through the spaces between the spiral and its housing. Leonardo examined the device as part of his broader investigations into hydraulics and mechanical power.

The machine was not Leonardo’s original invention. It is traditionally attributed to Archimedes, the Greek mathematician and engineer who lived in the third century BCE. Leonardo’s contribution was to study, draw, and adapt ancient mechanical principles for Renaissance engineering problems.

This device is different from Leonardo’s aerial screw, which was a flying-machine concept with a large spiral rotor. Both use spiral geometry, but the Archimedes’ screw moves water while the aerial screw was intended to generate lift.