What water-lifting machine did Leonardo da Vinci sketch as a screw-shaped pump?

Leonardo da Vinci sketched an Archimedes’ screw as a water-lifting machine with a spiral blade inside a tube. Turning the screw carries water upward, allowing it to be moved from a lower level to a higher one.

The device was already ancient when Leonardo studied it. It is traditionally attributed to Archimedes of Syracuse, who lived in the third century BCE. Leonardo’s notebooks contain detailed studies of screws, pumps and hydraulic systems, showing how the ancient principle could be analyzed and adapted.

An Archimedes’ screw differs from Leonardo’s famous aerial screw. The Archimedes’ screw moves water, while Leonardo’s aerial-screw sketch was a proposed flying machine. Confusing the two can produce an incorrect answer to questions about Leonardo’s inventions.

Modern versions are still used for irrigation, drainage and wastewater treatment. Their rotating flights can move liquid efficiently while allowing solids to pass through, which is useful in sewage facilities.