What water-powered machine did Leonardo da Vinci design to raise water using a spiral screw?

Leonardo da Vinci designed versions of the Archimedes’ screw to raise water using a spiral mechanism.

An Archimedes’ screw consists of a helical surface inside a tube or around a central shaft. When the screw rotates, water is carried upward along the spiral. Leonardo studied and drew screw-based water-lifting machines as part of his extensive work on hydraulics and engineering.

The device was not Leonardo’s original invention. It is traditionally attributed to Archimedes, who lived in the third century BCE. Leonardo’s contribution was to study, redesign, and apply related mechanisms in Renaissance engineering rather than to create the underlying idea from nothing.

The screw can be powered by people, animals, wind, or water, depending on the design. It is different from a water wheel, which extracts energy from moving water, while the screw primarily moves water from a lower level to a higher one.