What waterway mechanism did Leonardo da Vinci improve using a screw to raise water?

Leonardo da Vinci studied and improved the Archimedes’ screw, a mechanism for raising water.

The device consists of a helical surface inside a tube or around a central shaft. When rotated, it carries water upward from a lower level to a higher one. Leonardo’s notebooks contain studies of screws, pumps, and hydraulic machinery, showing how he analyzed the geometry and movement of water.

The underlying invention was ancient and is traditionally associated with Archimedes of Syracuse, who lived in the third century BCE. Leonardo therefore did not originate the basic screw pump, but he investigated versions of it for Renaissance engineering.

Archimedes’ screws remain useful for drainage, irrigation, and wastewater movement. Their action is often compared with a rotating conveyor, though the transported material is water rather than solid objects.