Which Leonardo da Vinci design used a rotating drum to lift water?

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

The Archimedes’ screw is an ancient water-raising device consisting of a helical surface inside a cylinder or around a shaft. When the screw rotates, water is carried upward in the spaces formed by the helix. Leonardo’s notebooks include studies of screw pumps and related hydraulic machinery, showing his interest in adapting established principles for engineering projects.

The device was not invented by Leonardo. It is traditionally associated with Archimedes of Syracuse, who lived in the third century BCE, although the exact origin of the mechanism is debated. Leonardo’s contribution was his detailed analysis, drawings, and exploration of practical mechanical forms.

This distinction matters because Leonardo is often credited too broadly with every machine he sketched. His notebooks contain original proposals, improvements, and investigations of older technologies. The water screw is best understood as an ancient invention that Leonardo carefully studied and developed.