Which Leonardo da Vinci invention concept used a screw mechanism to lift water?

Leonardo da Vinci studied and adapted Archimedes’ screw as a mechanism for lifting water.

An Archimedes’ screw consists of a helical surface inside a tube or around a shaft. When rotated, it carries water upward from a lower level to a higher one. Leonardo’s engineering notebooks contain studies of screw-based mechanisms and water-moving devices, reflecting his broader interest in hydraulics.

The underlying invention was ancient and traditionally attributed to Archimedes, who is generally associated with the third century BC. Leonardo therefore did not originate the water screw, even though he investigated its construction and possible applications.

This device is easy to confuse with Leonardo’s aerial screw because both use a spiral form. Their functions are different: the water screw transports liquid, while the aerial screw was proposed as a flying machine. The shared geometry does not mean they were the same invention.