Which Leonardo da Vinci water machine used a screw to raise water?

Leonardo da Vinci studied and sketched an Archimedes' screw, a machine that raises water through a rotating spiral.

The Archimedes' screw predates Leonardo by many centuries and is traditionally associated with the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes. Its basic form consists of a helical surface inside a tube or around a central shaft. When the screw turns, pockets of water move upward along the spiral. Leonardo did not invent the principle; he investigated it as part of his wider work on hydraulics.

Leonardo's notebooks contain studies of water flow, canals, pumps, locks, and machines for lifting water. His versions show how Renaissance engineers adapted ancient mechanisms to practical projects such as irrigation, drainage, and construction.

The key distinction is between invention and redesign. Leonardo is famous for proposing original machines, but he also analyzed older technologies and improved their drawings or applications. Calling the screw “Leonardo's invention” would be incorrect; the accurate answer identifies the ancient mechanism he studied.