An Archimedes screw water irrigation method is still used in many parts of the world to raise water from rivers and canals to force it upwards until it poured out at a higher level to irrigate crops and fill water storage systems. The bottom of the screw is placed in the water fixed at both ends by rods seated in vertical support beams, catching the water in the ‘threads’ of the screw and winds it up to the top pouring a continuous flow of water out as it is cranked.
A cuneiform inscription of the Assyrian king Sennacherib (704 – 681BC) has been interpreted by Stephanie Dalley to describe the casting of water screws in bronze some 350 years earlier. This is consistent with the classical author Strabo who describes the Hanging Gardens of Babylon as watered by screws.
This ingenious innovation is still used in many parts of the world to irrigate small cultivated areas and by people choosing to live off the grid
Plant harvesters are a horizontal Archimedes Screw. The twisting motion of the screws pulls up the plants then the screw transports plants into a bin.
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