The object presented is a didactic model illustrating the functioning of Archimedes’ screw. It is a simple machine—a type of lifting device that enables water to be transported upward. The half-cylinder and adjacent screw are inclined at an angle of approximately 40° to the base. The screw was operated by a crank. When rotated, the screw lifted a ball upward. There are two holes in the half-cylinder: the ball enters through the upper hole and falls into the screw thread through the lower one.

In 1784, the instrument was part of the inventory of the Collegium Physicum as part of the Mechanical Department’s collection. It was described as follows: “The wooden screw of Archimedes, 1 foot and 2 centimeters in length, inclined to its base at an angle of nearly 40°. The cylinder of this machine is 4 centimeters thick, and the distance between the threads is 1 inch and 6 lines.”

This is one of the typical didactic models used in universities during the 18th and 19th centuries.