Archimedes' screw the screw and casing could be cast together as a single piece in bronze. The design of the everyday Greek and Roman water screw, in contrast to the heavy bronze device of Sennacherib, with its problematic drive chains, has a powerful simplicity. A double or triple helix was built of wood strips (or occasionally bronze sheeting) around a heavy wooden pole. A cylinder was built around the helices using long, narrow boards fastened to their periphery and waterproofed with pitch. The screw was used predominately for the transport of water to irrigation systems and for dewatering mines or other low-lying
Archimedes (crater) near the rim. Scattered wisps of bright ray material lie across the floor, most likely deposited by the impact that created Autolycus. To the south of Archimedes extends the Montes Archimedes, a mountainous region. On the southeastern rim is the Palus Putredinis, a lava-flooded plain containing a system of rilles named the Rimae Archimedes, which extends over 150 kilometers. North-northwest of Archimedes stand the Montes Spitzbergen, a string of peaks in the Mare Imbrium. East of Archimedes is the crater Autolycus. Northeast of Archimedes is the prominent crater Aristillus. The lava plain between Archimedes, Aristillus, and Autolycus forms the Sinus