Screw pump different applications and handling fluids with varying characteristics. Each ‘screw pump' operates on the same basic principle of a screw turning to isolate a volume of fluid and convey it. However, the mechanical design of each is different. The primary difference is the number of screws: one, two, three or more. The screw pump was described by Archimedes on the occasion of his visit to Egypt. This suggests that the apparatus was unknown to the Greeks before Hellenistic times. A cuneiform inscription of Assyrian king Sennacherib (704–681 BC) has been interpreted by Stephanie Dalley to describe casting water screws in
Archimedes written work of Archimedes has not survived as well as that of Euclid, and seven of his treatises are known to have existed only through references made to them by other authors. Pappus of Alexandria mentions "On Sphere-Making" and another work on polyhedra, while Theon of Alexandria quotes a remark about refraction from the "Catoptrica". During his lifetime, Archimedes made his work known through correspondence with the mathematicians in Alexandria. The writings of Archimedes were first collected by the Byzantine Greek architect Isidore of Miletus (c. 530 AD), while commentaries on the works of Archimedes written by Eutocius in the