Almost no one recognizes this antique tool – are you one of the few who do? See More Below first comment

I’ll be the first to admit that I had no idea what the below tool was when I first saw a photo circulating on the internet.

Fortunately, however, there were people who did…

At first glance it looks like a regular, old tree branch, V shaped but otherwise quite unremarkable.

Yet its story as a useful tool for mankind goes all the way back to the 1500s, and a practice known as “Water Dowsing”.

As per reports, the water dowser has several names, including a “diviner”, “doodlebug”, “well witch”, or “water-finder.”

Its primary job? Yep, you guess it: to locate water!

An individual would hold both branches of the stick in each hand, palms facing upwards. The stem of the V (the bottom bit where the two rods meet) is then titled toward the Earth at a 45-degree angle.

The user then walks back and forth, supposedly looking for vibrations at the bottom of the V to promise signs of water hidden beneath the Earth.

Apparently, dowsing with metal rods was a process used to find metals in the ground during the 1500s, though people began to then use the same method to find water for new homeowners living in rural areas.

Watch the video below for more on Water Dowsing!

Did you know what this instrument was for? Let us know in the comments box.