It Begins - First Experiences

My involvement with this Project started in January with a small note in a newsletter:
".....we are looking to determine where drains have been installed on the moorland. This will involve the use of divining rods, plenty of walking across the moor, and when water is indicated to be travelling underground, some exploratory digging will be required to find the drains. We are looking for a small team of volunteers who might be interested in taking up this challenge and helping us map these drains which were installed...."  up to 200 years ago!

10 People Gather

This morning, 10 of us met for the first time. The project leader and 9 interested people from a variety of backgrounds. 3 or 4 of us had tried dowsing with rods previously; one an ex landscape gardener who had successfully located field drains for his work. The project leader who had initiated the idea had only tried it in the yard recently.

There was a healthy skepticism with many having researched the Internet in the recent days. The question of , "How does it work", was on many tongues; but there was agreement that no scientific reasoning existed. However, all present were curious and enthusiastic.

After an hour of discussion around the project itself we headed out to the garden where a known drain passed under the lawn. We had a mix of rods (see previous post re Tools) and were able to have a go with a selection of different rods. It was a windy day and the lightest rods proved to be impractical; However, the results with the other rods were dramatic.

Some Do, Some Don't

Everything we had heard suggested that it simply does not work for some people whereas for others it can be quite strong.

As soon as we started experimenting, rods began crossing over the line of the drain. I was next to another member of the project (female) as hers began to cross. She had been extremely doubtful and her exclamation of, "No Way!", said it all as her rods crossed in front of her.  It really is an odd experience the first time it happens to you.

In that situation, all but one (male) of us experienced apparently independent crossing of the rods over the drain. The ultimate irony is that the one person who experienced absolutely no reaction in any of the rods was actually one who believed that it would work putting a point against the theory of some that, "You must believe in it".

I have mentioned male/female because there are suggestions in some quarters that it works for 80% of females and only 20% of males. In our little sample it was 3/3 female and 6/7 male rod movement experienced in the garden.

Meeting the Moors

After the garden experiment we all walked out to the bottom of the moorland where the project hopes to get results to discuss approaches and familiarise those who didn't know the area.
A biting cold wind immediately put the lighter rods out of play but we continued with experiments over culverts running under the track.
Here, results were less definite than in the garden. Most of those successful in the garden experienced movement but several not so strong and one of those (male) found no discernible movement in this new environment.
However; sufficient members of the group were experiencing rod crossings to give support to the continuation of the experiment at a later date.

Alignment

Angled

New to me was the idea that the rods line up parallel to the track of the target. I hadn't noticed this previously, having concentrated purely on the fact they crossed, but with this in mind observed that they did indeed line up.

360 Degree

I pushed the idea by standing over a culvert and turning 360 degrees on the spot and the rods crossed and opened twice; aligning across my body when facing across the track and opening to parallel when facing along the track.

This appears to demonstrate that a track will only be detected when crossing it and not when travelling along it.
Observing various people , the rods appear to cross when the feet are over the  target rather than the rods.  I intend to watch this carefully in future activities.

Questions with No Answers

I am particularly intrigued by the individual who experienced rod crossing in the garden but not on the moor. As we have no idea why or how it works when it does, it is impossible to make any conclusions about why there is such variation; However, these are thoughts that come to mind.

Are people responsive to different materials?
Was the garden drain metallic? The Moor drain was plastic and stone.
Could wet ground mask a water course? 

Two of us experimented on a known BT cable route where the cable is approx 6' under ground. My rods crossed, though not as strongly as in the other situations. The project leader experienced nothing.

Maybe I react to copper cables and he doesn't?

All questions and no answers but maybe time will give us more?