An Egyptian astronomical device that enabled them to orient buildings accurately. Scroll to bottom for a picture. Maybe your vision is good enough to get more from the picture than I could.
http://www.du.edu/~jdoherty/merkhet.htm

As time went by, people devised portable aids to star watching that have survived for us to examine. Egyptians invented the merkhet, which was used by two observers facing one another. Each one held a merkhet, and they sat lined up so that one could see the north star just above the other's head. The second person then sat very still as the first one watched and recorded when stars passed by the top of the other's head, by his ear, shoulder, etc. In this way, astronomical positions were recorded so people could predict how the stars moved.

P.S. Dear etaoin: I can't understand the description of how the merkhets were used. If you can understand it, please post about it.