The Three Witnesses is a dry-stack and megalith sculpture designed by Thea Alvin with input from Kristine Beck. The dry-stack walls were created by 12 people during a 10-day Dry-Stack Wall Building Workshop in October, 2014. The walls are built with limestone from the Bork Quarry on County Road M just about a mile from Kinstone. The megaliths in the structure are tillite and were all cut from a single, large, erratic boulder found in the Coldspring granite quarry at Rockville, MN. There is no mortar in the structure, including in the round opening called the Equinox Window through which the rising sun shines on Equinox, both spring and fall. It is critical that no one climbs on, pulls on, or touches the stones that are part of these walls. Please respect this space by viewing it with your eyes only. Thank you!!
The structure was begun on September 24, 2014 by digging the foundations and placing the megaliths. This was just a couple of days past the Autumnal Equinox, so Kristine took advantage of being able to view the position of the sun at sunrise relative to the center Witness in the walls to create a special equinox sunrise alignment. A 4 foot deep, 4 foot wide trench was excavated where the walls would be and the trench was filled with gravel. This “rubble trench” foundation is critical for the walls of the structure to withstand the frosts of winter in this climate. The center table and three megaliths were set into place during the process of filling the trench. When the center Witness was raised it was placed such that it would align directly with the Equinox sunrise – although the Equinox Window and indeed, the walls themselves, were not yet in place. The center table is polished which gives it a lovely reflective surface and allows for some amazing photographic opportunities. It often reflects the sunrise and clouds just like a lake would.
The walls were built from October 1 through October 10, 2014. Thea Alvin created the round Equinox Window by using a two-part circular form around which she set flat stones as if constructing an arch. The form was removed and the stones remained in place through the sheer force of gravity. She did it well as the window is centered on the line from Equinox sunrise to the center Witness as planned and the stones have stayed firmly in place.
This is one of the most iconic features at Kinstone and is a favorite of visitors from near and far.
