Pile Migration :::: chapter four, page 7

Inverted Piles also use many of the same tools as the conventional pile. The shovel and wheel-barrel are common allies in the development of both holes and piles.

One could even assert that all man-made holes, inherently, create piles. The excess matter extracted from a hole is often pitched aside to form a pile at the rim of the hole. We then begin to approach the greatest of philosophical inquiries: Which came first, the hole or the pile? Do piles and holes manifest a balance of universal energy – the pile maximizing exterior consciousness and the hole maximizing inner consciousness?

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You can move a pile with your bare hands or an atomic bomb. The preferred method usually falls somewhere in-between. One of the oldest and most reliable approaches is the beloved shovel. Dating back to the 10th century B.C., the age of the shovel allows for a decent estimate of the antiquity of man-made piles. The pile must be at least as old as the shovel, right? The pile's role in the invention of the shovel even presents a decent argument. In this section we will detail several reliable, time-tested tools for pile migration and to what types of piles they are best-suited to move. Also included in this section will be more radical options for adventurous migrators. The tools mentioned in this section by no means comprise a definitive list of pile moving aids, and we enthusiastically encourage experimentation.

full-length pointed shovel

The classic shovel. This tool, as it is usually constructed, is approximately 4 feet (1.2 meters) in length with a strong and narrow wooden pole culminating in a wide-faced metallic spade. This shovel can be utilized in moving a great number of standard piles. In accordance with the strength of the operator, this tool is excellent for moving dense, heavy objects. For all practical purposes, the weight-bearing potential of this shovel is only limited by the user's strength. Partly for this reason, but also because of the acrobatics involved in its proper use, this shovel is one of the most labor intensive of the tools included in this book. Uninterrupted use of this tool for fifteen minutes or more is usually accompanied by a healthy amount of sweat.

This shovel is best-suited to piles of dirt or grainy, atomized matter. Dead weeds, sand and small rocks as well as semi-liquids such as wet concrete or mortar are all easily moved by this shovel. This tool can also be used in gaining leverage over stubbornly lodged pile impediments. By securing the head under a jammed object within a pile and applying sufficient weight on the opposing end, the object should be jarred loose. This shovel would be ill-appropriated to the migration of piles consisting of large, oblong or awkward objects. This shovel will prove to have difficulty moving objects greater in size than its metal head (usually around 8'' by 12''). This shovel cannot be used as effectively in shallow piles resting on hard surfaces. A short but wide pile of rubble resting on a concrete surface will be awkward to scoop up because of the pointed head.

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