[eartrumpet]

A lot easier to dig a 2 foot square hole 6 feet deep than a six by 3 foot hole 6 feet deep in that kind of ground.

It's easier to pull rocks out when digging a ditch than it is when digging a posthole.

[Alas Babylon!]

Good point! It’s not like they had a gas-powered auger, is it?

I guess it depends on the tools you use. Maybe they dug the hole a little wider, to accommodate a couple of sinewy youths who could jump in and wrestle rocks out?