ALTHOUGH the iron wheels had been furnished with spikes like a soccer boot, the earth compacting machine was still able to move by itself. With an incline of almost 30 degrees, the earth compactor still had to be hauled up by a vehicle on top of the slope. If not, there was concern that the machine would slide out of control from the top of the 100-meter-or-so hill.

In mid-July this year, the earth compactor was working on an inclined wall of a