Robbers of the Dead

You set up picks to prevent the blocks from moving as you dig. You dig a hole just large enough for the block to fall into. Then you cut a slope into the dirt just beneath it. You get out of the hole, remove the picks and then the granite block falls into the hole. You repeat this for the next three blocks of granite. You are now past the first obstacle. You are at a cross road. Do you go up or down?