Excavations of soil and rock are one of the most important elements in

laying the subsurface structures. These excavations usually require excavation

support systems that have fundamental influence on the safety, profitability,

speed and quality of construction projects. Despite the great importance of the

support systems, most designers and contractors know very little about their

design and construction and they rely heavily on experience. The goal of this

paper is to present a review of excavation support systems available worldwide

and to survey the current state of practice in the local area (Nablus - Palestine),

including available types, reasons for failure, and methods of design and

construction of excavation support systems. This paper also suggested new

techniques that may be adopted locally as an excavation support system.

Conclusions of this study are presented and recommendations are suggested to

identify what research and development should be carried out to improve the

process of design and construction of excavation support systems.