Slope failures are phenomena to be considered in a three dimensional space. In the paper a new 3D method of slope stability based on an extension of Bell equilibrium limit method is presented. An elliptical failure surface has been chosen and a computer code has been developed to evaluate the safety factor of the slope. Even if the results in terms of safety factor in a 3D analysis are less conservative than that given by a 2D analysis, in a back-analysis procedure the 3D method give more conservative shear strength parameters. This because the added stability due to boundary effects in a 2D analysis is wrongly attributed to soil shear strength. Results from the new method are given in form of stability charts for different soil properties and geometrical parameters.
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