Record No.
MRB-2026-005662
Largest Hand-Dug Excavation on Earth
Architecture & Structures
No Photo
Record Holder
Big Hole, Kimberley
South Africa
Category
Architecture & Structures
Country
South Africa
(
ZA )
Achievement Date
—
Verification Status
Reference
Record Description
Between 1871 and 1914, diamond diggers using picks and shovels removed an estimated 22.5 million tonnes of earth from a single site in Kimberley, leaving a crater about 1.6 kilometres in circumference. It is often cited as the largest excavation ever dug entirely by hand.
Mega Record Book
This record is published in the
Mega Record Book global record database.