The bearing capacity of square and rectangular shallow footings is typically
calculated using semi-empirical modifications of a strict solution to a strip footing over a weightless half-space. Two other approaches are presented in this paper for solving a problem of limit loads on a square footing. The kinematic approach of limit analysis is used first to arrive at the upper-bound solution, and the code FLAC3D is utilized to obtain numerical results for an elasto-plastic soil. The results indicate that assumptions made in 3D limit analysis provide significant restrictions on the velocity fields. Consequently, numerical results based on the FLAC3D code provide significantly lower, and therefore more accurate, limit loads.