Abstract <p>Rock is typically regarded as a strong and reliable foundation material. However, the presence of joints greatly reduces its stability. When foundations are constructed on jointed rock masses, their overall stability may be compromised depending on the orientation of the joints. The problem becomes more complicated when the rock mass is excavated and supported by a wall. This situation is common in practice but has not been studied much. This study investigates the impact of joint orientation, excavation depth, and foundation position on the load–settlement behavior, bearing capacity, wall displacement, and failure patterns of rock masses. To examine these effects, 2D laboratory physical model tests were carried out on orthogonally jointed artificial rock masses in both excavated and unexcavated conditions. The excavated models were tested at three depths and the foundation was placed at three different positions for each case. The results show that rock masses with a 30°–60° joint orientation had the lowest bearing capacity, while those with a 60°–30° joint orientation had the highest. The bearing capacity increased when the footing was placed farther from the wall and when the excavation depth was reduced. Settlement decreased under the same load. Finally, a novel analytical method is proposed to estimate the ultimate bearing capacity, taking into account these influencing parameters.</p> Highlights <p><UnorderedList Mark="Bullet"> <ItemContent> <p>2D scaled physical modeling study on jointed excavated and unexcavated rock mass.</p> </ItemContent> <ItemContent> <p>Effect of joint orientation, excavation depth, and footing position on bearing capacity.</p> </ItemContent> <ItemContent> <p>A&#xa0;novel analytical method to calculate bearing capacity&#xa0;is proposed.</p> </ItemContent> </UnorderedList></p>