This data set includes movies and images of sandbox experiments aiming at understainding the process of subduction erosion at active plate margins (Albert, 2013). Four experiments are documented by means of movies showing the evolution of a strong wedge (sand-sugar mix, “Reference experiment.avi”), a weak wedge (sand only, “F1 experiment.avi”) and two successive phases of a wedge that undergoes subduction erosion by subducting topographic highs (first stage without subducting topography= “HL.1 experiment.avi” and second stage with subducting topography = “HL.2 experiment.avi”). Images of preliminary tests and experiments not considered in Albert (2013) are given in “Appendix A2.2.pdf” (small box experiments) and “Appendix A3.3.pdf” (experiments varying friction and slope).