A retaining wall is made from a plurality of blocks arranged in rows superimposed on each other and pinned together. Each block has a body with an exterior face and rearwardly diverging side walls joined to a neck. A head having outwardly directed ears is joined to the neck. The body has holes and pockets for pins that interlock overlapped blocks together. A finishing block having a flat top surface is used to construct the top layer of the wall. A geogrid tie-back sheet having slots is located between layers of blocks and anchored to the pins stabilizes the wall.