The Middle and Late Pleistocene sedimentary and climatic sequence at Maastricht-Belvédère: the Type Locality of the Belvedere Interglacial T. van Kolfschoten Institute of Prehistory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands W. Roebroeks Institute of Prehistory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands J. Vandenberghe Institute of Earth Sciences, Free University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands Van Kolfschoten, T., Roebroeks, W & Vandenberghe, J., 1993: The Middle and Late Pleistocene sedimentary and climatic sequence at Maastricht-Belvédère: the Type Locality of the Belvédère Interglacial. - Meded. Rijks. Geol. Dienst, 47, p. 81-91 Keywords: Stratigraphy, Middle and Late Pleistocene, Belvédère Interglacial. Manuscript submitted: January, 1992 Abstract Trie Middle and Late Pleistocene sedimentary sequence at Maastricht-Belvédère shows braided-nver deposits at its base, which are covered by sediments from a meandering river system that were deposited during a pre-Eemian intergtacial In turn these sediments are covered by loamy deposits. The Luvisol in the upper part of the loamy sediments has been interpreted as the Eemian/Rocourt soil, which separates the Saalian deposits from the overlying Weichselian deposits. The fluvial sequence shows a cyclicity that is typical of alternating temperate and periglacial environmental conditions. The fluvial development has resulted in the formation of the Caberg terrace. Periglacial phenomena have been observed at four different levels: they represent four cold phases, two of Saalian and two of Weichselian age. The combined palaeo-ecologica! evidence of the mollusc- and vertebrate fauna from the upper part of the fluvial deposits indicates interglacial conditions and a (partly) wooded environment during the warm phase which has been called the Belvedere Interglacial. Human occupation mainly took place during the climatic optimum of the Belvedere Interglacial. The middle palaeolithic industry with its Levai lois recurrent technique is amongst the earliest middle palaeolithic ones in Northern Europe. The stratigraphical position of the Belvedere Interglacial is discussed. The mammalian faunas from the Pleistocene sequence and the geological evidence indicate an intra Saalian age A correlation of the Belvedere Intergtacial with the Hoogeveen Interstadial remains uncertain and problematic. The radiometric dates of burnt flints give an age of 250 ± 20 ka for the Belvedere Interglacial which indicates a correlation with stage 7 of the Oxygen Isotope record. This correlation seems to provide 'the best fit' at the moment despite the discrepancies discussed. MixtricM-Belvédire II-MedidelingenlliHsGsologactie Dienst Nrt7 1993 81