The Holstein or Holsteinian interglacial (German: Holstein-Warmzeit or Holstein-Interglazial), also called the Mindel-Riss interglacial (Mindel-Riß-Interglazial) in the Alpine region, is the third to last major interglacial in Europe before the Holocene, the present warm period. It followed directly after the Elster glaciation and came before the Saale glaciation, during the Middle Pleistocene. The more precise timing was historically controversial since Holstein was commonly correlated to two different marine isotope stages, MIS 11 (424–374 thousand years ago) and MIS 9 (337–300 thousand years ago). Recent scholarship has supported a MIS 11 date, spanning approximately 421-395,000 years ago.
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In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Holstein Interglacial
- Holstein Interglacial in the context of Marine Isotope Stage 9
- Holstein Interglacial in the context of Hoxnian Stage
Holstein Interglacial in the context of Marine Isotope Stage 9
Marine Isotope Stage 9 (MIS 9) was an interglacial (warm) Marine Isotope Stage. It was the last period of the Lower Paleolithic. Estimates of its dating vary. It lasted from 337,000 to 300,000 years ago according to Lisiecki and Raymo's 2005 LR04 Benthic Stack, whereas Rawlinson et al dated it in 2022 to between 328,000 and 301,000 years ago. It corresponds to the Purfleet Interglacial in Britain, and the Holstein Interglacial in continental Europe.
Views on its division into sub-stages also vary. A 2013 study divided it into two warm interstadials (9a and 9c) and one cooler stadial (9b), whereas a 2025 study had three warm sub-stages (9a, 9c and 9e) and two which were cooler (9b and 9d).
View the full Wikipedia page for Marine Isotope Stage 9Holstein Interglacial in the context of Hoxnian Stage
The Hoxnian Stage was a middle Pleistocene stage of the geological history of the British Isles. It was an interglacial which preceded the Wolstonian Stage and followed the Anglian Stage. It is equivalent to Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS 11). Marine Isotope Stage 11 started 424,000 years ago and ended 374,000 years ago. The Hoxnian is divided into sub-stages Ho I to Ho IV. It is likely equivalent to the Holstein Interglacial in Central Europe.
View the full Wikipedia page for Hoxnian Stage