The first aim of this thesis was to extend the astronomical polarity time scale into the Miocene and to develop an integrated magnetostratigraphy and cyclostratigraphy for the middle to late Miocene marine record. The second aim was to establish an accurate chronology for the Miocene continental record on the basis of high-resolution magnetostratigraphic calibrations and hence to allow marine-continental correlations. The basis of all studies in this thesis lies without any doubt in extensive fieldwork. It is crucial that sections are sampled in sufficient detail; they need to be long, continuous, and must not show signs of hiatuses or drastically changing sedimentation rates.