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Abstract. Organic and clay indicators were measured to characterise the burial and thermal history of Devonian through Upper Carboniferous siliciclastic and carbonate rocks in the Rheno-Hercynian zone of the Variscan orogeny in Moravia (eastern Czech Republic). The very low-grade metamorphism is documented by the illite crystallinity (IC) and vitrinite reflectance (R r ) in the inner part of the thrust and fold belt in the NNW. Application of forward thermal modelling suggests maximum palaeo-temperature of 240-360 • C and burial depth of 4-9 km. In the Variscan foreland in the SSE the IC and R r values are typical of diagenetic conditions with maximum palaeo-temperature of 80-130 • C. The distribution of both clay and organic maturity parameters is interpreted as a result of pre-and syn-tectonic thermal exposure of the rocks due to burial by a wedge-shaped body of thrust sheets thinning towards the Variscan foreland where only sedimentary burial was effective. The amount of uplift and denudation increases from the foreland to the RhenoHercynian thin-skinned thrust and fold belt.

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