Mount Saint Peter (French: Montagne Saint-Pierre; Dutch: Sint-Pietersberg), also referred to as Caestert Plateau, is the northern part of a plateau running north to south between the valleys of the river Geer to the west, and the Meuse to the east. The plateau runs from Maastricht in the Netherlands, through Riemst in Belgian Limburg almost to the city of Liège in Belgium, thus defining the topography of this border area between Flanders, Wallonia and the Netherlands. The name of the hill, as well as the nearby village and church of Sint Pieter and the fortress of Sint Pieter, refers to Saint Peter, one of the Twelve Apostles. Principal characteristics The plateau, of which Mount Saint Peter is part, is bounded on the east by the Meuse river (Dutch: Maas) and on the west by the Geer (Jeker). Since the 1930s, the Albert Canal divides the hill in two sections. Near the small Liège Province village of Lanaye (Dutch: Ternaaien), the canal cuts through the ridge over a length of and deep. The Lanaye locks at the eastern end of the cut permit boats to pass from the upper Meuse and the Albert Canal to the lower Meuse and Rhine basin. To the east of these locks the Meuse has altered its course, creating backwaters and old channels. Mount Saint Peter's limestone composition, its deposits of flint nodules and its geographic position make it a remarkable place. The locale has been mined for flint since Neolithic times. The network of mining tunnels extended by the 19th century but was severely shortened in the 20th century by surface mining. These days, Mount Saint Peter is considered an important nature reserve, as well as an area for recreation and tourism. History In the part of Mount Saint Peter that is in the Flemish municipality of Riemst, archaeological evidence of an Iron Age fortress has been found. The fortress is one of the strongest contenders for being identified as the fortress Atuatuca of the Eburones, which played an important role in Julius Caesar's commentaries on his wars in Gaul. Dendrochronological evidence was once thought to count against this proposal, but more recent review of the evidence has reinvigorated the idea. During the Middle Ages several castles were built on the hill, of which various ruins remain. The hill was favoured by attackers during the various sieges of Maastricht, most notably by Louis XIV of