1. ArchAtlas workshops
We organise small productive workshops on themes in archaeology in which spatial processes are important, in order to bring together researchers to facilitate the exchange of ideas across disciplinary boundaries.

2. ArchAtlas Journal and Visual essays
We publish visual essays on our electronic Journal, which explore a wide range of archaeological problems and themes. The essays are based on ArchAtlas workshop presentations, occasional commissioned or submitted research, and the foundational contributions of Andrew Sherratt.

3. Digital atlas and visualisation projects
In partnership with other projects and groups, we aim to create a scholarly digital archaeological atlas (including sites, environments, cultures and chronologies), and explore different ways to visualise this information, for example with virtual globes like Google Earth.

ArchAtlas is based on the idea that past cultural processes across time and space are best explored and understood by visual means. Developments in digital mapping (GIS) and remote sensing have pushed forward the ability of archaeologists to visualise spatial and cultural processes together.

The themes that feature in ArchAtlas, focus primarily on prehistoric and early historical periods, and include, but are not limited to: the spread of farming, the formation of trade contacts, and the growth of urban systems. Remote sensing data and GIS techniques have been used to explain the locations of key archaeological sites and to integrate sites, cultural entities and contact routes with environmental data.

To make the visual essays in the eJournal easier to browse for new users, they have been grouped into 4 main themes, which you can browse from the 'Themes' menu list:

• Agriculture
• Routes, Trade & Exchange
• Settlement & Urbanism
• Visualising technology

This site is open and freely accessible to all users of the web, and includes both didactic content and current research. We encourage the use of the website, the visual essays and visualisation extensions in both teaching and research, and simply ask for due attribution to www.archatlas.org and the relevant authors. Images may be freely used in public presentations with attribution. Please see our Copyright and citation guide for more details.

The website and research projects are directed and coded from the Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, by Sue Sherratt, Deborah Harlan and Toby Wilkinson, while the Journal contributions come from a range of scholars worldwide. Please see the ArchAtlas People page for more information and contact details.

Every attempt is made by the project to ensure the factual content of the site. Occasional errors may creep in, especially with regard to co-ordinate data where accurate co-ordinates have only recently become available. It should be remembered that many of the essays are research papers which express the author's own opinions and interpretations and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ArchAtlas project or its team members. We also appreciate feedback and corrections to archatlas@shef.ac.uk.

The reference OpenAtlas involves an ongoing and time-consuming programme of co-ordinate verification. In the meantime, we try to indicate an estimate of the reliability (a combination of precision and accuracy) of particular co-ordinates provided.

ArchAtlas postcards are like online greeting cards that allow you to send messages to friends and colleagues. We hope that you find them fun and that they will interest new visitors to the site.