From the very beginning maps (and plans) have been one of archaeology’s most fundamental tools and since the beginning of the 1990s, the number, variety and prominence of these maps have increased dramatically as a consequence of the adoption of a range of digital technologies used to collect, visualise, query, manipulate and analyse spatial data. It is therefore surprising that whilst generalised critiques of mapping as a modernist practice have been ubiquitous, direct and focused critiques of ‘the archaeological map’ have been rare. This slow development of archaeological cartographic critique should be considered a missed opportunity given the growing dissatisfaction in other areas of the social sciences with the modern Western map and particularly its grand claim to represent "the world as it is”. We suggest that this multidisciplinary dialogue with anti/non-representational, more-than-representational, neo-pragmatist tones would undoubtedly enrich archaeological thinking. Moreover, archaeology could significantly contribute to this dialogue, thanks to its vast and multifaceted experience with maps and mappings as well as its well established tradition of thinking about cultures through the visual, material and other performative qualities of the images that they produce.

 Through a range of papers exploring issues such as: the critical historiography of the archaeological map; the map as assemblage; genres of archaeological mapping (e.g. performative, narrative, affective, playful); deep-mapping & counter-mapping; maps as a creative artistic process; maps and visual literacy; maps as story-telling; this conference seeks to not only scrutinise the archaeological map but explore the possibilities that are available for alternative archaeological mappings.