ABSTRACT
Christian and Arab sources overlap, each pursuing a different interpretation of the eighth century and the accommodations that were established. The struggle between these two Visigothic groups was probably unfolding before the Arab/Berber landings in 711. Ibn al-Qutiya's account narrates events surrounding Wittiza's family and their cooperation with the invaders, where the sons retained crown lands and a form of royal status whilst paying tribute to Damascus. The advance of the Islamic forces up the Iberian Peninsula probably met resistance north of Zaragoza. The count of Maguelonne's son was also called Wittiza: a sign of his Visigothic pedigree and the durability of the Gothic memory and ancestry. Bovalar is an agglomeration next to a river with a basilica, whereas Puig Rom is a walled settlement on the hillside without a religious site. Both Bovalar and Puig Rom show evidence of imported ceramic and objects from the eastern Mediterranean and Byzantium.
