ABSTRACT
A s is w e l l k n o w n , the historian's w o r k lies i n resolving the confl ic t resulting f rom the personal selection o f the causes and facts used i n the reconst ruct ion o f the his tor ical discourse, and the need for this discourse to be objective and coherent. I consider that the ' reconst ruct ion ' o f the transit ion between the s ixth and tenth centuries i n the n o r t h and west o f the Iberian Peninsula represents a paradigm o f this confl ict . The re is still no consensus amongst historians about a series o f interrelated his torical problems w h i c h arise i n this pe r iod . In this chapter at tention w i l l be focused u p o n the problems posed by architecture and decorative scu lpture. 1 T h i s is a f ie ld o f study w i t h a l o n g his tory o f research whose or igins are to be found i n the history o f art and the 'ant iquar ian ' t rad i - t i on o f archaeology. T h i s is o p e n to c r i t i c i sm, but i t must be remembered that it is the very basis o f ou r knowledge and consequently affects all subsequent techniques o f research that migh t be considered more advanced and more 'archaeological ' .
