The typochronology of selected mounts of bridle and saddles found at Sösdala and Fulltofta in Scania is discussed. The parade bridle Sösdala I has mounts from different sources, one closely related to late Roman craftsmanship, the others to “Barbarian” settings. It is dated to the early Migration Period. The bridle Sösdala II is of lower quality and probably from the end of the Late Roman Iron Age. The Fulltofta bridle was probably produced in the Late Roman Iron Age but updated with silver covers in “Sösdala” style and deposited in the early Migration Period. Between seven and thirteen saddles were cut to pieces at Sösdala I. At Fulltofta only few remains of a saddle were recovered. The Sösdala mounts define a common “Sösdala saddle type” and the Fulltofta mounts define a rare “Fulltofta type”. The two types are placed in between earlier saddles of “Ejsbøl type” and later saddles of “Högom type”.

The research history of the Sösdala finds from the early Migration Period is reviewed. Many well-preserved mounts of a parade bridle and several saddles were found at Sösdala, Scania, in 1929–1930. The find was not presented internationally until 1937 when J.E. Forssander published his celebrated paper “Provinzialrömisches und germanisches”. But only the punch-decorated silver mounts became famous since they were used to define his “Sösdala style”. The outlook of other scholars was limited to the material published by Forssander and thematically research was restricted to questions about the origin and chronology of the Sösdala style. Research about the relation of the Sösdala finds to Late Roman provincial arts and crafts and to the Scandinavian “Nydam style” is treated.

The three finds of horse tack from Sösdala and Fulltofta can be approached from many different angles. To conclude the publication we have chosen to present reconstructions and comment on chronology, provenance and historical background. The workshop that produced the silver mounts of Sösdala I was probably situated at a centre somewhere in an area circumscribed by Untersiebenbrunn, Coşoveni, Crimea, Kačin and Jakuszowice. The deposition of dismantled horse tack on the top of gravel hills is explainable by references to Nomadic funerary rituals. The paper concludes with a “biography” of the three finds based on written sources and the archaeological record.

A background is given for six exclusive Migration Period finds from central Scania (Tormestorp, Sösdala, Göingeholm, Sjörup, Fulltofta and Claestorp). The area is delimited by uninhabitable horsts and situated in the northern more forested part of Scania. There is long settlement continuity but the archaeological record is relatively poor in comparison to the plains in southern and north-eastern Scania. The six finds mark something new in the area, a presence of warriors connected to the south-east European martial elite. The area is placed at the interface between two major polities in the south-west and north-east. Various reasons why elite warriors were placed here are discussed.