 This term was variously used in succeeding centuries to refer to individuals of mixed Scandinavian-Celtic descent and/or culture who became dominant in west and south-west Scotland, parts of northern England and the isles.This alliance between the two cultures, which also took place in Ireland, may have been instrumental in saving the Gaels of Dál Riata from the fate of the Picts in the north and west.Evidence for Norse settlement in mainland Argyll is limited although the Port an Eilean Mhòir ship burial in Ardnamurchan is the first boat burial site to be discovered on the mainland of Britain.