Mysteries from the annals of the ancient world have always fascinated people, and with the progress of science and technology, we are increasingly able to solve many of these mysteries, or at least shed more light on them.

One of the mysteries from the historic annals of the ancient world, has been the fate of the army of Roman general Marcus Crassus after the crushing defeat in the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC.

The Roman general Crassus was defeated by the Parthians, an empire occupying what is now Iran, after launching a military campaign to prove himself as a military commander, to his co-rulers and rivals in the First Triumvirate, both experienced generals, Pompey the Great and Gaius Julius Caesar.

An intriguing, but somewhat controversial theory was launched in academic circles by a professor of Chinese history at Oxford in 1955. Homer Dubs pulled together different stories, and suggested with references to official records that the village of Liqian in north-western China, was founded by Roman soldiers captured in a war between the Chinese and the Huns in 36 BC, remnants of the missing army of Roman general Marcus Crassus, according to the legend.


Legends told that 145 Romans were taken captive and wandered the region for years. Professor Dubs theorised that they made their way eastwards as a mercenary troop, which was how a troop "with a fish-scale formation" came to be captured by the Chinese 17 years later.

He said the "fish-scale formation" was a reference to the Roman testudo or "tortoise", a phalanx protected by shields on all sides and from above.

Recently scientist intrigued by this theory launched a major science-project where they have taken blood samples from 93 people living around Liqian, on the fringes of the Gobi Desert, more than 300 kilometres from the nearest city.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports;

The scientists are seeking an explanation for the unusual number of local people with Western characteristics - green eyes, big noses, and even blond hair - mixed with traditional Chinese features, and maybe they through the biological results they get, may shed some light on the fate of the remnants of Marcus Crassus army.

The blood tests are part of a project by scientists and historians after local authorities loosened control over genetic research. The results will be published in a scientific journal. But Professor Xie Xiaodong, a geneticist from Lanzhou University, cautioned against over-enthusiasm.

"Even if they are descendants of the Roman Empire, it doesn't mean they are necessarily from the Roman army," he said. "The empire covered a large area … so anything is possible."