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Remains found under the floor of a church in the Netherlands may belong to the famous musketeer d’Artagnan.
Archaeologists believe these may be the bones of the ‘lost’ soldiers who inspired the heroes of the famous novel, The Three Musketeers.
Workers discovered a grave containing human remains, in front of the altar after part of the floor of St Peter and Paul Church in Maastricht had subsided.
Experts are now racing to determine through DNA testing whether the skeleton belongs to the famous French musketeer, Charles de Batz de Castelmore d’Artagnan, and several items found in the grave also provide the identity of its owner.
D’Artagnan became famous more than 150 years after his death when a fictionalized version of his exploits made him the protagonist of Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 novel.
The real-life musketeer served French King Louis XIV, eventually becoming captain-lieutenant of the Musketeers of the Guard.
The nobleman was killed on 25 June 1673, during the French siege of Maastricht in the Franco-Dutch War, after his throat was hit by a musket ball.
Transporting his body back to Paris in the summer would be difficult.
The church where the bodies were found stood near the French army’s campsite.
The body was also found with bullet parts next to it and coins dating from the relevant period, experts said.
A letter dating from around the time of his death said he had been buried in consecrated ground.
Jos Valke, deacon at St Peter and Paul Church, helped excavate the skeleton and is 99% certain that the remains are those of Charles de Batz de Castelmore – known as Count d’Artagnan.
The skeleton was discovered beneath the Church of St Peter and Paul in Maastricht. Photo: Reuters
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Valke joked: “Under the altar – there is no place more sacred than that. If you add it all up, it seems reasonable to us. But of course, nothing is certain yet.”
The church has previously been identified as a resting place for 17th century soldiers.
DNA taken from the jawbone is now being tested against the DNA of D’Artagnan’s descendants to see if there is a match.
Archaeologist Wim Dijkman told Reuters: “This has really been a top-level investigation, where we want to be absolutely certain, or as certain as possible, whether it was the famous shooter, who was killed near Maastricht.”
