Archaeologists may have found the grave of the legendary “fourth musketeer”

Recent restoration efforts at a historic church in the Netherlands have led to a remarkable discovery—a skeleton that may belong to the legendary French Musketeer, d’Artagnan. Known formally as Charles de Batz de Castlemore, Count d’Artagnan, he is immortalized in Alexandre Dumas's classic novel, The Three Musketeers. This real-life military officer and spy met his end during a siege, with the location of his burial remaining a mystery for over 350 years. Earlier this year, the floor of the seventeenth-century Saints Peter and Paul Church suffered subsidence, causing cracks in the iconic blue tiles. In light of these repairs, church officials took the opportunity to investigate the rumors surrounding d’Artagnan’s potential burial site beneath the chapel. To their astonishment, they uncovered a skeleton, which may indeed belong to the famed Musketeer. Among the remains were fragments of a lead musket ball, which align with historical accounts of d’Artagnan being shot in the throat during a charge at Maastricht in June 1673. Additionally, a 1660 coin was discovered alongside the bones, further hinting at the significance of the individual buried there—typically, only prominent figures would be interred directly beneath the altar. While these findings are compelling, they do not definitively confirm the identity of the skeleton. A sample from the jawbone has been sent for DNA analysis in Germany, where it will be compared to the genetic material of d’Artagnan's living descendants. Meanwhile, forensic experts in Deventer are diligently studying the remains to determine the age and likely gender of the individual, inching closer to solving this historical enigma.