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Skeleton found in Maastricht church may be d'Artagnan
Workers repairing a church in Maastricht found a 17th century skeleton with a French coin and a musket ball that match accounts of d'Artagnan's 1673 death, and DNA testing is now under way.
Mar 25th 2026 · Netherlands
Insights
- Skeleton was uncovered under the altar of St Peter and St Paul church in Maastricht during floor repairs.
- A period French coin and a musket ball at chest level were found with the remains, matching historical accounts of the 1673 death of Charles de Batz-Castelmore.
- Archaeologist Wim Dijkman, who has searched for d'Artagnan for decades, was called in to lead the investigation.
- The bones were moved to an archaeological institute in Deventer and a DNA sample was sent to a laboratory in Munich for analysis.
- DNA results will be compared with descendants of d'Artagnan's family and the identity remains unconfirmed pending those results.
Sources
- Musketeer d'Artagnan's remains believed found under Dutch church www.bbc.com
- Skeleton of famed musketeer possibly found in Dutch church www.cbsnews.com
- Skeleton of Three Musketeers hero d’Artagnan may have been found www.theguardian.com
- Lost remains of French musketeer d’Artagnan may have been found in Dutch church www.scmp.com
- Skeleton found in Dutch church may be famous musketeer D'Artagnan – video www.theguardian.com