Charles of Batz-Castelmore, Count of Artagnan
More than 350 years after the death of the legendary French musketeer d’Artagnan, it is quite possible that his remains were found under the pavement of a Dutch church.
The deacon Jos Valkeof the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Maastricht, the Netherlands, says he is 99% certain that a skeleton he helped unearth is the remains of Charles de Batz de Castelmoreclose associate of the Sun King Louis XIV of France, known as Count d’Artagnan.
D’Artagnan was killed during the Siege of Maastricht in 1673, but would be immortalized as the “4th Musketeer” in the famous adventure stories of “The Three Musketeers” of Alexandre Dumas.
It had long been said that his remains were buried in the church, but until now no evidence had been founda.
According to the deacon, no one had dug under the pavement until now, but as some slabs had been brokendecided to “take a look”.
After they found a wall, they took a brush to dig further. At that time, an archaeologist was called to the site, who discovered the skeleton beneath the place where it had been an altar table 200 years ago.
“We were quite silent when we found the first bone”, said Valke, adding that there were several signs which pointed to the skeleton belonging to the Sun King’s right arm.
“He was buried in sacred groundbelow where the altar was; we found the bullet that ended his life and we found a coin from 1660 in his grave, and it belonged to the bishop who attended the mass for the Sun King“.
The archaeologist who participated in the excavation is more cautious. “I’m a scientist, but my expectations are high,” he said Wim Dijkman to regional public broadcaster Omroep Limburg, adding that he preferred to wait for DNA confirmation of the skeleton’s identity.
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The skeleton was found directly below where the altar table once stood.
A sample of the remains was sent for DNA analysis in Germany. Some of the bones were taken to the Dutch city of Deventer, where the age of the skeleton, its provenance and if you are male or feminine.
“I have been researching d’Artagnan’s tomb for 28 years. This could be the highlight of my career“, afirmou Dijkman.
d’Artagnan is believed to have been hit in the throat by a bullet with musket when Louis XIV sought to conquer Maastricht. The French army decided that, as it was midsummer, they would bury him locally.
The camp had been set up near the church in the Wolder area, in what is now the southwest corner of Maastricht.
Although d’Artagnan was inspired by a historical figureAthos, Porthos and Aramis, the three musketeers immortalized in Dumas’ novel, were fictional characterswhich may have been inspired by three members of an elite corps that provided protection to the king and participated in military actions.
