Historians Uncover a Surprising Link to a Literary Hero

Quick Smiles:

• A skeleton discovered beneath the Church of Peter and Paul in the Netherlands may be the real d’Artagnan.
• Charles de Batz de Castelmore served as a close aid to King Louis XIV before his death in the 17th century.
• The grave included a musket ball and a rare coin from 1660 found near the former altar.

Researchers believe they have finally located the remains of the man who inspired Alexandre Dumas’ legendary character in The Three Musketeers.

The discovery occurred during routine tile repairs at the Church of Peter and Paul in Wolder, uncovering a skeleton in sacred ground.

Deacon Jos Valke noted the significance of the burial site, explaining that only individuals of high rank were permitted to be buried near where the altar once stood.

Artifacts found within the grave have provided compelling physical evidence linking the site to the historic Count d’Artagnan.

“We prized up some loose flagstones to carry out repairs and we saw there was a skeleton in sacred ground near where the altar used to be,” Deacon Jos Valke told the London Times.

“He was buried on sacred ground below where the altar was; we found the musket ball that put an end to his life and we found a coin from 1660 in his grave, and it was from the bishop who attended Mass for the Roi Soleil,” he told the BBC.

Archaeologist Wim Dijkman, who has spent two decades researching the Count’s fate, is overseeing DNA testing and age assessment of the remains.

This scientific analysis aims to confirm if this discovery solves one of the most enduring mysteries in literary and military history.

While the Three Musketeers themselves were creations of fiction, the real Charles de Batz de Castelmore was a celebrated elite soldier.

This find brings a tangible connection between a beloved classic story and the actual events of the Siege of Maastricht.

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