Archaeologists believe remains found in Maastricht, Netherlands, may be of soldier who inspired novel character

More than three-and-a-half centuries after a musket ball to the throat put an end to decades of exemplary swashbuckling, the French soldier who inspired Alexandre Dumas and went on to be immortalised on the stage and screen – not to mention as a plucky cartoon dog – may rise again.

Workers repairing a church in the Dutch city of Maastricht have discovered a skeleton that could belong to the 17th-century Gascon nobleman Charles de Batz-Castelmore – better known as d’Artagnan – whose exploits led Dumas to make him the hero of the Three Musketeers.

The real-life d’Artagnan was a spy and musketeer for King Louis XIV who died during the siege of Maastricht in 1673. Three hundred and fifty-three years later, the longstanding mystery of where the warrior came to be buried may finally have been solved, thanks to a set of bones found under a collapsed church floor.
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“He lay buried under the altar in consecrated ground,” he said. “There was a French coin from that time in the grave. And the bullet that killed him was lying at chest level, exactly as described in the history books. The indications are very strong.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/25/skeleton-three-musketeers-dartagnan-alexandre-dumas

"I'm a scientist, but my expectations are high," Wim Dijkman told regional public broadcaster Omroep Limburg, adding that he preferred to wait for DNA confirmation of the skeleton's identity.
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"I've already been researching d'Artagnan's grave for 28 years. This could be the highlight of my career," said Dijkman.
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The French army decided that as it was mid-summer they would bury him locally, and their camp had been set up close to the church in the Wolder area in what is now the south-west corner of Maastricht.

Although d'Artagnan was modelled on a historical figure, the three musketeers were fictional characters who may have been inspired by three members of an elite corps who provided protection for the king and took part in military action.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2rew2dgzzo