In the Netherlands, an archaeologist was arrested for hiding d'Artagnan's remains
In the Netherlands, archaeologist Wim Dijkman was arrested , suspected of hiding bones that may belong to the legendary French musketeer Charles de Batz de Castelmore, the prototype of the famous d'Artagnan from Alexandre Dumas's novels.
Collage: hln.be
These remains — a fragment of a humerus and two teeth — were found in Maastricht in mid-March. It is believed that they may belong to d'Artagnan himself, who died in 1673 during the siege of this city by the troops of French King Louis XIV.
A conflict arose between the archaeologist and local authorities: since the find was made within the city, the municipality wanted to obtain the remains for further study. However, Dijkman took them for himself and kept them at home, claiming that he had handed them over to a reliable person and that they were in a safe.
Because of this, in May, the heritage protection inspection demanded the handover of the bones, but the archaeologist refused. As a result, he was arrested, but after he eventually handed over the remains, he was released.
According to some reports, signs were found at the discovery site that may confirm the high status of the buried person: for example, a French coin and a place under the altar in a church, where only important figures were buried at that time. It is also reported that bullet remnants were found in the skeleton's ribs, which corresponds to the known circumstances of d'Artagnan's death.
Final confirmation should be provided by DNA studies, which are not yet completed.