People across Europe were enraptured when the potential bones of Count d’Artagnan — the soldier who inspired the legendary fourth musketeer from Alexandre Dumas’ iconic 1844 novel, “The Three Musketeers” — were unearthed in the Netherlands in March. But genetic testing to prove that the bones belong to d’Artagnan has run into several problems that could make getting a definitive answer difficult.
The skeleton was found under the chapel floor of St. Peter and Paul’s Church in the Dutch village of Wolder. The bones were “buried with a 17th-century coin and a musket ball,” and the finding has “drawn a deluge of unaccustomed attention to the village,” said The New York Times. The count, a “close aide to France’s Sun King Louis XIV,” was “killed during the Siege of Maastricht in 1673,” said the BBC.
Since the bones’ discovery, there has been a push to confirm their identity using DNA testing. But “genetic verification to prove whether the skeleton is that of d’Artagnan has run into bureaucratic troubles” and technical obstacles, said National Geographic. The municipality of Maastricht suggested they were unearthed in an illegal excavation, and a slew of “scientific obstacles” have “cast doubt on whether the bones’ identity will ever be known,”
Despite all the obstacles, most scientists believe there’s a “decent chance” it’s d’Artagnan buried under the church, said Ars Technica. “I have been researching d’Artagnan’s grave for 28 years,” said Wim Dijkman, an archaeologist who worked on the excavation, to the BBC. “This could be the highlight of my career.” |
