Tucked away in the Wolder district of Maastricht in the Netherlands stands a remarkably well-preserved church whose origins may date back as far as the 11th century. Known as St Peter and Paul Church, this ancient place of worship had largely faded into obscurity until a dramatic discovery earlier this year thrust it back into the spotlight.

In February 2026, a section of the church floor unexpectedly gave way during what had appeared to be routine maintenance work. As workers were breaking up the collapsed section of flooring, they stumbled upon something quite extraordinary — a human skeleton lying beneath the ancient tiles. Alongside the remains, they came across a French coin dating from around 1660 and a small lead bullet, both of which could turn out to be crucial pieces of evidence.

Archaeologists are now looking into whether the skeleton might belong to one of history’s most celebrated soldiers, known as D’Artagnan. Had he not devoted his entire life to serving the French crown, his name might never have gone down in history. Rising through the ranks, he eventually became captain-lieutenant of the elite corps of musketeers under King Louis XIV.

D’Artagnan is perhaps best known as the real-life inspiration behind the swashbuckling hero of Alexandre Dumas’s iconic novel The Three Musketeers, published in 1844. Were it not for Dumas’s novel, D’Artagnan’s story might have faded into obscurity altogether.

D’Artagnan met his end in Maastricht on 25 June 1673, during the Franco-Dutch War, after being struck in the throat by a musket ball. Given that transporting his body back to Paris in the summer heat would have been virtually impossible, soldiers most likely buried him swiftly in consecrated ground close to the church.

Scientists are currently carrying out a meticulous investigation at a specialist laboratory in Munich. DNA extracted from the skeleton’s jawbone is being compared with genetic material from a living descendant of the De Batz family. Should the results come back positive, they would finally put to rest a mystery that has puzzled historians and literary enthusiasts alike for more than 350 years.