Overview
- Workers repairing St Peter and Paul Church in Maastricht uncovered a tomb beneath the former altar after a February floor collapse, revealing a skeleton with period artifacts.
- Investigators took DNA from teeth and jaw on March 13, and a Munich lab is comparing the profile with living De Batz descendants to check for a family match.
- Items in the grave, including a coin dated about 1660 and a musket-ball fragment near the chest, fit accounts of d'Artagnan's 1673 death and point to a high‑status burial site.
- The skeleton is being examined at an archaeological institute in Deventer, and lead archaeologist Wim Dijkman says the evidence is promising but confirmation hinges on lab results.
- Local church officials express strong confidence while city leaders urge patience, noting that a verified identification would settle a long‑standing mystery with cultural significance for Maastricht and France.