More than 350 years after the death of the legendary Frenchman d’Artagnan, remains have been discovered beneath the floor of a Dutch church that may be his.

Joos Valke, a deacon at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Maastricht, helped excavate the skeleton and says he is 99% sure the remains belong to Charles de Batz de Castelmore, a close associate of the French king Louis XIV (the “Sun King”), who was known as Count d’Artagnan.

D’Artagnan was killed during the siege of Maastricht in 1673, but was later immortalized in Alexandre Dumas’s adventure stories as a companion of the Three Musketeers. Rumors had long circulated that his remains were buried in the church, but until now no proof had been found.

Deacon Valke told the BBC that no one had previously dug beneath the floor, but after some tiles broke, they decided to take a look. They first found a wall and then used a brush to dig deeper.

An archaeologist was then called in and discovered the skeleton directly beneath the spot where the altar had stood 200 years ago. “We fell silent when we found the first bone,” he said, adding that there were several indications suggesting the skeleton belonged to the right-hand man of the Sun King.

“He had been buried in consecrated ground beneath where the altar stood. We found the bullet that ended his life, and we found a coin from 1660 in his grave, which belonged to the bishop who conducted the service for the Sun King,” he said.

The archaeologist involved in the excavation remains cautious. “I am a scientist, but my expectations are high,” Wim Dijkman told broadcaster Omroep Limburg, adding that he prefers to wait for DNA confirmation of the skeleton’s identity.

A sample from the remains has been sent to Germany for analysis, while some of the bones have been transferred to the Dutch city of Deventer to determine the skeleton’s age, origin, and whether it is male or female.

“I have been researching d’Artagnan’s grave for 28 years. This could be the highlight of my career,” Dijkman said.

It is believed that d’Artagnan was shot in the neck while Louis XIV was attempting to capture Maastricht. The French army decided to bury him in the area due to the summer conditions, as their camp had been set up near the church, southwest of present-day Maastricht.

Although d’Artagnan was based on a real historical figure, the Three Musketeers were fictional characters, likely inspired by three members of an elite corps that protected the king and took part in military operations.