Archaeologist Wim Dijkman, who participated in the excavation of the remains of the alleged musketeer Charles Augier de Batz de Castelmore, the Chevalier dʼArtagnan, was detained by the police: he refused to return the bones to the municipality of Maastricht, Netherlands.
This is reported by the Dutch media NOS.
Dijkman has worked as a city archaeologist for the municipality of Maastricht for over forty years. He believes that the municipality interferes too much in the discoveries and that his efforts receive too little recognition. However, Maastricht maintains that the municipality is responsible for the project.
The discovery of the skeleton in a church in Maastricht made world news in March. Dijkman, who found the bones, even received an award a month later as the discoverer of the possible tomb of dʼArtagnan. The archaeologist has theorized for years that dʼArtagnanʼs remains lie in this church. DNA testing is expected to determine whether this theory is correct.
A DNA examination was recently carried out in Germany. Deikmanʼs contact brought a shoulder bone and two teeth to the Institute of Legal Medicine in Munich. The remains were later collected by an archaeologist. However, according to the Heritage Act, archaeological finds are the property of the municipality of Maastricht.
The archaeologist claims that the municipality offered to send the bones to the Netherlands by mail, but he considered it too dangerous. It is unclear whether they reached an agreement. Dijkman believes that he should be reimbursed for the travel expenses to Munich, which cost at least €500.
On May 20, the estate inspectors knocked on Deikmanʼs door. They demanded that he hand over the shoulder bone and two teeth. But, according to his own account, he gave the bone remains to a friend. He was then detained by the police.
The archaeologist admits that he broke the law by hiding the skeletal remains. At the same time, he believes that he acted honestly and conscientiously, guided by historical responsibility: "It became a matter of principle".
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