A secret archaeological dig inside a Dutch church has led to drama worthy of Alexandre Dumas. Did Wim Dijkman really find the bones of the fourth musketeer? We may never know.

Wim Dijkman, a retired archaeologist and museum curator, was in Munich in possibly illicit possession of three possibly ancient bones. The remains — two teeth, one humerus — may or may not belong to Charles de Batz de Castelmore d’Artagnan, the French historical figure upon whom Alexandre Dumas based the main character in "The Three Musketeers."

They are part of a skeleton Mr. Dijkman and his friends unearthed in an old church near Maastricht, in the Netherlands, earlier this year. To the city's dismay, they did so without permits, and largely in secret: Even church parishioners weren't fully informed about the giant dig happening directly in front of their altar. By the time officials became aware of the excavation, they had taken over and insisted upon the return of the bones that Mr. Dijkman had sent to Munich for carbon dating and DNA testing.

The investigation into whether the bones belong to Charles de Batz de Castelmore d’Artagnan, who died during the Siege of Maastricht in 1673, continues to unfold with power struggles, hubris and hot heads.