Belgian student strikes gold worth €9m while digging a new sewer

Underground Treasure: Student Unearths €9 Million Gold Hoard During Sewer Work

Wanderstayfinder.com – What began as an ordinary summer job has transformed into one of Belgium’s most remarkable archaeological discoveries. An 18-year-old student named Kobe was excavating trenches for a new sewage system when his shovel struck something unexpected beneath the earth. Within minutes, what he initially mistook for €1 coins revealed itself to be a substantial collection of gold valued at approximately €9 million, equivalent to roughly £8 million in British currency.

The serendipitous find occurred on a routine Tuesday morning at a construction site situated on Van Langenhovestraat in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, a municipality located approximately 30 kilometers northwest of the Belgian capital. The location holds particular historical significance as the grounds of a former brewery that once belonged to Theophilus Van Assche, a prominent local industrialist whose family fortune was built on brewing during the late nineteenth century.

A Discovery That Defied Expectations

Kobe recounted the moment of discovery to Belgian television network VTM with characteristic enthusiasm. “We suddenly saw something lying there,” he explained. “At first I thought it was €1 coins. So we started digging them up. Then we saw a gold bar. It turned out to be a bit more than we thought.”

The treasure was concealed within a bag and nestled inside a bricked-in section of a cellar wall beneath the original villa constructed for the brewery’s owner. Unlike valuables stored in a conventional safe, this hoard had been deliberately hidden within the masonry itself, suggesting its owners intended it to remain undiscovered for generations.

“It’s just not something you expect when you’re working on a regular Tuesday morning,” Kobe remarked, noting that the treasure trove appeared to have been intentionally concealed. “It was really bricked in there – not in a safe or anything.”

The Contents of a Century-Old Hoard

The recovered treasure encompasses a diverse collection of precious metals. The hoard contains gold coins of various denominations, irregular nuggets, and numbered bullion bars that would have represented significant wealth during their time. The combination of coins and bars suggests the collection may have accumulated over several decades, possibly spanning multiple generations of the Van Assche family.

Brewing operations commenced at this location in 1899 and continued until 1970, when the facility ceased production. The historic property remains protected as a listed building, with its wrought-iron gates still displaying the distinctive “VA” initials that identify the Van Assche family. The social welfare organization CAW Oost-Vlaanderen is currently undertaking a comprehensive renovation of the site, transforming the historic structure into modern offices and residential housing.

“The Brouwershuis was a beautiful building, but it is being completely gutted,” Geert Hillaert of CAW explained to news outlet HLN. “Ultimately, only the walls will remain.”

Navigating Legal Ownership

Upon discovering the gold, Kobe and his fellow workers immediately contacted local police and notified CAW representatives. The treasure has since been transported to a secure facility in Brussels while authorities conduct a thorough investigation to determine legal ownership.

Hanne Ollevier from the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office outlined the complex legal landscape ahead. Authorities must first verify that the bullion was not stolen property or the proceeds of criminal activity, a process that could spark a complex civil dispute. Multiple parties may have legitimate claims to portions of the fortune: the building contractors who discovered it, the welfare organization overseeing the renovation, and any descendants of the once-wealthy Van Assche family.

Under Belgian law, finders must wait a minimum of five years for potential owners to come forward and claim any treasure they discover. This waiting period allows time for genealogical research and legal proceedings to resolve competing claims.

Historical Context and Future Prospects

Piet Buyse, former mayor of Dendermonde, offered insight into the likely origins of the hoard. He told HLN that the Van Assche family’s fortune had “certainly stayed in the family. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if they had decided to put at least some of it in gold, and then to hide it in a safe place.”

Historians note that hiding valuables in walls and cellars was particularly common during periods of political instability and war in Belgium, including both World Wars. The practice of bricking gold into walls rather than storing it in safes provided an additional layer of security, as the treasure remained concealed within the building’s structure even if the property was searched or looted.

For Kobe, the discovery has been both life-changing and humbling. He and his colleagues understood immediately that such a substantial find required proper handling. “If it had been a few coins, maybe not,” he said regarding whether they might have kept a portion. “But maybe we’ll get some kind of finder’s reward eventually.”

The investigation into the €9 million gold hoard is expected to continue for months, with legal proceedings potentially extending well beyond the five-year waiting period required by Belgian law. Whatever the outcome, the discovery has added a new chapter to the history of Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde and provided a tangible connection to the region’s industrial past.