Media365
An 18-year-old Belgian student working a summer construction job made an extraordinary discovery while helping excavate a sewer at a former brewery site in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, about 30km north-west of Brussels. What initially looked like ordinary €1 coins turned out to be part of a hidden gold hoard estimated at around €9 million. The stash included gold bars, coins and nuggets that had been concealed in a bag behind a bricked-up section of a cellar wall beneath a historic villa. The student, identified only as Kobe, and his colleagues immediately alerted police and the organisation overseeing the renovation. The treasure has since been secured while authorities investigate its origin and determine who legally owns the fortune.
Student thought he had found €1 coins while digging
Kobe was working with other construction workers on the site when they noticed something buried while carrying out groundworks for a new sewer system. He initially believed the objects were €1 coins, but the discovery of a gold bar quickly revealed that they had uncovered something much more valuable. Kobe told Belgian media that the group had been surprised by the discovery because it was simply a normal working day. Site manager Mario, who has spent 33 years in construction, also said it was the first time he had encountered anything like it.
Gold bars and thousands of coins were hidden behind a wall
The hoard was concealed inside a bag in a bricked-in section of a cellar beneath a grand villa that had originally been built for brewery owner Theophilus Van Assche. Reports describe the discovery as including numbered gold bullion bars, coins and nuggets, with police photographs showing dozens of gold bars and a large quantity of coins. One police-based report put the number of bars at 49, while another described the haul as containing at least 40 bars and around 4,000 coins. The exact final inventory and valuation remain subject to the authorities’ investigation, but the overall hoard has been estimated at approximately €9 million.
The treasure was hidden at a former brewery
The discovery was made at a historic property on Van Langenhovestraat in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde. Brewing at the site began in 1899 and ended in 1970. The property, known as the Brouwershuis, is now undergoing major renovation by CAW Oost-Vlaanderen, a social welfare organisation that plans to create offices and housing at the site. Workers were carrying out drainage and sewer-related construction as the old building was being extensively renovated. The treasure appeared to have been deliberately concealed behind the cellar wall rather than placed inside a conventional safe.
Authorities are investigating who owns the €9 million hoard
The gold has been removed from the construction site and placed in secure storage while authorities investigate its origin and legal ownership. East Flanders public prosecutor Hanne Ollevier said authorities first need to establish whether the bullion could have been stolen or connected to criminal activity. Potential claims could involve descendants of the Van Assche family, the organisation overseeing the property and the people involved in the construction work. A former Dendermonde mayor, Piet Buyse, suggested that the Van Assche family’s wealth could be connected to the discovery, but that remains speculation and has not been established by investigators.
The student could eventually receive a reward
Kobe and his colleagues handed the treasure over rather than attempting to keep it, and Kobe said they understood that such a large discovery had to be reported. The legal ownership process could take years. Under Belgian rules governing found property, potential owners have a period to come forward, and the eventual rights of the finder and property owner depend on the circumstances and the legal classification of the treasure. Kobe said he hoped the workers might eventually receive some kind of finder’s reward. For now, however, the €9 million hoard remains in secure custody while authorities work to establish where it came from and who is legally entitled to it.
