A chance discovery that changed lives: a 9 million euro treasure in Belgium
In the Belgian town of Sint-Gillis-bij-Dendermonde (East Flanders province), a routine construction job turned into an international sensation. A crew from the company De Brand, which was laying sewage pipes in the basement of an old building, stumbled upon a cache walled up in a brick wall. Inside was an iron box filled with gold bars, nuggets, and antique coins. The estimated value of the find is 9 million euros (about $10 million).
The main character of this story is an 18-year-old student named Kobe, who took a summer job at the construction site to earn some extra money. According to him, he was simply demolishing a wall when he noticed metal objects. "At first, I thought they were ordinary 1-euro coins," Kobe told VRT journalists. "But when we saw the nugget and realized it was gold, we were shocked. We briefly wondered whether to keep it for ourselves? But you can't hide 9 million euros. It would have been pure theft".
The builders showed honesty and immediately called the police. The gold was transported under convoy to a secret state vault for further examination. Now, the fate of the treasure and its distribution depend on Belgian laws and the results of the historical investigation.
The brewer's cache: A historical mystery at Villa Van Asse
The building where the discovery was made has a rich history. It is a luxurious villa from the late 19th century, which originally belonged to the local major brewer Theophilus Van Asse. His brewery operated on this site from 1899 to 1970. Experts suggest that the industrialist's family walled up their fortune in the basement wall to save it from confiscation during World War I or World War II, or from tax authorities.
Today, the building has passed into the ownership of the charitable organization CAW Oost-Vlaanderen (East Flanders General Social Assistance Center). The organization planned to carry out repairs and convert the premises into offices and social housing for the poor. The center's director, Gert Hillart, admitted that the news caught him off guard, but expressed hope that these funds would help improve the lives of hundreds of homeless people if the gold came under the control of the foundation.
Legal nuances: How will the treasure be divided?
The East Flanders Prosecutor's Office has already launched an investigation to check whether the gold is linked to last century's crime. According to Belgian legislation, a counter is launched for 1823 days (5 years) — this is the time allotted to the brewer's potential legal heirs to prove their rights to the gold. If no one presents legal documents within five years, the treasure will be declared "ownerless".
In this case, according to the Belgian Civil Code, the entire 9 million euros will be divided evenly 50/50 between the building owner (the charitable foundation) and the finders (the construction crew). Thus, 18-year-old Kobe and his colleagues have guaranteed themselves millionaire status. If the gold goes to the social center, they will build new shelters for the homeless, but the builders in any case claim a legal share of the finders fee.
Irony of fate: "Learn a normal profession"
Social media is already joking that mom's advice to "learn a normal working profession instead of poking buttons on computers" has officially been recognized as prophetic. An ordinary workday with a jackhammer brought more than years of work in IT. Kobe's story has become a symbol that sometimes the simplest job can lead to the most incredible discoveries. The local police even jokingly updated their Facebook avatar to an image of a gold coin, urging adventurers not to storm the closed facility.
