Construction workers digging a new sewer system in Belgium expected to find dirt, old building materials, and probably some worms. Instead, they uncovered a hidden stash of gold estimated to be worth more than $10 million.
The Guardian reports that workers discovered the gold on Tuesday, Aug. 11, at a construction site in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, Belgium, about 19 miles northwest of Brussels. The outlet further reports that workers were excavating trenches for a sewer system at the site of a former brewery when they came across the treasure.
Dendermonde police shared photos of the gold on Facebook. According to PEOPLE, police displayed 49 gold bars along with a large collection of gold coins, and Belgian outlet VRT estimated the entire hoard at around €9 million, or more than $10.4 million.
Currently, however, no one is walking away with this golden discovery. The East Flanders Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating where the gold came from and who legally owns it, and police have moved the treasure to a secure government vault.
Workers Originally Thought They Had Found Ordinary Coins
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One of the workers who helped discover the stash was Kobe, an 18-year-old student working a summer construction job. He told Belgian television network VTM that he initially thought the objects they unearthed were €1 coins—until the crew uncovered a gold bar and realized they had found something even more remarkable.
The treasure included gold coins, nuggets and numbered bullion bars. The Guardian reports that the gold had been placed in a bag and concealed inside a bricked-in cellar beneath a villa originally built for brewery owner Theophilus Van Assche in the late 1800s.
The workers notified their employer, the property’s owner, and police rather than attempting to remove the treasure themselves. Dendermonde police said officers collected and inventoried the gold before placing it in a high-security federal government vault for safekeeping.
The find surprised even the most experienced on the construction crew. Site manager Mario told VRT that he had worked in construction for 33 years without ever experiencing anything similar, according to PEOPLE.
Who Will Get To Keep The $10 Million Treasure?
Authorities have not yet determined who hid the gold or who now has a legal claim to it. Hanne Ollevier of the East Flanders Public Prosecutor’s Office told Belgian media outlet HLN that investigators must also determine whether any of the treasure was stolen or connected to criminal activity.
The property itself belongs to CAW Oost-Vlaanderen, a social welfare organization that assists people experiencing difficult circumstances. The Guardian reports that the organization is renovating the former brewery property to accommodate new offices and housing.
Under Belgian law, a rightful owner has five years to come forward and claim hidden treasure, according to The Guardian. If no owner is established, the construction workers, property owner, and potentially descendants of the family that once owned the site could have competing claims, though the outcome will depend on the investigation.
Kobe told Belgian media that he hopes the workers might “get some kind of finder’s reward eventually.” In the meantime, Dendermonde police have warned would-be treasure hunters not to enter the fenced construction site, noting that the remaining area has already been searched and the $10 million discovery has been removed.