An 18-year-old student made an extraordinary discovery while digging trenches for a sewage system at a Belgian construction site, uncovering a hidden gold hoard estimated to be worth around €9 million (approximately ₹85.90 crore). The find reportedly included coins, gold nuggets and bullion bars and has since been moved to a secure facility in Brussels while authorities investigate its ownership. The student, identified as Kobe, was working with colleagues at the site when they noticed something buried in the ground.

What initially appeared to be ordinary coins turned out to be part of a much larger collection of valuable items. Kobe told Belgian news network VTM that the workers initially thought they had found €1 coins and began digging them out before discovering a gold bar. “We suddenly saw something lying there,” Kobe said, describing the moment the group noticed the objects. “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 discovery quickly transformed an otherwise routine excavation into an investigation involving a multimillion-euro treasure. The hoard was reportedly discovered on Tuesday at the site of a former brewery on Van Langenhovestraat in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, around 30 kilometres northwest of Brussels. The location is being examined as authorities attempt to establish how the gold came to be buried there and who may have originally owned it. The gold has since been transferred to a secure facility in Brussels, according to reports.

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Authorities are now investigating the provenance of the treasure and determining who has a legal claim to it. The fact that the hoard was found on a former industrial site has added another layer to the investigation, as officials work to establish when and why it was concealed. The discovery has generated considerable interest because of the unusually high estimated value of the find. A collection worth approximately €9 million would represent a substantial amount of gold, while the combination of coins, nuggets and bullion bars could provide investigators with clues about its origins.

However, the exact contents and valuation of the hoard remain subject to official assessment. The discovery also raises questions about the legal ownership of buried valuables in Belgium. Finding a valuable object on a construction site does not necessarily mean the person who discovers it automatically becomes its owner.  Authorities will need to determine the history of the gold and establish whether there is an identifiable previous owner or another legal claimant. For Kobe and his colleagues, the discovery came entirely by chance while they were carrying out excavation work for a sewage system.

The teenager initially believed the objects were ordinary coins before the workers realised they had uncovered something considerably more valuable. Authorities have not yet publicly identified the owner of the gold or explained how long the treasure may have remained underground. Investigators are expected to examine the site and the recovered items for clues that could establish their history. Until the investigation is completed, the multimillion-euro hoard remains securely held in Brussels. The unusual discovery has turned a routine construction project in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde into the centre of attention, with authorities now faced with the task of tracing the origins and ownership of one of the most valuable buried finds reported in the area.

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