BRUSSELS, Belgium, Aug. 16 (World Daily Times) — Construction workers digging a sewer in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, Belgium, uncovered gold estimated to be worth about €9 million, or more than $10 million, according to Belgian broadcaster VRT.
The find included gold bars and coins. Reports citing images and information linked to Dendermonde police said the haul included 49 bars, a bucket of coins and at least one gold nugget. Authorities have not established who owned the gold or how it came to be hidden at the former brewery property.
How was the gold discovered?
The workers found the material during groundworks at a former brewery site. Reports differ on the exact hiding place, describing it variously as a space behind a wall, a wooden chest or a bricked-in cellar wall.
Kobe, an 18-year-old worker, told VRT that he first mistook some of the pieces for ordinary €1 coins. After the crew found more pieces and what appeared to be a nugget, they realized the discovery could be valuable.
“Our first reaction was actually disbelief, surprise,” Kobe said, according to VRT. “Of course, we didn’t expect to find gold.”
Project leader Mario said he contacted his boss and then police. “They shouted, ‘We found gold!’” he said in comments reported from VRT.
What happened to the gold?
The workers contacted police instead of removing the material from the site. Dendermonde police documented and inventoried the find before transferring it to a high-security vault operated by Belgium’s federal government.
Police also warned people not to enter the construction site, which contains dangerous pits. The warning was directed at people who might try to search for more treasure.
The reported value is an estimate. The available reports do not provide an official inventory, a valuation method or a technical assessment of the metal’s weight and purity.
Who owns it?
The East Flanders Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the gold’s origin and legal ownership. Hanne Ollevier, an official with the office, told De Standaard that authorities do not yet know where the gold came from or who legally owns it.
Investigators are also examining whether the bullion may have been stolen or connected to criminal activity. The available reports do not say that anyone has been charged, and they do not establish a link to a crime.
Piet Buyse, a historian and former mayor of Dendermonde, speculated that the gold could be connected to the Van Assche brewing family, which was associated with the former brewery property. That possibility has not been confirmed by investigators.
Reports citing Belgian law say a rightful owner may have up to five years to claim the gold. How that rule applies to this discovery will depend on the investigation and any proof of ownership.
Is this an environmental story?
The discovery occurred during sewer construction, but the available information does not show an environmental impact, a public-health risk or a change to regional water conditions. It is primarily a construction-site and law-enforcement matter.
The immediate local issues are site safety, the secure storage of the gold and the investigation into its history. The prosecutor’s office must determine whether the material is abandoned property, belongs to an identifiable person or is connected to an earlier crime.
