Ten million dollars worth of gold appears in Belgian brewery during sewage works
A routine intervention in a building in Belgium took an extraordinary turn in August 2026. Workers working on installing a sewage system discovered a treasure of gold valued at more than 10 million dollars. The amount was hidden in the basement of a brewery and the unexpected discovery surprised everyone involved.
“Our first reaction was disbelief,” reported Kobe, an 18-year-old young man who participated in the work, describing the team’s initial reaction upon finding the precious objects. He added that, in fact, they did not expect to find gold there.
The construction team had been hired to renovate a property in the city of Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, a Flemish community located approximately 40 minutes by car from the capital Brussels.
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According to the workers, they were removing the building’s foundation to install a new sewage pipe when “they suddenly saw something lying there”, as Kobe explained.
At first, the team imagined that it was a cache of 1 euro coins, but they quickly realized their mistake when they identified a gold nugget among the material.
“I went to take a look and held the gold in my hands,” recalled Mario, the manager of the archaeological site. “We kept unearthing new coins and bars too. Only then did we realize what we had found. It was an incredible feeling.”
He added that, after 33 years dedicated to civil construction, this was the first time he had witnessed something so unusual.
In total, the quantity of sterling gold ingots and bars amounted to approximately 9 million euros, which is equivalent to approximately 10.4 million US dollars.
Unfortunately for the discoverers, the situation did not fit the premise of “found is not stolen”. The team had a legal obligation to hand over the precious metals to law enforcement authorities, who clarified that retaining the gold was prohibited by law.
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“There are so many coins and bars — it would be almost impossible [to hide or save],” said Mario, acknowledging the impracticality of retaining the treasure and confirming that such an act would be considered theft.
The gold is currently in the custody of CAW Oost-Vlaanderen, an organization dedicated to providing social assistance to the residents of Dendermonde.
The organization’s hope is to use the vast wealth found to support and expand its charitable work in the region.
Even so, the news of the treasure found did not deter dozens of people from heading to the site in search of other valuable items.
The Dendermonde Police had to issue a warning, asking “gold hunters” to stay away from the area, as “there is nothing left to see and it is also dangerous, because the building is being completely demolished”.
The question still remains open as to who actually owns the treasure. Historian and former mayor of Dendermonde, Piet Buyse, hypothesized that the fortune could be owned by the local Van Assche brewing family.
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Under Belgian law, the true owner has a period of five years to claim ownership of the fortune. If there is no claim within this period, the forgotten gold can be divided between those who found it and the property owner, as long as there is no association with criminal activities.
Kobe, one of the young men who made the discovery, expressed his hope that his participation in locating the treasure would be rewarded in some way. “Of course, we hope to receive a commission for finding the buyer,” he said, expressing the expectation that it would be a great reward.
