A routine home renovation project in the Belgian city of Dendermonde, East Flanders, has turned into one of the most extraordinary treasure discoveries in recent European history, after construction workers uncovered a sealed cache of gold estimated to be worth roughly €9 million (£7.6 million) tucked inside the cellar walls of the property.
The find came earlier this week as the team carried out foundation renovations and drilled to install new sewage lines at the site, which is currently owned by CAW Oost-Vlaanderen, a local welfare charity that provides support services to vulnerable community members. Among the workers who stumbled across the hoard was 18-year-old summer job student Kobe, who described the moment of discovery in an interview with Belgian public broadcaster VRT.
“Our first reaction was actually disbelief, amazement,” Kobe explained. “At first I thought they were €1 coins. But then we also saw a gold nugget lying there. That’s when we realised it was something far bigger than we ever expected.”
Site manager Mario added that the team never considered keeping the hidden treasure for themselves, noting the sheer scale of the hoard made that option impractical, and morally wrong. “There are so many coins and bars – it would be almost impossible,” he said. “Besides, that would be theft.” Kobe echoed that sentiment, adding simply: “€9m – you simply can’t keep that hidden.”
After the discovery, the workers immediately notified Lokale Politie Dendermonde, the local police department, which has since relocated the entire cache of gold bars, coins, and nuggets to an undisclosed secure location. In a public statement, police cautioned amateur treasure hunters against traveling to the active construction site to search for additional gold, confirming the entire property has already been thoroughly searched and “turned upside down” by investigators.
In a lighthearted nod to the viral discovery, Dendermonde police have even updated their official Facebook profile picture to feature an image of one of the recovered gold coins. The department said in a post that it hopes the cache will eventually end up “in the right place” and go on to improve people’s lives.
Geert Hillaert, director of property owner CAW Oost-Vlaanderen, said the charity’s leadership was equally shocked by the find. “My first reaction was surprise and amazement,” he told reporters, adding that the organization hopes if it is entitled to a share of the gold, the proceeds will go toward supporting the charity’s frontline work, where teams face “enormous need we experience daily” supporting local residents.
Under Belgian law, any rightful owner of the hidden hoard has five full years to come forward to stake a legal claim to the treasure, and local prosecutors have already launched a formal investigation to trace the cache’s origin. Investigators have not yet released any details linking the gold to criminal activity, a key factor that will shape how the treasure is distributed if no owner steps forward.
If no legitimate claimant successfully claims the €9 million hoard before the five-year window closes, Belgian civil code dictates that hidden treasure found on another person’s property must be split equally between the person who discovered it and the legal owner of the land where it was found. That means both the construction team that uncovered the gold and the welfare charity that owns the Dendermonde property could walk away with a share worth millions – leaving both parties waiting 1,825 days for a final resolution that could change their futures forever.